An Inspiring Image:”Dull Blade” and The Doors

When I fist took this photograph on a cold February day in Portland, I had no idea what it was going to do for me.

When I started selling on Etsy five years ago, I made prints of it and put them in repurposed frames and sold them. Not only did I sell several on Etsy, but I also sold several at local flea markets.

I no longer maintain my shop on Etsy, but these doors are still working for me. In November, my writing group assigned it a prompt where we had to choose an image of a door and tell a story of what was behind it.

For that exercise, I wrote a short story called “Dull Blade.” That turned out to be the second story I had accepted for publication, and the first one to be published that was full length, not flash. I hope you head over http://fantasycrossing.com/ and read it.

Here is a brief excerpt:

José couldn’t make his hands stop shaking. That was a problem. He couldn’t shoot straight when his hands were shaky, and if he missed, the demon on the other side of the door would probably rip his guts out...click for more!

If you ever find yourself lost for words, pull out one of your favorite photos and tell the story behind it.

-Sara