Here's a name you don't hear enough, but should: Dale Bailey.
I read the title story of Bailey's 2003 collection The Resurrection Man's Legacy and thought it was superb. For some reason (probably because I tend to read four or five books at once), I didn't finish the collection. That was a bonehead move on my part.
This morning I read the collection's second story, "Death and Suffrage," which won the 2003 International Horror Guild Award. As I go back and look over the story again, I'm staggered by how the story could have gone wrong in so many ways in lesser hands. The story chronicles the countdown to a Presidential election, narrated by Rob, a leading staff member for one of the candidates. Just when Rob thinks his emotional outburst on a national political TV show has blown his candidate's chances, something weird happens: the dead emerge from their graves and want nothing more than to vote.
Again, in lesser hands this would either have turned into political satire or an absolute fiasco. Bailey even says in the story notes that "Death and Suffrage" was originally intended to be short and light, but what he delivers is dark, effective and incredibly moving. Again, from his notes, Bailey states:
As I wrote, I came to see that it was really about Rob's emotional journey - his growing understanding of the value of human relationships and the way that understanding forces him to re-evaluate his views of the political process.
The story was adapted into Homecoming, part of Showtime's Masters of Horror series. From what I've read of it, Homecoming is a political satire, and not nearly as effective as Bailey's short story.
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As for my own writing, I added 800 words to my latest story this morning. Right now it's moving in the right direction. Let's hope I have enough gas in the tank.
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