This Mortal Coil by Logan Thomas Snyder Page A

secured, the commando stepped back, twirling his finger above his head. Soon they were airborne once again.
    Watching Theresa stare out the window at the dwindling figures and tiny black specks below, Willem couldn’t help reflecting on that first night together in the alley, how hopelessly alone and confused he had felt. Already it seemed a lifetime ago. When she looked back from the window, he reached out, offering her his hand. She took it gratefully, lacing her bloodied fingers through his own. It didn’t make either of them feel any less like abominations against god and man, but it was a start.

AFTERWORD

    Thank you for reading this story! I truly hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider reviewing it on Amazon. It doesn’t have to be long, just twenty words at the bare minimum. Reviews (even short ones!) are extremely important for independent authors such as myself, and also for readers deciding whether to invest time and money in a new story.  

    I have a special place in my heart for this story, mainly because it’s the first piece of long-form fiction I ever finished. I originally wrote it over the course of a few months in early 2012, during the difficult transition from writing nonfiction to fiction. I had already started and abandoned two novels midstream and was questioning whether I should keep on or cut my losses and go back to writing nonfiction, even though I no longer had the same passion for it.

    I decided to give fiction one last shot, but with a novella instead of a full-blown novel. When I finished the first version of This Mortal Coil , I was happy just to have seen a project through to completion. I never gave any thought to publishing it anywhere but my own personal website, where maybe half a dozen very patient friends and family members read it before I eventually took it down and filed it away. It was only when I happened upon it several months ago and mentioned it on Twitter that a handful of author friends encouraged me to publish it. Several more deep edits and partial rewrites later, the end result is what you’ve just read. Once again, I hope you enjoyed it and will take a few minutes to let future readers know if you did. Thanks, and please keep supporting independent authors!

    LTS
    March 2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

    First, thank you to everyone who reads this story for supporting independent authors. Without you, the act of writing isn’t exactly pointless, but it certainly loses a great deal of its charm. I love hearing from readers, so please, stop by my website at loganthomassnyder.com or have at me on Twitter at twitter.com/Logantarian .  

    Thanks, too, to Charles Brand, an early beta reader of this novella who offered many valuable insights.

    Last but not least, thanks to Ann Christy and Will Swardstrom for encouraging me to revisit and publish this strange little story. Left to my own devices, I’m not sure it would have seen the light of day. Whether that’s good or bad remains to be seen, but I appreciate the nudge nonetheless.