READ & SHARE

Much like the ethos behind the Impressions podcast, we are all about audiences enjoying these stories outside the confines of a paperback. So enjoy these first looks at Impressions, written by Geoff Emberlyn, and share them with your friends!

Local Histories

• A prelude of sorts to the Impressions universe, “Local Histories” began as the “warp-around” segment of the anthology feature and will be the opening story in Impressions Volume 1.

The Dread Queen

• This is the title story from the original Impressions collection. We have big plans for this tale, so we hope you’ll enjoy it. It will be the featured story in Impressions Volume 1.

Circles

• A bit of a departure from horror, this tale is a surreal drama about the cyclical nature of grief. One reader called it “the first impression that brought me to tears.” It will be a featured story in Impressions Volume 1.

Corinthians [web exclusive!]

• A “novelette” first featured in the original collection, “Corinthians” will not appear in Impressions Volume 1. Still, we love this story a lot and plan to expand it and include it in other things down the road. Enjoy!

A NOTE FROM OUR EIC

From the acknowledgment section of The Dread Queen and Other Dark Impressions, currently out of print.

This collection was a long time coming, and during its gestation, it took on many forms.

Originally conceived as a series of short films for YouTube, the project was eventually developed into a feature-length anthology screenplay called Impressions. (The prelude story here, “Local Histories,” takes its beats from the wraparound story in the script.) That screenplay went on to be a second-round qualifier in the Austin Film Festival and Screenplay competition, and while we didn’t win anything, I did have the chance to attend the festival with an all-access pass, which was a fantastic experience.

After that, the tales began to shift again and continue to mutate. Two tales that don’t appear in this collection were adapted from the screenplay to short stories by authors other than myself. One story from the screenplay BEGAN as a short story was ADAPTED as a segment in the film and then was READAPTED as a new short story! And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Needless to say, it’s been a wild road, and it’s only just beginning for Impressions.

Below is a short list of people who played a role in shaping this collection:

• My wife, Michelle, who has witness, nurtured—and even helped to craft at times—every version of this messed-up little universe I call Impressions.

• Brandon K. Tarleton, my former film school classmate and partner at my old production company, who spent countless hours developing the original scripts with me in coffee shops.

• Jason Sasso, who was an early supporter of the project and helped to run marketing on this
  release.

• The amazing Mercedes Yardley and Ryan Larson who accepted my invitation years ago to write early adaptations of two of these short films. You both really inspired me to shift everything (for now) to prose, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

• Director Bryan di Piazza, cinematographer Michael Medici, and the rest of the badass crew that joined us in the insanity of trying to film three Impressions tales—including “Locked” and “Circles”—over just two weekends. We were hopelessly naive idiots, but it was fun to try and pull off!

• Jay Van Veen, who provided a short story for the original screenplay and is just an all-around awesome guy. I’m sure you’ll see some iteration of his tale, “Read Salvation Out Loud,” pop up in Impressions sooner or later. (Oh, and if you’re REALLY bored, you can listen to Jay and I rattle on about Brian K. Vaughan’s Ex Machina on Jay’s now-defunct comic book podcast, Why Did You Make Me Read This?)

• Amanda Steele, owner and operator of Book of Matches Media. She handles social media promotions for me because I suck at them, and she does not. Also, she’s one of my oldest friends and biggest cheerleaders, so that’s pretty cool, too.

• Author and podcasting wizard J Thorn, who kindly gave me the chance this year to flex my short story muscles by editing Runes, Ravens & Revenants, his weekly short story/serial project.

And now, a few other creations and creators that inspired me while developing The Dread Queen:

• Philip Fracassi’s Beneath a Pale Sky, which I devoured while finishing the final story in this collection, and it shows. The stories “Harvest” and “The Wheel,” in particular, were instrumental in me swinging for the cosmic dread fences, so to speak.

• On the topic of dread and “Rose-Colored Bath,” shout out to The King in Yellow for giving me chills no matter how many times I’ve read it.

• I wouldn’t even know how to write a short story if it wasn’t for my first literary love, Edgar Allen Poe. Clichéd, but true. What can you do.

• Christopher Priest’s novel, The Prestige. While I must admit I haven’t read it, I understand another Christopher (my beloved Nolan) basically pulled Michael Caine’s explanation of a magic trick from the text word for word. The Pledge, The Turn, The Prestige. These three words and the structure they evoke have been more influential to this collection than anything else.

• Podcasts from Terry Miles and the Public Radio Alliance, such as TANIS and Rabbits. Terry’s work aligns so much with my brain when it comes to ARGs and alternate dimensions (the foundations of the Impressions realm) that I wouldn’t be surprised if I conceived of them myself in another life. Terry, get at me, my guy. We should really work together.

I think it’s always important to acknowledge the things we consume that spark our imaginations. If The Dread Queen and Other Dark Impressions brings to mind a work that you love—or perhaps inspired a work YOU created—I would very much like to hear about it! You can reach me at geoff@emberletter.com