Not posting the title, 'cuz I like it too much to show it off just yet  Here are the first few paragraphs, as written some time ago and touched-up slightly just now...
None of the daily papers, at least not the mainstream ones, had their headlines dirtied with the blood of Steven Hughes. They were far too good for that. He’d been mentioned in passing by one rather liberal press, relegated to a few tiny paragraphs at the back of the Local section, but Steven was just another faceless, homeless bum, just another notch in the belt of inner-city statistics.
His stricken face did however find itself splayed all over the tabloids and underground news bins. The Steve, as he’d been known amongst the listless and the destitute, had been something of a minor celebrity in his own circles. As far as the tabloid publication Second Sight was concerned, The Steve had completely failed to make any enemies. “The Steve was a great guy,” said one interviewee. “I can’t see why anyone would want to off him.”
But someone had, and in one instant The Steve became another invisible corpse, rotting in a rain-stained gutter. After all, he was just a homeless man. Nobody noticed the death of a homeless man.
I'll be posting excerpts as they come. I've got a fairly good idea for where I want the plot to go and how I want it to develop, a great way to end it, and lots of interesting folks with which to populate the story. (One of my favorites is a guy named Teeth Saltzmann, named for his grin which is purported to be able to open beer bottles.) At this point, I just need to connect the dots and fill out the middle a bit more... but goddamn, I love this story. |
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