During the early days of the site, long before I arrived, even pre-dating Tom Sheehan, the original five Editors had to fill many of the empty slots until a backlog was finally secured (currently it holds steady at about three months’ worth).
These had to be quality works not just anything. Thus for years our Diane M. Dickson had one of the highest contribution totals. But Diane is first a novelist, with close to having thirty published, including a successful current police procedural series of eight, and we hope soon will be nine.
Still, once in a while she will return with a reminder that she hasn’t forgotten how to write in the short form; today’s rerun of Diane’s fairly recent Snow is a prime example of that fact. It’s a stunning little gem that plays along with the readers’ perceptions. It “got me, which is always a pleasing thing for a frequent reader to discover.
I turn you over to Diane hoping she will share thoughts on her story.
***
Thank so much Leila. It’s always an honour and a great pleasure to have a story picked to rerun. I’ll be honest I had to read this one again to refresh my memory.
There are a few things that contributed to this story. One is the sad death of a youthful friend in the Yorkshire Dales. John fell and died and though it is a long time ago now, just every now and then these things cross your mind, don’t they?. Another thing is the bodies on Everest, ones long dead who it is impossible to recover. I think they found one just recently. Sometimes just the boots are there to remind people of the tragedy. These things are real and terrible but I am a fiction writer and so, there we are, we need a crime, a ne’er do well and that wrote itself into the narrative and why not let him escape – sometimes they do.
Thank you again for choosing this.
literally stories 
Diane
This piece is perfect like a good poem and it has the heft and weight of an entire novel or long story somehow, because of the world that’s created within this space and what happens in it.
As soon as I read the first few phrases I felt as a reader that I was in the hands of a true professional as well as a creative writer of special talents because of the vivid original details and the way they’re presented to the reader.
This tale contains meaningful ambiguity too, because of the complexity of the villain and because of the ironic nature of the plot twist. It really gets the reader thinking about many things, like sudden endings, who’s in charge, why there is seemingly no justice in the world, and that’s just for starters.
This is a great flash piece, a true model of the form! It shows how intensity can be created through restraint or how restraint creates intensity, or both, since they’re not quite the same thing! And the mysterious, all-knowing, but held-back authorial voice creates extra layers of intrigue.
Thanks for writing so well, hauntingly good and totally cool!
Dale
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wow. Thank you so much for that extremely generous comment. I am humbled. dd
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Lovely use of imagery and in sharp contrast to the sinister plot line. May Jake go to Hawaii, take a swim on a bright sunny day … and be eaten by a shark.
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yeah. Comeuppance. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be much around these days. Thank you dd
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Hello Diane
Not to tip the tale, but the slow reveal in this one is outstanding. It’s the sort of thing that both a writer and a reader want to experience. And thank you for you additional comments as well!
Leila
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Thank you yet again. It’s a kind of magic, isnt’ it (with credit to Freddy) when the writing works. It’s never as good, I don’t find when you have to fight for it as it is when it just falls out of your fingers, as this one did. dd
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What’s not to praise? – from first line to last. How the snowy surrounds chime with the cold of a human’s heart. Utterly superb.
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thank you very much. That is very kind. dd
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I’ve previously written that I’m a fan of the Literally Re-Runs because they feature stories that were featured before I became aware of LS. Now I have to add that I’m also a fan because they feature great stories that I’d read previously and completely forgotten (age-related). Enjoyed this one all over again! mick
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thank you so much. I’m glad it stood for another read. dd
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all through the reading I was thinking – yes, yes, that’s so realistic, that’s what it’s all going to come to – that’s where we’re headed and then that last line made me LOL. It was perfectly placed. thank you – dd
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Hi Diane,
I had another read at this and I stick by my initial comments. What I would add is the question of word count. I think we have discussed many a time that the story finds it’s own word count. However, this is one that stays with the reader and they will be adding so much more to this.
That shows a cracking writing brain, a confidence, respect for the readers and a skill that can’t be taught!
Excellent!!!
Hugh
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Thank you so much, again. You really are very kind. It is a short one, isn’t it but yes, I always find they come with their own length already set. Even the books and even the chapters in the books. Maybe it’s just me! x
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Wow
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