Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Crossing, a short story
    The Crossing, a short story
    The Crossing, a short story
    Ebook25 pages22 minutes

    The Crossing, a short story

    By Angus Brownfield

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Conrad and Margot, having driven the length of Mexico from the States with two small children, are crossing the border between Mexico and Guatemala at Christmas time. He has hunting weapons, and permits from all the interveneding countries to carry them into Costa Rica. An incident in Guatemala has caused all gun permits to be canceled, and something strange has happened to the colonel who signed the gun permit—he doesn’t exist any more. What would have been a lengthy process at that time of year, turns into a day-long ordeal.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAngus Brownfield
    Release dateAug 8, 2011
    ISBN9781466154179
    The Crossing, a short story
    Author

    Angus Brownfield

    Write what you know. I know me and I'm talking to you, reader, in the first person, not the anonymous third person, because when I write I write about me and the world that thrives around me. I wrote decent poetry in college, I couldn’t get the hang of short stories. I finished my first novel so many years ago writers were still sending their works to publishers instead of agents. My first novel was rejected by everyone I sent it to. The most useful rejection, by a Miss Kelly at Little, Brown, said something like this: “You write beautifully, but you don’t know how to tell a story.” Since then I've concentrated on learning to tell a good story. The writing isn’t quite so beautiful but it will do. Life intervened. Like the typical Berkeley graduate, I went through five careers and three marriages. Since the last I've been writing like there’s no tomorrow. I have turned out twelve novels, a smattering of short stories and a little poetry. My latest novel is the third in a series about a man who is not my alter ego, he’s pure fiction, but everyone he interacts with, including the women, are me. My title for this trilogy is The Libertine. Writers who have influenced me include Thomas Mann, Elmore Leonard, Albert Camus, Graham Greene, Kurt Vonnegut and Willa Cather. I don’t write like any of them, but I wish I did. I'm currently gearing up to pay attention to marketing. Archery isn’t complete if there’s no target. I've neglected readers because I've been compulsive about putting words down on paper. Today the balance shifts.

    Read more from Angus Brownfield

    Related to The Crossing, a short story

    Related ebooks

    General Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Crime Wave

      May 10, 2019

      Crime Wave
      13 min read

    • Article

      The Sticky Tar Pit of Time

      Sep 11, 2019

      The Sticky Tar Pit of Time
      6 min read

    • Article

      Table Talk

      Sep 1, 2017

      Table Talk
      8 min read

    • Article

      Joshua Mohr: The Time I Robbed a Liquor Store

      Mar 10, 2017

      Our alibi was a sandy blanket in the back of my truck, an acoustic guitar, a knockout brunette in the passenger seat. Our alibi was a night picnic at the beach. When we got pulled over—if we got pulled over—the cop would peer in the cab and he’d thin

      6 min read

    • Article

      Watch Your Step

      Nov 19, 2020

      Watch Your Step
      5 min read

    • Article

      Robert C. Koehler: Growing Old In The Newborn Universe

      Aug 25, 2021

      That link between age and wisdom — is it just a joke? Suddenly I’m curious in a real way. I just turned . . . 75. There’s a significance to that number that isn’t abstract, and I’m having a hard time ignoring it. Perhaps it has more to do with catara

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Old Guy

      Aug 23, 2023

      The old bike I’d just bought the daybefore, was now refusing to start.She’d broken my wallet without a blink,and now she was breaking my heart. I rang a mate to get some help, and tosee if he knew a mechanic.He said that he knew just the right guy,an

      2 min read

    • Article

      “Apparently Life Goes On …”

      Jan 25, 2023

      “Apparently Life Goes On …”
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Smoke of the Land Went Up

      Mar 4, 2024

      The Smoke of the Land Went Up
      11 min read

    • Article

      “Apparently Life Goes On ...”

      Jan 29, 2023

      “Apparently Life Goes On ...”
      7 min read

    • Article

      Exodus

      Sep 15, 2018

      My exodus occurred after years wandering the wilderness of my hometown. For bread to live, for bread to leave, I worked a part-time gig at the Oregonian’s downtown insert facility, stacking pallet after pallet of inky-ass newspapers. The day in quest

      15 min read

    • Article

      Aughts

      Sep 11, 2017

      Aughts
      23 min read

    • Article

      Commentary: Los Angeles Feels Unsafe

      Aug 26, 2018

      I noticed a change in my neighborhood about a year and a half ago. It began to feel more dangerous, even during the day. Scavengers regularly dig through my trash and dump what they can't use. The remains bake in the sun. Sometimes the scavengers pas

      3 min read

    • Article

      When The Universe Gives You A Pinch

      Jul 29, 2022

      I was recently the passenger in a minibus, shaking and swaying as it sped along a badly corrugated dirt road between Nothing and Nowhere. Our little group had been up since way before dawn and we’d flown far to be here, first cooped up in a plane and

      1 min read

    • Article

      Water Under The Bridge

      Nov 10, 2022

      The sound of water coursing over rocks filled my ears. The creek banks reached out with lush green vegetation as if to grab and hold me, and the warm June air was sweet with the smell of honeysuckle. The creek was small. Four good jumps and I could g

      26 min read

    • Article

      Breakdown In The Right Lane

      Apr 1, 2023

      Breakdown In The Right Lane
      16 min read

    • Article

      Robert C. Koehler: Reclaiming A Lost Sense Of Community

      Nov 25, 2021

      The first time it happened was bad enough. “It” amounted to this: It was Wednesday afternoon, I had finished my column early and walked out to my car, parked in the alley behind my house. I was on my way to an art show — very excited. I got in the ca

      3 min read

    • Article

      One Coyote

      Sep 29, 2020

      One Coyote
      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Crossing, a short story

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Crossing, a short story - Angus Brownfield

      The Crossing

      a short story

      by Angus Brownfield

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      ***

      Published By

      Angus Brownfield on Smashwords

      Copyright © 2011 by Angus Brownfield

      All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this eBook.

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of any products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please download an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this eBook and did not download it, or it was not downloaded for your use only, then you should return to the eBook retailer from whom it was acquired and download your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

      The Crossing

      A pile of broken concrete; an iguana sunning atop; a péon in white pajamas, rope sandals and straw hat stalking the iguana, crouching, single shot twenty-two at the ready. I’m unloading from the side compartment of the camper what we need for the evening. The iguana, sun-logy

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1