All posts by Eric Robert Nolan

Eric Robert Nolan graduated from Mary Washington College in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. He spent several years a news reporter and editorial writer for the Culpeper Star Exponent in Culpeper, Virginia. His work has also appeared on the front pages of numerous newspapers in Virginia, including The Free Lance – Star and The Daily Progress. Eric entered the field of philanthropy in 1996, as a grant writer for nonprofit healthcare organizations. Eric’s poetry has been featured by Dead Beats Literary Blog, Dagda Publishing, The International War Veterans’ Poetry Archive, and elsewhere. His poetry will also be published by Illumen Magazine in its Spring 2014 issue.

A Story in 100 Words features my flash-fiction ghost story!

Ghostly suitors!

I’m happy to see another one of my 100-word horror tales appear over at A Story in 100 Words.  Its title is “I bring her diamonds.  My hands are full of them.”

You can find it at this link.

 

 

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“Knight, Death and the Devil,” Albrecht Dürer, 1513

Copper engraving.

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“Haiku or senryu?”

Haiku or senryu?
I don’t care — why should you?
I fall back on it all the time;
the easy %$#*er needn’t rhyme.

 

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MORE fun with scammers on Twitter:

Lydia Parry: “Hello [Waving hand] How are you doing”

Me: “Hello? Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone at home?”

Lydia Parry: “Hey”

Me: “Come on, now. I hear you’re feeling down. Well, I can ease your pain — get you on your feet again.”

Lydia Parry: “How are you doing and how was your day been”

Me: “Relax. I’ll need some information first.”

Lydia Parry: “What”

Me: “Just the basic facts. Can you show me where it hurts?”

Lydia Parry: “Where do you come from”

Me: “There is no pain, you are receding — a distant ship’s smoke on the horizon. You are only coming through in waves. Your lips move, but I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

Lydia Parry: “I come from California state Flag of United States and you”

Me: “When I was a child I had a fever. My hands felt just like two balloons.”

Lydia Parry: “[smiley face] Sound bad to hear from you”

Me: “Now I’ve got that feeling once again. I can’t explain … you would not understand …This is not how I am.”

Lydia Parry: “Sorry I’m just honest to any person that I’ve met
I will understand you”

Me: “I have become comfortably numb.”

Lydia Parry: “Ok”

 

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Rockfish Gap, Virginia, February 2020

On a clear day, this view from the Blue Ridge Mountains is mesmerizing.  Rockfish Gap is on the border between Virginia’s Augusta and Nelson Counties, between Charlottesville and Waynesboro.

That third picture you see is the hill rising behind the viewing area off Interstate 64.  I included it because those trees look pleasingly creepy — like something out of the Haunted Forest in Disney’s “Snow White” (1937).

 

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Cover to Stephen King’s “The Stand,” Don Brautigam, 1980

Paperback edition.  Signet.

I’ve always loved the artwork here, even if it adorned the lesser iteration of King’s opus.  (The author’s original, “uncut” edit of the book would hit the shelves a full decade later.)  Many other people love this artwork too — you can even purchase it as a print.

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Cover to “House of Mystery” #197, Neal Adams, 1971

DC Comics.

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A view from a DC cafe.

I don’t think I’d give up Roanoke for Washington, DC; I’m definitely more of a country boy than a city boy these days.

But DC sure is nice.

 

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Concept art for Crew Exploration Vehicle, NASA.

Constellation Program, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).  Art design by John Frassanito & Associates.

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