Markus McDowell

The Sky Over Chaos Markus McDowell

Chaos rattles our arrogance, shakes loose the dust, breaks rigor mortis. In chaos, you find out who you are--what matters, what you fear, what you love...

Here is a collection of nine short stories about chaos in multiple genres: historical, speculative, stream-of-consciousness, poetic, literary, and more. Morty loves his job. Really loves it. Perhaps not so strange, except that he is an embalmer at a funeral home. What happens when someone loves their job so much they don't want to do anything else? Becky's husband is away on business, in the cold of a snowy winter, when her youngest of four girls develops diphtheria. In the late 1800s, what can a young mother do? What if everyone had a hat but you? And it really mattered? Poor Charlie. He really needs order in his life. He prides himself on schedule, structure, and sameness. So did his grandmother...and they found her dead in a house crawling with thousands of insects she had collected.

Included stories: "Three Days," "Turn and Face the Change," 'Three Hours and Thirteen Minutes," "Ringing," "Hats," "Preparation," "Ten More Days," "Behind the Bar," "What Does the River Say?"