 |
This is the web site of author Steven Saylor. Click here to visit the Home Page. |
 |
Way back in 1970, 14-year-old Steven submitted a story to a contest held by Accent on Youth, a national magazine published by the United Methodist Church. (Steven attended Methodist Sunday school in Goldthwaite, Texas). Lo and behold, the story was one of a handful of winners accepted for publication in a special issue. Far more important to Steven than the $25 check he received was the thrill of seeing his writing in print for the very first time. (But the check also mattered; that was the first time Steven was paid for his work as a writer.) Steven says: “Re-reading this story for the first time in many, many years, I can certainly see it as a portent of things to come. Even though I was reading mostly fantasy (Tolkien) and science fiction (Heinlein) at that age, I chose to write historical fiction. The theme is pacifist and the tone is subversive (reflecting the turmoil of the Viet Nam War). The incident can be interpreted as either a supernatural experience or a psychological manifestation; that ‘was it real or in his head?’ device is something I’ve admired in other writers and have continued to use myself. In fact, in THE TRIUMPH OF CAESAR Gordianus receives a visitation from a dead man in a manner uncannily reminiscent of this story. From small acorns....” Here, for the first time in almost forty years and exactly as it originally appeared, “Season of Guilt” is available to read again. (Click here to return to the home page.) |
