Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.
— Abraham Lincoln
What if the powerful man in the world can get his just dessert?
I wanted A Crack In A Wall to be my first short story to be released for my short story project. That was determined well before I started this whole thing. I did that for numerous reasons.
One, I wanted to showcase exactly what I think of my President. I didn’t use his name but it becomes pretty obvious after reading it. I mean…I wasn’t discreet about it. Not one bit.
Now, let’s get something straight. It’s not an attack; I don’t hate the man. I don’t even care about the man. I can’t care about a man who can’t even do the most important job in the country nor take him seriously. Honestly, I don’t even consider a man because a real man can take ownership of one’s action. (Thank you, Dad!) But, I do find his line of thinking and action to be quite interesting AND a blast to write about. However, it gave me a reason to dive into a new realm of villains: the narcissist. That leads me to my second reason.
Part of the writing process is to do the research and I spent the most time ever researching narcissistic personality disorder so I can do the character justice. For the record, I did not realize how much data there was to cover for such a topic. I mean, there is A LOT to process for this disorder, and, let me tell you, it’s quite a doozy. I think I clocked a combined total of 50 hours – maybe more. I’m not going to talk too much about it. Just know that if you ever run into a narcissist, you should tuck your tail and run. It’s for your own good. Also, IT WAS SO MUCH FUCKING FUN!!!!
Now, writing the actual story was a blast and I had so much fun deploying the unreliable-narrator narrative. It was the first time doing such a thing and, oddly enough, it was a lot easier than I thought. To create a narrator that you can’t take at full value was something that I found enticing, to say the least. And, yes, everything was deliberate due to the core aspect of a narcissist.
Narcissistic personality disorder has a laundry list of books available to read up on. But, in a nutshell, A narcissist has an excessive need for admiration, disregard for others’ feelings, an inability to handle any criticism, and a sense of entitlement. Sounds familiar? So, I read all of that and got four words rattled in my head. They. Don’t. Hear. You. Well, let me add six more words to that. They, Don’t. Want. To. Hear. You. So, I didn’t want to have a full-fledged conversation in the story because a narcissist isn’t going to try to listen to you. They are too wrapped up in their own world and delusion which made perfect sense to me to write it one-sided and unreliable.
This story is probably going to get me in a lot of problems but it needs to be told. Besides, contrary to his delusions of grandeur, the First Amendment is my best friend when it comes down to the arts. Plus, I don’t aim to hurt people’s feelings. I just want them to think and feel about a question I’m asking or a thought that I’m running through their mind. So, I implore you to look at this story with an open mind and be ready to ponder what you read.
I hope you enjoy A Crack In A Wall. Trust me when I say this: the stories are going to get a lot darker as we progress. Don’t worry, I have to light ones, too.
You can buy the book on Amazon. The link is here.
You can also learn about it on Goodreads. The link for it is here.
