So Why Did I Release A Story About Steve Irwin?

Some people might come across the links (below)

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/616999 or http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/36860/she-ll-be-right

in the course of their ebook browsing.

They might wonder, what made me write this story?

I’ve always been a massive fan of Steve Irwin’s, from the very first time I saw him on TV.

The guy had a love for life, a love for what he was doing and a love for his friends and family. Steve Irwin was a genuinely nice man. And that’s a rarity in this day and age.

I don’t want people thinking I wrote this to cash in on his memory. Far from it, in fact. The ebook is free, the cover was a creative commons image so also free. I’m not making ANYTHING from that story.

I wrote the story as part of my “Year Of Living Bradbury“, and I missed Steve terribly. It didn’t help that I lost my oldest sister to cancer that year too, so it made me think of people I cared about.

I may never have met Steve, but I liked him. I cared about him. He was passionate, and that kind of passion is infectious. He made me care about what I was doing.

He made me see that even though the path wasn’t easy and people weren’t beating my door down to buy my fiction, I had to keep on trying, to keep on going until I did make it. And I have made it.

If anyone who knew Steve (or Terri or Bindi) do happen to read this, let them know, I wrote that story because I wanted to express how Steve inspired me. I wanted to capture his essence, feel his presence once again, even if it was something I was dreaming up.

I wrote Steve how I perceived Steve. He might not have sworn as much (probably me typecasting the Aussies there, sorry) but I do feel that his passion for what he was doing wouldn’t have changed what happened.

We can only dream about what might have been. In my case, I chose to write about it.

This story is my thanks to Steve for what he gave us. His unabated passion.

We miss you Steve Irwin.

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An early valentine poem.

An early valentine poem.

As blood pumps thru my aorta,
Do I love ya? Kinda, sorta 😉

Failed Attempt #1 (A Flash Fiction Story By Ray Daley)

In the vast nothingness, in the moments before everything was created, God said “Let there be light!”

Then there was a pause. And it wasn’t for dramatic effect on God’s part either.

“What?” asked Bruce, God’s sidekick.

(Yes, God had a sidekick. How do you think he stopped himself from going completely batshit crazy in complete nothingness? And yes, his name was Bruce. You know, God did that whole “Let there be Bruce!” bit. And there was. A Bruce, sprung into creation I mean.)

God looked at Bruce. “You’ve forgotten the fucking batteries, haven’t you Bruce?”

Bruce looked at his feet. They were pretty amazing feet. After all, God had created them. But he wasn’t looking at them for their amazingness, he was trying to avoid God’s accusing stare.

“Own up Bruce. You’ve gone and forgotten the fucking batteries, right?” God said.

Bruce just nodded. He was only human. He wasn’t infallible, like his creator. “Could you not…”

“If the next words out of your mouth are ‘create some?’, by me, I’ll smite you good and proper, right where you’re standing. Those batteries took me bloody eons to get right. Can you remember where you saw them last?” God asked.

Bruce racked his brain. Then he remembered. “I know! I left them in the car!”

God tried not to roll his eyes at his creation. He knew he was supposed to be forgiving but frankly Bruce was taking the piss in spades right now. “Okay. They’re in the car then. Now, can you remember where you parked it?”

Bruce racked his brain again. “I remember it was dark there?”

God stared at Bruce again. “It’s dark fucking everywhere, Bruce! That’s why I created the fucking batteries!”

“We could try looking for the car? You cover that half, I’ll cover this half? Meet back here tomorrow?” Bruce suggested.

God shook his head, knowing exactly how vast the nothingness was,  then he had a thought. “I don’t suppose you left the headlights on did you Bruce?”

Bruce looked sheepish. Which was pretty amazing considering sheep hadn’t been created yet. It’s probably where God got the idea from. “Sorry, no. Was I supposed to?”

God tried not to grind his teeth. “Never mind. You start looking that way. If you aren’t back here by this time tomorrow I’ll create another Bruce to help me. ‘Memo to self. Make the little twat infallible this time’.”

It was a good job it was so dark in the complete nothingness. So God didn’t see the look of complete rage on Bruce’s face. “Back here same time tomorrow then. I’ll be back.”

And with that, God strode off into the complete nothingness. “It’s here somewhere. I’m all-knowing. How can I not remember where the damn car is?”

THE END.