Waves of Light and Darkness challenges and
delights a reader’s perception with surreal and surprising world-building.
Waves of Light and
Darkness
by John K Danenbarger
Genre: Speculative Short Stories
Waves of Light and Darkness challenges and
delights a reader’s perception with surreal and surprising world-building.
Whether they are set in the past or the future, in a Kansas
farmhouse or a potentially supernatural cave, these short stories share one
commonality: a search for something beyond what one knows is needed. Through a
multitude of unexpected perspectives (a cat, a coma patient, a ventriloquist),
this utterly novel collection of stories examines and reconfigures universal
themes of life, death, and human connection.
Several stories focus on finding identity amidst societal
pressure, such as “Seduction,” and “Alexandria Her Smile,” while others
like “A Pusillanimous Human” and “The Gift for Albert
Smoots” explore mortality and grief.
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An excerpt of “Death of Angst” from WAVES OF LIGHT AND
DARKNESS: STORIES
“When my eyes have the ember slits of a viper, some humans
think I must be plotting death and murder. Although it happens, out of
necessity, most of the time I am merely researching, scrutinizing, and
processing feline perfection, because I was found as an orphan under a box. I
know now that I must have been in severe pain from having survived an attack by
a thug, a ruffian tomcat that wanted to breed with my mother. I remember the
sharp claws digging into my fur, the putrid breath hot on my neck. So, no wonder
I am skittish; it just does not leave you. The trauma, I mean. My brothers and
sisters, dead and gone. More to the point, leaving me with no one to learn
from . . . to emulate.
I was certainly lucky to be found by Adele Petrini outside the building where I now live on the third floor. I think Adele was around five years old back then. Human years, I’m talking about. Just a tiny, muddy thing, with messy braids and curious eyes. She wanted to name me Anxiety, but it got shortened to Angst. I don’t mind; I am certainly happy with the name. I find it important that it’s easy for humans to call my name when it’s time to eat.”
John Danenbarger spends much of his time writing in Italy.
Born in Atlanta, he graduated from University of Kansas with a degree in
English and Creative Writing. With a backlist of short stories, Danenbarger
established the Salem Massachusetts Writers’ Club. After living in Oslo,
Norway, Stockholm, Sweden, and Salem, MA, Danenbarger achieved a merchant
marine captain’s license, sailing for two years on the New England coast
including two round-trips to Bermuda.
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