As SS5: Muse nears completion I'm again pretty forceably reminded that it's been awhile since that story last saw the light, and about how times have changed between when I first thought of the story, the people I first told it to, and the past few days I've spent on its updating and primping for the public.

More like the others in this series, it's less scary but more poignant. Don't forget, the initial idea was to tell stories to young people who were already scared, of the dark, of being alone in an alien environment among strangers. They didn't need the monsters to make their nights more miserable than they already were, they needed something to take them beyond all of that, so that they could pass through their fear and emerge on the other side of it, relatively intact, and not the worse for wear.

Muse is just such a story. It goes pretty far down that path, and I'm the first one to admit it was pretty far out there, for a kid's story. However, I do remember the thunder and lightning and rainstorms that happened on those winter evenings, when the sky turned green and the smell of ozone from the lighting indicated a clear and very present danger to all of us. 

Under circumstances such as those, a lighter touch was definitely called for, and I'm pretty proud to have come up with a story such as this, told on the fly, in times like that.

Re-writing was a particular problem because the original ending was a lot more drama, with much yelling and gnashing of teeth. I can remember telling myself that I'd have to tone it down in future tellings, but at that time the only kids who remained awake to hear the original ending were die-hard horror story fans, who relished the melodrama. 

Not so much, these days, so the ending has been re-fashioned the better to address our more modern climes.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.