FROM STAGE DOOR SHADOWS

So excited. I've been waiting for FROM STAGE DOOR SHADOWS to come out for about a year, because inside is a story of mine I could never in a million years have imagined I could write. Not only is it my first ever speculative piece of fiction, but it's also the first I ever wrote to a strict prompt: a line from a song lyric, "L.A. Lady".

I'm so thrilled for it to go out into the world. And guess what? You can read it for free for 48 hours, starting from HERE AND NOW.

From Stage Door Shadows is based on Bernie Taupin’s lyrical tribute to California in the 1970s, “Tiny Dancer” (the original title for the anthology). The song appears on Elton John’s fourth studio album, Madman Across the Water and although not a hit at the time of release, went platinum in August last year.

Blurb:
Twenty-six authors trade Tiny Dancer’s California blessed lyrics for the hadowed recesses of stages large and small in From Stage Door Shadows, a speculative fiction homage to the darkness just beyond the limelight of the entertainment industry.

The stories re-introduce the women BernieTaupin wrote about and Elton John sang about: blue jean baby, LA lady, the band’s seamstress, the music man’s wife and the girl dancing in the sand, along with a stellar cast of musicians, singers, thespians, fans, managers, dancers, DJs, magicians, talent show contestants, stars and has-beens.

From vaudeville to opera, piano bar and street corner, hotel suite and beauty pageant, From Stage Door Shadows is a backstage pass to where dreams of fame, fortune and fulfillment live and die in a heartbeat.

The stories all go live on the LMT site, in the order below. Recognize some names? They start 9 a.m. Saturday (Aussie Eastern Time) then roll out per the schedule. Each story will be up for 48 hours and then each story will come down one story and hour until we reach the final one. You know what's really cool about this? They all go live in the order of the lyrics of the song:

09:00 INDIGO Blue jean baby – Jodi Cleghorn
10:00 MUTED L.A. lady – Jessica Bell
11:00 COLOUR OF BLOOD Seamstress for the band – Cath Barton
12:00 TINY DANCER Pretty eyed, pirate smile – Emma Kerry
13:00 THE MUSIC MAN You'll marry a music man – Lisamarie Lamb
14:00 LUMINAIRE Ballerina, you must have seen her - Joanne Anderton
15:00 DANCING IN THE SAND Dancing in the sand – Rebecca L. Dobbie
16:00/17:00 CANDENTIA MUSIC BOX And now she's in me, always with me - Clive Martyn & Laura Eno
18:00 A LIVING DOLL Tiny dancer in my hand - Monica Marier
19:00 FEAR IS THE SIN Jesus freaks out in the street - Alan Baxter
20:00 TIME SIGNATURE Handing tickets out for God - Melanie Saward
21:00 THE GODS ARE JUST Turning back she just laughs - Janette Dalgliesh
22:00 TORCH SONG Piano man he makes his stand - Andrew McKiernan
23:00 OPEN AUDITION In the auditorium - Devin Watson
00:00 MY MOMENT Looking on she sings the songs - Theresa Milstein
01:00 HOUSE OF THE CANTOMANCER The words she knows - Jennifer Muirhead
02:00 DISCOVERING THE GIFT The tune she hums - Len Lambert
03:00 RITE OF SPRING But oh how it feels so real - Graham Storrs
04:00 WHITE POPPY SERENADE Lying here with no one near - S.G. Larner
05:00 SING FOR ME Only you and you can hear me - Laura Meyer
06:00 THE TWILIGHT DREAM When I say softly slowly - Tom Dullemond
07:00 VELVET Hold me closer tiny dancer - Josh Donellan
08:00 THE LAST OF THE UNDEAD BEATS Count the headlights on the highway – Daniel Wynne
09:00 THE PERFECT EVENING Lay me down in sheets of linen - Sam Adamson
10:00 LAST ILLUSION You had a busy day today – Rus VanWestervelt

Looks like a good time to have a read-a-thon! :)