I write fiction, and most of my stories are about failed (or failing) relationships, romantic or otherwise. However, today I wrote a story based on a photography prompt (http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~creativewriting/Prompts.php), in which we had to find black and white photographs of “humans in uncertain conditions.” A Google Images search turned up a shot of zombies (not surprisingly), as well as a picture of two men playing chess, one of the players half immersed in a swimming pool. Curiosity piqued (and with the season premiere of The Walking Dead fresh in my mind), I imagined what it would be like to be a victim of a zombie attack, waiting for the transformation from human to monster. I’m writing stories set in Florida, and the character who’s been infected recalls an eccentric friend of her father, a gentleman who loves his pool so much that he never leaves, realizing that this former neighbor may have in fact been the creature who bit her. Or something like that. I enjoyed writing the story; it was fun to step out of my comfort zone.

There have been two cases of dengue fever reported in our county (lovely). It’s widespread in the Caribbean and has shown up in Key West. If I revisit and revise this piece, the thought of “bonefever” and zombies somehow being connected intrigues me. Zombies–Palm Beach style.