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The Works of Zachary Robert Long

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Month: January 2025

Against the Grain: Four Authors that Transgress Grammar
by Zachary Robert Long (1766 words, estimated reading time: 9 minutes)

Posted on January 26, 2025January 26, 2025 by Zack Long

“Rules are mostly made to be broken and are too often for the lazy to hide behind” – Douglas MacArthur     Grammar is the mortar of the English language we use when building meaning through the use of words, sentences, and paragraphs. For many people, it is such a powerful tool as to be…

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An aerial view of a hospital situated along an encroaching tree-line

A Trick of the Light
by Zachary Robert Long (2026 words, estimated reading time: 10 minutes)

Posted on January 15, 2025January 15, 2025 by Zack Long

The woods are darker now than they were this time last week. This disturbs her. Something she can’t quite put a finger on. The way it feels like every thing is always changing? Getting away from her? She wants it all to stay the same, her deepest wish is to freeze time. To hold her…

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People should practice an art in order to make their souls grow and not to make money or become famous. Paint a picture. Write.

— Kurt Vonnegut

Recent Posts

  • Ruby Laughs
    by Zachary Robert Long (1304 words, estimated reading time: 6 minutes)
    (Ruby Laughs is a sequel to A Good Mother) She lays on the motel water-bed, her pregnant belly undulating with each breath, and though her face is...
  • The Way It Squirms
    by Zachary Robert Long (2100 words, estimated reading time: 10 minutes)
    The lump in Steven’s armpit stayed the same size no matter how many times he told himself it wasn’t there. Staring at himself in the bathroom...
  • The Skin Came Free
    by Zachary Robert Long (1441 words, estimated reading time: 7 minutes)
    The skin on my hands has been coming off lately. It starts by the nails, sort of folding back. Not quite tearing but slipping away. I...
  • Robert Cook Collection Item #0888
    by Zachary Robert Long (2856 words, estimated reading time: 13 minutes)
    During the final hours of October 10, 1961, Everett Turpin murdered his wife Dorothy Turpin with an ax. The following morning he drove his Ford F-1...
  • For the Entertainment of Strangers
    by Zachary Robert Long (3971 words, estimated reading time: 17 minutes)
    For Haleigh Masterton, the moment her stomach lining tore registered only as a dull ache. Nor did it slow her down any. It was simply another...

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