Caught this reader review of Eviction Notice on Amazon.com as part of a larger review of the entire Intergalactic Medicine Show anthology —

Eviction Notice (Scott M. Roberts) NR
This is deeply disturbing story which I certainly do not want to ponder again. So no rating. Aahh! I am having nightmares just thinking about it!

I’m quite pleased with the review, although I doubt the reviewer meant for it to be taken in a positive light.  I didn’t set out to evoke nightmares, precisely; I did intend on eliciting a strong emotional response.  Mission accomplished, says I.

Speaking of emotional responses, I just finished listening to the audio recording of EN, done by the enormously talented, highly prolific, Don Leslie.  Now, I’ve read EN maybe six or eight times since its publication in IGMS; it doesn’t hold any surprises for me.

Except it apparently does, because when I heard it performed by a stellar reader, it was like approaching the story from a completely new point of view.  I kept having to pause my iPod and suck in a breath, and remind myself that, hey, I wrote this thing, what do I have to be all…er…scared of?

🙂

Intense.

I don’t do well, outside of my own work, with media crafted to induce dread.  The Village freaked me out, even after I knew the secret (“…because they said that they based the creatures on stories of…GOOD GRAVY!  IT’S THE REAL MONSTER!  RUN, BLIND GIRL!  RUUUUUUN!”); and I had nightmares for a week after I Am Legend that had nothing to do with the stupid plot.  Despite my penchant for writing dark fiction, I am, at heart, a weenie.