This week my fantasy short story “The Skeptic” was published at Absent Willow Review. You can read it here (and you should, before you continue reading this post, because you don’t want me to spoil it for you!)
Done?
Very well. Now here is the fun part. The Skeptic is based on a true story. Well, maybe not the twist (although you never know, right?) – but the actual setup did happen. There was indeed a guru so full of himself, he accepted the challenge of killing his detractor on national television. Hilarity ensued, as can be witnessed in this YouTube video:
There was also an excellent article describing this event here, at the British newspaper The Sunday Times.
So you see, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. All I had to do was write it all down.
Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction 