My far future science fiction flash piece, “Grief, Processed,” is slated to appear in the e-zine NewMyths.com in September. I’m delighted — I’ve had a bit of a dry spell and I’m glad that the turmoil of 2015 won’t end up having the effect of making 2016 a year entirely without publications.
As most of my stories do, this one started as an exercise inspired by a poem narrated in first person, direct address to an inanimate object. The first version was in fact far more poem-like with just a small turning point to hint at plot. I added another character to balance the piece, and the result became more story-like.
It’s one of my more philosophical stories, examining the role grief plays in the human condition.
I’ll post again when it’s available online.
J.J. Roth 
September 2nd, 2016 at 7:07 am
[…] If you’re interested in how the story came to be, I said a bit about that in a previous post. […]