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Will Mayer
Official Author Site
Past Publications
Below are a list of Will's previously published works and where you can find them (if they are still in print).
A Helium Affair
From the publisher:
We can never know for sure, but it seems to us that there's a fair chance our lives are determined largely by things that are not said, not thought, and not felt. There is a range of well used metaphors for this phenomenon--consciousness is the bridle on the stallion, the tip of the iceberg, the observable matter to the dark matter. These all feel right to us somehow, and yet, how can we know when the phenomenon by its nature can't be lassoed and pulled up into the light of consciousness?
Well, how do the physicists know that dark matter exists? They watch the movements of what they can see and note what can't be explained by the known forms of matter and the known forces.
This week's story, "A Helium Affair," by Will Mayer, seems to us like a similar examination of how the pieces of a life can be moved by forces underneath that remain not said, not thought, and not felt. Being a piece of art and not a physics textbook, the story leaves you to speculate on what those forces might be. But we think a careful reading will reward you with direct contact with the otherwise unknowable.
While Holding a Vintage, Lacquer Painted, Wooden Knight on a Saturday Afternoon in the Country
A piece of short fiction about finding God at an unexpected time in an unusual place. Appropriately, it was published by Every Day Fiction on Easter of 2014.
A Pickup Truck Full of Loveseat
An essay about the why Will writes the sort of characters he likes to write ... those being, of course, the painfully introverted types. Published at Page & Spine.
Cape
Cape is a very short story about finding super-hero like strength in unexpected places. Follow the link and scroll down to #87 to hear Will read the work himself over at 4' 33".
Half Hanged
Will's weird western about an undertaker turned executioner in a wild-west-era Utah town of Guilford Springs.
It was published in Spark: A Creative Anthology Volume IV. It can be purchased in either ebook or paperback form. The paperback is a very attractive book. If you want a 33% discount on it, use the promo code: "Mayer-Friends".
Little known fact: The original title for "Half-Hanged" was "The Gallows at Guilford Springs." Don't you feel smarter now?
A Nomad's Castle
The really cool, long-running UK magazine AMBIT published Will's short story "A Nomad's Castle" in their Summer 2014 issue (#217). Copies are currently available for sale on their site. The story focuses on a young boy facing an unwanted, large change in his life. He struggles to face that change ... with the help of advice from his toy Indian.
Frostfire Dreams
Will's first ever fiction publication came in 2007 while pursuing his undergraduate degree. "Frostfire Dreams" was the recipient of the Lamplight Literary Journal prize for best fiction.
The story centers on a man living in a post-apocalyptic world who struggles with the death of a friend and against the death of another relationship. He finds that to go home again, when that home no longer exists, means taking a different sort of road than it used to.
The entire issue is available for free PDF download.
A Groom's Perspective
Back when Will was a newly-wed, he wrote a humor article for the 2007 issue of the Central Virginia Bridal Guide.
Editions of this issue are out of print.
I am dreaming my name
You can read Will's first ever paid poetry publication at the fine online poetry publication: Liquid Imagination. It appears alongside some other great poems and fiction in issue number 24.
Will also gives a reading of the poem, if you'd like to give it a listen in addition to (or instead of) a read.
Spaghetti Head
A flash fiction story about the power of falling in love ... during a romantic dumpster dive. Published at the Stoneslide Corrective.
$8.29 Plus Tax
If you've ever been to a place like a museum, zoo, or aquarium, you know that the cafeteria prices can be outrageous. In this short story, the protagonist struggles to forget about the cost of the outing and focus on what's important: the once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy watching the wonder generated in his toddler.
Follow the link to The Germ Magazine and scroll down to Volume 1 Issue 4. Limited numbers available. Price $6.00.
The State of Our Union
Around 2007, Will became disillusioned with the two party system in politics. This likely had something to do with his experience watching the State of the Union Address that year.
Even seven years later, you can read his opinion article on the event over at The Cynic.