Bewildering Stories welcomes...

Dawn Marshallsay

Dawn lives in the U.K. and says she’s inspired by both the woodlands of Kent and the “buzz” of London. She has a respectable bibliography of “surreal tales” published on line and in print.

“Zero Interest” seems to be an exception to Bewildering Stories’ rule that “Any story based on current events is out of date before it’s written.” It’s apparently set in present-day Britain, but the way things have been going of late, it could take place in many other countries as well. One might feel sorry for “Jerry,” who’s confined to a wheelchair, but he’s really in better shape than the society around him.

Some might question the need for military intervention to quell public panic. But no, that’s quite realistic: panics are part of the boom-and-bust cycle, witness the bank failures of the Great Depression.

An even more dystopian story might be based on the hyperinflation in Germany in the time of the Weimar Republic. That’s when money really became worthless, and the economy was reduced to barter. We know the horrors that such desperation led to. Thankfully we’re not there... yet.

Dawn Marshallsay’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Dawn. We hope to hear from you again soon and often!