Winter Fiction Trilogy in Chicago
”Betsy’s Boy,” “Allegheny Lane” and “Elegy for an Ice Breaker” debut in Chicago
This is the story of mine becoming the first fiction to be published in a Chicago magazine. I think it’s relevant because it shows the power of persistence and that man is, in Ayn Rand’s words, a being of volitional consciousness—he must choose to think—and that progress happens slowly, not faster than the speed of sound, with an effort to achieve clarity, commitment, consistency, connection and contemplation.
I wrote the short story “Elegy for an Ice Breaker” as a cautionary tale. Based on an experience I had as a child venturing onto the frozen Lake Michigan in my youth, I created a plot twist which I knew could be considered provocative or controversial. I nested its message and twist in layers of storytelling to make the reader think about a boy in trouble, which I think is an often untold story. In my experience, adults are rarely able, ready and wanting to learn, let alone know, about the boy in troubl…
