twenty-something

You Could Make a Killing | A Story By Patrick Raymond
An Introduction

Next (Part One: Ars Moriendi) »

Boo.

Things are about to get a lot darker here at 20sum. And perhaps a little scary, too.

With "Make the Man" on hiatus, I am pleased to announce that a new original tale will begin serialization here very soon. This story is a dramatic departure from the works I have already posted to Twenty-Something. It's not nostalgic memoirs from the 90s. It's not a vaguely fictional account of a college drop-out's relationship with a closeted frat boy.

No. In short, it's a ghost story.

"You Could Make a Killing" is the story of one Parker McGinnis (no relation to the poorly-pseudonymed "Parker" in 90s-Something), world-famous psychic and television personality. As the manuscript for his auto-biography comes due, Parker mourns his partner, Jeff, on the first anniversary of Jeff's death -- coincidentally the very day Parker has been having prophetic dreams that promise it will be his last alive on earth...

It's a highly experimental story, weaving multiple narratives to tell the tale of a sad, desperate man who thinks he has nothing left to live for. The observations of an other-worldly narrator, excerpts from Parker's still-unfinished memoir, and the emails of a middle-aged divorcee to a mysterious pen pal tell the story of one fateful day in November -- and the lives that lead up to it. The story is hopefully appropriately spooky, but, ultimately, more human than supernatural.

Previously workshopped and currently in its third form, the three-year-old "You Could Make a Killing" comes to you for your enjoyment and criticism. I hope you enjoy the complicated tale of Parker McGinnis as much as I enjoy constructing (and deconstructing) it.

More to come soon. Thanks for reading!