Life after Death: The Afterlife of Hezekiah Chamblee

Author's Note

Media: "Thank You" by Dido

Okay, folks. If you don't know this fact by now, it should be noted that this story actually was an original novella for the Open Novella Contest. I was coming off a failure from last year's competition, so I wanted to be a bit more spontaneous with this project of mine. Much to my surprise, the prompt that I chose kind of gave me the idea of what it might be like if someone who had died was sent to another afterlife outside of heaven or hell and was sent to a simulation of Earth where people who were rejected or shunned for who they are could find a safe haven. Now, regarding Hezekiah's backstory, I wanted to add in some drama regarding how his status-minded family wanted to do away with him because he was the son of his mother's rapist despite him being a good kid with no behavior problems. I also thought about how people might've been affected after Hezekiah's murder and how the one person who really cared for him (Cameron) believed that there was more to the story.

And from there, a novel was born.

I will admit that I had no idea on how this was going to plan out when I wrote the novella version (thankfully, I made it to the shortlist); but I knew that the story could be better. So I decided to add in some more details (entries from Hezekiah's journal, his friendship with Chance and how everyone wanted to keep them apart, the developing murder investigation, getting Andrew's parents involved, and the addition of Valentin Noguiera) to give this storyline some more flavor. I might have overdone it, but it's a labor of love- one that I have no regrets of writing.

The main thing that I want you readers to take from this book of mine is to learn how to live in the moment with no regrets and to be proud of who you are. It's easy to compare yourselves to others, wishing that you could live in the fast lane even if it's just for a day when the life you're living isn't more-fulfilling as you hoped. But if there's one thing I can take from Eminem's "Beautiful," it's that God gave each of us the shoes to wear throughout life. So wear them with pride and be unapologetic for who you are despite the pressures to conform. And even though it's a bit repetitive, never let anyone tell you that you're not beautiful or talented enough. Because you do have something to bring to the table. And that's the theme that inspired me to write Hezekiah's story- the novella version and the novel version.

To say that writing "Life after Death" has been a pleasure is clearly an understatement. It's been an experience that I want you all to enjoy reading as much as I did writing it. I hope you all take these words to heart, my friends. Because the world could end at any moment outside our window.

Well, nothing left to say but "Thanks for reading!" So, thanks for reading! It's been a lot of fun! Until next time, my fine friends, show this writer some love and remember to...

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