“Honey,” said Johnny’s wife of twenty years, after she finished prove reading his latest short story, The Tale of Sarah Marie Bass. “In your opening line the protagonist Leo comes across as a man prone to stress, apprehension and self doubt. The Leo in the story however, lacks scruples and feds his oversize ego with a double dose of bravadoism and - Leo massaged the back of his neck, thankful the meeting was finally over – doesn’t cut it. Remember Leo’s a womanizer, ego manic, self-indulgent writer for a rural newspaper and his articles had become boring and stale.” Johnny thanked his wife and went back to his desk and began to revise the story: The name is Leo Zuckerman and I write for the Red Clay Country daily newspaper.
