Author Malfi crafts stories of horror and mystery
The Maryland Writers’ Association this year is celebrating its 30th anniversary with the Writers’ Round Table Program to encourage writers, poets, playwrights and authors through monthly articles and activities.
The Notable Mar yland Author articles and associated Fun With Words writers’ prompts are the centerpiece of the 30th anniversary program. Each month, the Maryland Independent and other newspapers in the state will feature a Maryland Writers’ Association article about an author. Marylanders are encouraged to read the articles and try their hand at the writing prompts each month.
Author: Ronald Malfi
“The Sun Also Rises is probably the greatest American novel ever written.” — Ronald Malfi
A partial reading list includes “Floating Staircase,” “The Narrows,” “December Park,” “Little Girls” and “The Night Parade.”
Genre: horror — This type of fiction is intended to, or has the capacity to, frighten, scare, disgust or startle its readers or viewers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror is frequently supernatural, though it can be non-supernatural. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for the larger fears of a society.
An award-winning author of many novels and novellas in the horror, mystery and thriller categories from various publishers, in 2009 Ronald Malfi’s crime drama, “Shamrock Alley,” won a Silver IPPY Award. In 2011, his ghost story/ mystery novel, “Floating Staircase,” was a finalist for the Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Award for best novel, received a Gold IPPY Award for best horror novel, and the Vincent Preis International Horror Award. His novel “Cradle Lake” garnered him the Benjamin Franklin Independent Book Award (silver) in 2014, while “December Park,” his epic coming-of-age thriller, won the Beverly Hills International Book Award for suspense in 2015.
Most recognized for his haunting, literary style and memorable characters, Malfi’s dark fiction has gained acceptance among readers of all genres. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1977, and eventually relocated to the Chesapeake Bay area, where he currently resides with his wife and two daughters. Learn more about Ronald Malfi at www. ronmalfi.com.
Fun with words
Maryland Writers’ Association invites residents to have fun with words.
In 100 words, weave together the main character (a barista), a second character (you pick), an abandoned movie set, a broken shovel, a flood, and the color orange. To see a sample of how this might look, go to www.mwawritersroundtable.org/fun-with-words.
Readers who respond to the prompt are encouraged to paste their result at the website www.mwawritersroundtable.org/submitfun-with-words by the 20th of the month and receive an MWA Writers’ Round Table Submission Certificate.
Selected prompts will be published next month.
Last month’s reader selection
In September, readers were asked to pick a motivational topic and weave together the topic with its benefit and a practical step to take or pick a pretend historical person and weave together their name and accomplishment and its effect on their time in history.
Here are two local selections:
The Inquisition, Spanish or otherwise, endeavored to create unity. But it really forced uniformity rather than creating unity. It forced uniformity in areas where it probably should not exist. The forced uniformity became the test for authentic Catholic unity.
For example, the Spanish Inquisition sought to eradicate obedience to Torah among Jewish converts. The most common Torah observance the Inquisition condemned: not eating pork. When conversos did not eat pork people perceived them as being either insincere converts or still faithful Jews. Forcing uniformity in such practices does not foster genuine Christian unity. It created lots of fear and suspicion. Rachel Brewster of Pomfret
On July 19, 1814, a slave named Achilles Maddison guarded the Huffman plantation.
Fearing the British, his master had fled. Achilles now stood against British Captain Christian Rusy and fourteen soldiers. Achilles was unarmed.
Rusy asked him, “If all men are God’s children, how can one own another?”
Achilles smiled. “What you need, sir?”
“A guide. To the Prince Frederick courthouse.” “I know the way.” To the shock of his men, Rusy loaned Achilles his sword. The soldiers prepared torches. A torch in his fist, the sword in his other, Achilles raged. First, against the plantation house. Then, Prince Frederick. Lawrence McGuire of Waldorf