It’s time for another edition of #SundayStories where you can learn about the inspiration behind one of the stories from my new collection, When We Come Back.

This week we’re taking a look at “Coldspace.” This is one of my oldest stories and borders on flash fiction. It was directly inspired by the death of famed American painter, and one of my favorite artists, Andrew Wyeth. Many of the details I included in the story about an old man on his death bed came from what I learned about Wyeth and his family on my first of many visits to the Brandywine Museum of Art. On this inaugural visit, I toured the family residence not far from the museum grounds as well as N.C. Wyeth’s studio. But the magic happened when we returned to the main building and Wyeth’s granddaughter had shown up just to hang out and give impromptu personalized tours. She took the crowd on a whirlwind “behind the scenes” of the galleries featuring art from three generations of her family and completely enthralled her audience.

“You guys ever have nightmares about wolves?” she eagerly asked the young boys at the front of the entourage hanging on her every word and following her every step. The painting she stood in front of was Jamie Wyeth’s “Wolf Door” and she proceeded to tell the story of the dream that inspired it.

I digress. “Coldspace” was originally published in Eunoia Review, and along with the bonus story at the end of the collection, “Night Falls on Niagara,” (which was also published in Eunoia Review before appearing in And Then We Vanish) is the only previously published work in the collection.

Buy the paperback from Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $11.99.

Download a copy to your Kindle for $4.99, or with your subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Ask your local indie bookstore to stock their shelves through Indiebound.

Add When We Come Back to your Goodreads “Want to Read” pile.