Ary Shevaun
Quinn Mackenzie in:
Lifers
I close my eyes once more, and once more, the colorful figure approaches. I watch him for a long while. His features twisting in on themselves as he beckons me forward. But between him and the black, other scenes are taking shape. Memories from my youth. Things I forced myself to forget. Words my mother hurled at me, followed by fists. Lonely recesses on the schoolyard. Dark corners of libraries where I hid before I was old enough to work and save, and eventually, run away.
If this is what they mean when they say your life flashes before your eyes, I wonder why anyone would bother looking?
Unamed Woman in:
Time Between the Gates
Nineteen small chairs line the edge of the grass—one for each child who died that day. She approaches a chair in the middle, places her hand on the seat, then kneels before it while looking over the name inscribed on its back. She doesn’t recognize it. She wouldn’t. She didn’t know the children, just that she could have. She had played inside the daycare center before. Her mom often left her there when she had appointments in one of the nearby offices. They had walked in and out of that building dozens of times. It was boxy. Unremarkable. Beige and boring in her memory. It was just the place she had to go to when her mom ran errands in the city.
Quinn Mackenzie in:
Lifers
Photography creates permanence; that’s what drew me to it.
Finding fixation in an unfixed world. Sameness within time’s constant alteration. Life—eternal between the corners of a frame … perhaps I should’ve taken more self-portraits.
Qoutes from Ary's work:
Readings
Literary Taxidermy Reading: Everything After
2018 SVR Reading: Ties
Editing Services
Professional book and query editing that takes a line-by-line approach that emulate how the average reader might interact with your story. Specializing in reality-based genres and themes, I focus on realistic dialogue, characterization, and relationships. I leave hundreds of comments and suggestions, and provide honest, blunt feedback-- as well as numerous solutions to any issue that comes up in your work. I encourage when necessary, and look forward to discussions when opinions differ. Overall, I work with you to bring your vision to life, even when you're not quite sure what that vision is.
Developmental Editing
Explore a story's plot, theme, characterization and dialogue to ensure every loose end is tied and every question is eventually answered.
Proofreading
Inspect grammar, spelling, line structure and layout to ensure your story is clean and professional.
Query Editing
Break down your query to its most basic parts, infuse it with character, and heart, making it irresistible to agents and publishers alike.
Current Projects
Novel
LIFERS
(105k word Literary / Speculative Fiction)
- Complete and Querying -
Quinn Mackenzie is a small-town photographer who's slowly bleeding out from a gunshot wound. Since he does not believe in Heaven or Hell, he spends his final moments thinking about his short life, and numerous regrets; but when his heart stops, he's surprised to hear music, and voices, and a cry that’s not his own. In death, he has transformed into a colorful spark of consciousness, hitchhiking inside the mind of an infant named Lyric Sampson. At first, he sees this as a second chance--a way to still experience the world, albeit, from a distance. But as Lyric grows, and as Quinn gets to know the bubbly, optimistic, empathetic child, he realizes, life is nothing without friendship; but Lyric may not be as grateful for their unique connection. The voice inside her head can be distracting--even painful at times. Can Quinn find a way to be there for her without disrupting her life? Or, will he have to sever himself from the first person to ever truly know him?
SPN Fan Fictions
Two separate novel-length works featuring queer romances and a variety of themes.
Poetry Collection
Poems about grief and personal growth.
Short Story
Time Between the Gates
- Complete and submitted to contests -
POV from a witness to the Oklahoma City Bombing.
Novel
Being Neighborly
(70k word Realistic Fiction)
- WIP -
Annette Carol loves nothing more than snooping on her neighbors via Facebook . She delights in the sanction voyeurism. She judges. She reacts with angry emojis. She audibly scoffs over every minor inconvenience that disrupts her perfect, little suburb; but she can be helpful too. So when a new neighbor moves in and posts about needing a handyman, Annette is quick to offer the name of an old neighbor who's familiar with the quirks of their mid-century modern homes. However, that night while eating dinner with her family, Annette's street is lit up by sirens and ambulance lights. She scours the community Facebook page for answers only to learn that the woman she replied to earlier has been attacked in her home. Annette is struck with a sinking feeling-- did her old neighbor attack her new one? If so, did she play a role in her assault? Riddled with guilt, Annette tells the police what she knows, which isn't much; but when they arrest her old neighbor for the crime, Annette's seemingly-innocent comment is unearthed by her community. Soon enough, her world is turned upside down by both virtual and in-person harassment, causing Annette to spiral into depression. Can she overcome the world's judgment and her own guilt?
Past Publications
Suisun Valley Review - 2017
My first two publications came at once in 2017. A poem titled "Ties" and a short story titled "What If" were both accepted to Solano College's award-winning literary magazine: The Suisun Valley Review.
Telephone Me Now - 2018
A chance-moment and some sudden inspiration turned what I thought might be a spam email into my next successful publication. Regulus Press's first Literary Taxidermy competition was an international success. My short story "Everything After" was named one of twenty finalists, and featured at the front of the amazing anthology "Telephone Me Now" -- available on Amazon.
Suisun Valley Review - 2020/22
A poem submission I thought was lost to the pandemic, was published two years later in 2022. A poem entitled "Introvert" is still one of my favorite poems I've written to date.
Suisun Valley Review - 2024
A short story I had all but given up on found a new life in SVR's 40th edition, published in the spring of 2024. My story entitled "Fruits of Labor" was truly a labor of love, and I'm so grateful to finally see it in print.
craft dialogue competition - 2024
Received an honorable mention in the 2024 Craft Literary Dialogue competition for "American Business" - a micro-fiction depicting the horrors of human trafficking.