55 Comments
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rachel's avatar

consider me spooked. this was so good. such good dialog and flow. all of it came together so well. i was reading this in my room and it's 1am and pitch dark and i had to put my phone light on because i was so effectively freaked out

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

I don’t think there is a better compliment than someone saying they had to put a light on. Thank you thank you! ❤️

Jimmy Gardner's avatar

Dude, this was great! Perfect pacing, great voice. Loved it

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Thank you, Jimmy! I appreciate it! ❤️

Sudana Krasniqi's avatar

Sean, this is next level. the dialogue, the tension. brilliant work.

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

❤️🙏 Thank you Thank you!

EJ Trask's avatar

this might be my favorite automatic writer story yet. fantastically horrible, visceral, creeping until the moment it explodes. great work, the birds are your muse.

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Yay! Might be my favorite, too. It was tough, with the multiple narratives. It felt like a puzzle.

Morgan A.Drake's avatar

Loved it.

For a moment there I thought it would go in a completely different direction with Anthony, but now I'd really like to know what he would do.

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Thank you! I've considered writing a novel based off of this story. I still might! It's one of my favorites. 🖤

Morgan A.Drake's avatar

The gut wrenching psychosis of the traveling egg… has a ring to it 😂

Walker Kuykendall's avatar

Holy moly. I had a grotesque look frozen on my face for a while there. I really like the present tense during the detective scene and then the past tense after the fact.

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Thanks, Walker! haha Love to read that. I had a good time playing with the tenses in this story!

Caroline Miller's avatar

I am stunned in all senses, wow that was unbelievably good, thank you so much 😶

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Thank you, Caroline. That means a lot to me! ❤️

Ika Wright's avatar

I liked how it flowed and the scene is quite gruesome Sean. I can see why this earned you more subs, it's really really good. Great piece!

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

I appreciate you reading my story, Ika. I hope you’ve been well!

Ika Wright's avatar

You're always welcome Sean. I am still kicking 😊

Alexander Ipfelkofer's avatar

Visceral and creepy tale. Nicely done, Sean!

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Thanks, Alexander! ❤️

molly's avatar

this may be your best yet. Awesome stuff

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Thank you, Molly! It was a struggle in the best way.

Sandy Stuart Shaller's avatar

I just finished "The Good Egg," in an 18 page flush of not being ablet to put it down. You've got a really classic narrator in this story. Every bit of his dialogue is riviting as the reader waits for what seems an inevitable fate for the policeman. I think this story ranks with Robert Bloch's (or should I say Hitchcock's) PSYCHO. Bravo!!

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Thank you, Sandy! I was definitely trying to channel the Hitchcock energy. It was one of the most fun and challenging things I've written to date.

A.P. Murphy's avatar

Really excellent work, Seany, so well written with a delicate prose style fitting the theme so well.

It's almost like there's the ghost of Poe's Tell-Tale Heart buried under the floorboards too. Rich texture and heritage.

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Oooo I didn't see the Poe thing until you said it. Thank you, bud. Your words mean a lot. ❤️

Bryan Pirolli's avatar

This is why I stay on Substack. Great pace, great dialogue, great everything. 🥇

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Thank you, Bryan! ❤️

Nick Winney's avatar

Really great. impossible to stop reading. will have to read it again a few times... sure im missing some clues connecting the eggs. where did your idea for this come from? my anvil doesnt work like yours. never will!

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

Thanks, Nick! The idea came from a few places. I’d written a micro some time back about a boy who swallows an egg. I really loved that imagery. I’m also working on a story for an anthology that had a theme that prompted this story, but ended up going with a different story for that antho. But really, it was a lot of noodling until things started to click. It took some time. haha

Hanna Delaney's avatar

Christ.

Bravo, my friend.

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar

haha thank you! ❤️

Jon T's avatar

Gives superb creepy effect. Jeez sir. Well well well done.