Title page
Miriam's Hex
by
Paul White
Copyright © Paul White 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Introduction
This story took it's time, about 36 years, to be published.
The full story, from Miriam's conception in the late '70s to first being published in 2014 is recorded here, in this, the updated and edited 2017 edition.
I hope the back-story add to your overall enjoyment of
Miriam's Hex.
The story behind ‘Miriam’s Hex’
The story behind ‘Miriam’s Hex’
About four years ago, sometime during 2013, while I was having a household de-clutter, I found an old cardboard folder in a box in the loft.
The folder contained poems I wrote in the late 1970s & 1980s. Many hand-scribbled, some type-written, yes, I did say type-written.
The folder also contained notes for use in, or as, ‘possible and potential’ stories, old abandoned writings, half started tales, partial paragraphs and such. It was a rather eclectic combination of various scribblings.
I was filled with personal wonderment and as I read these sheets of yellowing paper I found my thoughts, my emotions and my ideas of a lifetime ago.
Some of the writings and poetry I recalled instantly, others took their time before staggered out from the mists of amnesia. I was amused by some, horrified by others; the amateur nature, the naivety, the bad grammar and miss-spellings made me cringe.
All, however, transported me back to another time, another world, dare I say another life, which is connected yet, at the same time somehow detached, partially like an out-of-body experience, but more so while being less direct, less united.
Possibly this is the effect of ones passing years?
In the rear of the folder, I found a wad of A4 sheets held together by a rusting paperclip. I started to read, it was an untitled story. A light-hearted black comedy, if that is at all possible, of selfishness, of greed, impatience and latent curses.
Despite many changes, crossing-outs and pencilled notes, the story drew me in. As I read on, small pinpricks of memory began seeping back. This was a story, one of the few I wrote at the time which had a beginning, middle and end. (Although there were many threadbare patches throughout.)
I first scribbled out a rough draft of a storyline in 1978, according to the dates on the draft. This (first?) draft had no title and no end. In 1980 I reviewed and re-wrote it, apparently; I found a margin notes to confirm this, although I cannot recall reviewing the story at all. It seems this was the time I added a few final paragraphs which gave the story an ending... of sorts.
Thirty-five years later, after I became a professional writer, I re-discovered this early work which I started in my late teens.
I returned the papers to the folder, the archives if you wish. Yet something was nagging at me.
The story was pretty good, even in its rough draft it held something different, it had an originality about it.
So, I pulled the manuscript from the dusty cardboard folder once more and began, letter by letter, word by word, to type onto the computer, to re-write certain parts, to edit and eventually to complete the story.
All the time I was doing the re-write I was conscious of not changing the basic story, not to expand or cut too much. I wanted to keep the piece close to the original draft as was possible while making it readable.
Once I was as happy I gave the story a title for the first time. I called it Miriam’s Hex.
In November 2014, thirty-six years from when the original scribbled notes first formed an outline of a tale, I published Miriam’s Hex as an eBook.
Now, on the 30th of December 2017, I am finalising the formatting of this story once more, ready to re-publish Miriam's Hex, this time as an Electric Eclectic Novelette.
Miriam's Hex is a story I would like you to read, not only because I am certain you will enjoy
Impressum
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 31.01.2018
ISBN: 978-3-7438-5349-2
Alle Rechte vorbehalten
Widmung:
To all those who want, but are patient enough to wait.