I write many different things, but perhaps they’re not as different as they appear. I’m fascinated by alternative possibilities, by those moments when the perfectly ordinary takes one small step sideways.
Rod Serling and Richard Matheson were early masters of that for me. The Twilight Zone could begin somewhere utterly familiar and then quietly suggest that the rules might not be quite what we thought they were. That kind of storytelling has stayed with me, even as my own writing has wandered among very different genres and forms.
"5:22" gave me a chance to play in that particular sandbox. And, appropriately enough, its inspiration came from something remarkably mundane: trouble sleeping.
Beyond that, dear reader, you’re on your own...
Interesting! Thanks, Arnold! Be sure to check out "5:22" and the rest of the November 2026 stories on November 30!
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