The official introduction of "Illusion of Normal"

This post is copied from the book's introduction. It puts you in the right headspace to understand what is about to come. I hope you have as much fun reading the short stories as I had writing them. They're not supposed to be serious, but rather an adventure to a point where we could understand why people act so very different than us. In our minds, we are normal, but so are they.

Copied from Page 7

This collection of short stories is intended to guide the

imagination; draw attention to how silly the stigma of

mental is in what we want to believe is a modern society.

Whatever we deem taboo could well be normal somewhere

else. Normal is a relative term and before we judge another’s

opinion, we should first take a journey in their shoes.

All the stories are fictional, but each is based on a lesson

we learn from exploring circumstances when something is

different from our reality. Each of our realities is unique, so

who are we to judge who is right and wrong? In the modern

western world normal is the behaviour of the majority.

What if the majority is wrong?

Reality is an interpretation our minds concoct from electronic

signals derived from our senses. Like the children’s

game Telephone where a message is whispered into the next

child’s ear and transferred around the circle until the last

child speaks out loud the message they received, transference

can be easily but unintentionally altered through contributing

factors. What we see, hear, feel or taste could be lies.

Accept the world might be different; open your mind

and enjoy 14 journeys of what might be.

Exciting Posts to follow

When you read through your copy of my book, you'll definitely find instances where you'll scratch your head, squint your eyes and wonder, wtf. Other times you'll might break down laughing. Each story is designed to make you think, whether it is right away or maybe the following week. When we question every reality and like Alice in Wonderland, wonder what if something was different.

The following posts will shed light on what my thinking process was behind each of the 14 stories, research that took my mind in that direction, back stories of where the stories went originally, who the characters were based on, and from time to time, an extended synopsis of how the story fits into a larger story or screenplay I have written.

As mentioned before, I love movies and writing short stories is my way of panning out an idea or situation. Other writers plan their books, scripts or stories ahead. They write what they call "tent poles" for a story. I learned it too in my studies, but like Stephen King, I don't like to. I like taking an idea and add meat to the bones, and like you, see where it goes. I don't compare myself to Mr King, but I love his books and enjoy reading a story that unfolds in a natural way. Planned unfolding of stories feel forced to me, and it feels as if stories sometimes are pushed into a certain direction.

What we write is unique and so is the way we think. Unfortunately, money keeps us alive but sometimes money forces writers to sacrifice their uniqueness so that their work can conform to a preset model that makes more money that what they'll see in their pockets.

This post is getting too long, so buy the book if you want, or wait for the following posts to convince you. I'd love to hear your feedback as well as personal relatable experiences. Share anything when something moves you. If it upsets you, that is sometimes good as well. As long as we start thinking of how other people experience life.