LITERARY SHORT STORY FICTION
STORIES IN LIVING COLOR
With short story writer
Marcus Lessard
ABOUT
You are invited...
...to break from the gray world of covid quarantine to enjoy these selections from wholly-underappreciated aspiring-short-story writer Marcus Lessard.
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Marcus has been published in The Scarlet Leaf Review, Frontier Tales, The Write Launch, and has a publication forthcoming in Sanitarium Magazine. His short story collections "Hell Fell from a Colorado Sky" and "That Dead Guy Just Wanted a Hug!" and his in-process novel "The Forever Young Prisoner" are looking for readers.
THE STORIES
The Not-Entirely-Complete Collection
THE QUEEN OF THE SKIES
A woman visits the old mansion she once called home. The mansion reminds her of her past and her long-ago dream of becoming an actress. A toddler who lives in the residence is the only one who can see her. Her innocent questions lead the woman to reflect on things like time, place, and her own identity. As she gazes out of a third-story window, the woman’s memories are stirred. But will memories matter to a woman who keeps wondering whether she's even still alive?
FLANNERY O'CONNOR AT THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
Ron knows exactly how his daughter’s life is going to turn out. She will drop out of school, have a baby with that Budd boy, and spend the remainder of her fledgling, redneck existence on the same overgrown plot of land her mama died on. Ron would do anything to change that. She has so much potential; all she needs is a little push in the right direction. And if that push comes from a ghost at the bottom of a well, well, heck, Ron ain’t gonna complain.
DARK MEETS LIGHT MEETS DEATH MEETS LIFE
Paintings don't lie.
They just say different things to different people.
When Tom, John, and Susan discover the painting they purchased at a tag sale is the world-renowned composition “Dark Meets Light Meets Death Meets Life,” they seek out the advice of an art expert. They wonder why the art expert wears sunglasses while he studies the painting. They are told the painting is supernatural.
To unveil the painting's secrets, Tom, John, and Susan will need to make some sacrifices. Will they keep the painting and take their chances at discovering The Full Colored Life, the so-called life of perfect happiness, or will they agree to have it auctioned off? Skillfully infusing comedy and satire into the narrative, the author takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride into a group's ALMOST discovery of true happiness.
DUMB RELIGIOUS STORY
Sainthood is not something you see everyday. That was why Jackie Gutierrez was willing to risk life, limb, and her rusty red pickup to see the man they called Pastor Ray. Invited to lunch with him at an historic diner planted on the crest of a mesa in Western Colorado, Jackie’s expectations were as sky-high as the diner itself.
How will Jackie respond when she discovers that Pastor Ray, recently returned from a mysterious, five-year sabbatical, is not the saintly character she remembered him to be?
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HEART OF GOLDENROD
Don’t let the livery station, saloon, and the emporium fool you. Fort Wood is not just any Midwestern town frozen in time. A legend was born here. Those fortunate enough to take the guided tour are delivered a token, receiving immortality in the form of a flower. In this tale of love, courage, and magic, a young duelist in the Old West must decide the fate of his hometown, his sweetheart, and the wide world itself—as time runs out. Another man must decide whether his modern ways are worth surrendering for a chance at Fort Wood's offer of immortality, as love--and his flower--blooms.
THE COLONEL OF COLORADO
Final stop: Denver.
To the residents of homeless shelters and labor agencies across Colorado, he is the Colonel, the author of hundreds of eliminations and their beloved hero. To his adversaries, he is the deranged mastermind in search of his next challenger.
A humdrum day at the labor hall is invaded upon by yet another transient. However, when he reveals himself to be the one-and-only Colonel of Colorado, it is a day the labor-hall patrons will not soon forget.
THE BATTLE OF GETTIN'-THERE'S BURG
When Ben goads his granddaughter, Julia, into taking an afternoon trip with him to Gettysburg National Park, what ensues is a generational conflict on the level of the Battle of Gettysburg itself.
Will Julia ever get off of her phone? Will Granddad ever stop cursing? Will they have fun? Will the fogs clear to reveal who ended up winning the lightsaber duel in the woody outskirts of the town of Gettin'-there's Burg?
BUBBLES ON FIRE
As with the props employed by other Firewatchers, the bubbles coming out of Rob’s industrial-strength steam-cleaner are crowned with flames. Unlike other Firewatchers, Rob is new to the fiery revelations of science, math, music and precognition, and does not know what to think.
When Rob crosses paths with Tim Sutton, an internationally renowned scientist and a Level IX Liege in the Firewatch hierarchy, Rob learns about himself. He learns about the Firewatchers. He learns why the Solstine Powers chose him.
JUST BE YOURSELF, HUNGRY GIRL
Trapped, frozen, and starving to death in a secluded cabin in the Colorado high country was not how Chloe ever imagined things would end for her and her younger sister, Daphne. Helpless, they had watched their uncle succumb to the final, wrenching spasms of his heart attack. As hope fades with each passing day, Chloe wonders if she will able to hold fast her integrity in the face of the wool-shirted, bearded temptation laid out before them on the floor; or will she fall prey to the urgings of her less-idealistic younger sister?
THE ORANGE AND PURPLE STRIPED SUBMARINE
Paul is dead. This rumor of the late 60s opened the floodgates to one of the greatest urban legends in Rock & Roll history. Was Paul really dead? Or was it a conspiracy? Symbolism? A clever way for the lads to sell more records? In this exclusive interview with The Times of London, John Lennon tells all. "See, what it all boils down to, man, is what happened that one time we all tripped out then went for a trip to the bottom of the sea in search of inspiration in our orange-and-purple-striped submarine..."
BUILDING X GETS TOMATOED
If it wasn’t for her dang P.O.T.S., Laura would have granted every one of her troubled neighbors the pats on the back, twenty-dollar loans, and words of encouragement they so needed. Instead, all she had to give them was tomatoes from her garden. When her neighbors return the favor by starting Boulder’s biggest-ever tomato fight, will Laura have the wherewithal to turn tomato splatter into tomato sauce?
THE FOREVER YOUNG PRISONER
A Novel. The first three chapters...
Henry Heck is the mysterious prisoner locked away in the depths of Providence State Penitentiary since the Great War for crimes unknown. They say he hasn't aged a day. Tommy O'Connell, inmate number 176543, sets out to investigate, getting himself entangled in numerous prison adventures along the way. In the process of his behind-the-walls investigation into the top-secret, malfeasant, mystical tale of the Forever Young Prisoner, Tommy finds the unexpected resolution to many of his own problems.
