I went to Urban ReThink, (625 E Central Blvd, Orlando), on October 9th, for readings by local authors.This edition of There Will Be Words featured eight writers reading horror stories or ghost stories that are 500 words or less. The event is held on the second Thursday of every month starting at 7PM. Jesse Bradley was the moderator so I sketched him since he stepped up to the mic between readings. 500 words fly by mighty fast when you are sketching. Authors included, Karen Best,
Teege Braune,
Arnie Ellis,
Brendan Earl,
Whitney Hamrick,
Sam Lamura,
Rafael Lancelotta, and
Michael Pierre. John Hurst, a former Disney Feature Animation colleague, entered the event wearing a knitted beard and mustache. Walked up to a redheaded man with a beard and cap. They looked like twins. Everyone laughed as they posed for pictures together.
A small iPhone was on a tripod recording the authors. Some stories were funny while others were downright gory. One author imagined what it was like to be eaten alive. In this agonizing moment, he hoped they wouldn’t ruin his looks making it hard for him to pick up zombie chicks. One of the more horrifically truthful stories was written a half hour before the event. The author went back into his family history to talk about an uncle who was murdered by a male lover. There was little consequence for the crime. Handmade, limited edition chapbooks featuring prose from each
night’s readings are sold on site for $5 to support the event and its
authors. Burrow Press will soon be selling 5 box sets of the There Will Be
Words’ first year of chapbooks, all copies signed by the authors, as a
fundraiser for future book projects. After the event, John invited me out with his red headed buddy for some Mexican food. My sketch was done, and I felt I should get home, so I thanked him for inviting me, and then slipped away into the night.