Clearly Conveyed Communications is extremely excited to host our first guest blog post, The Opera, by Sage Doyle. Following is the first chapter of an original work by Mr. Doyle that he will be seeking publication for this summer. Enjoy!

Who is Sage Doyle?

Sage Doyle is a mainstream novel writer pursuing
publication. On his blog, he features a mix of
poetry and short fiction, including the ongoing
story, The Journal of Wall Grimm (which
contains mature content.) Mr. Doyle has a B.A. in
English and an M.S. in Psychology/Counseling.
His approach to fiction writing is character-
based, psychological and literary. You can
connect with Sage on Twitter @sagedoyle or via email at sagedoyle@yahoo.com. Sage Doyle is a pen name.

The Opera

by
Sage Doyle

“A man, to be greatly good, must imagine intensely and comprehensively; he must put himself in the place of another and of many others;  the pains and pleasures of his species must become his own.”

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Chapter One

October 2006

“She got an abortion.” Jack looked down, tilting his beer to see how much was left. He guzzled the last of it and got another one.

“She told you that?”

“No, someone else told me last night.”

“Who?”

“That’s beside the point.”

“Well, that’s…I’m sorry. Did you even know she was pregnant?”

Jack shook his head, returning to sit at the table. “She never talked to me. I would’ve taken responsibility. I could’ve raised the child myself…”

“Well, I don’t know, but maybe women have a hard time with that, afraid to feel guilty about not raising a child themselves, I don’t know.” Corey sat at the median to the kitchen, a counter area with high stool chairs. He spun a bit in his seat, waiting for an indication of which direction Jack was leading the conversation, or a hint of its cessation.

Jack watched the room darken, as grey shadows spread in from outside across the white walls of the New York hotel room. The windows were open and the wind brandished the drapes, carrying the scent of city and the anticipation of heavy rainfall. Neither of them lived in New York, rather the two actors were in town for the premier of Corey’s film White Window, which occurred the previous night, and they sat in the hotel suite before going to a private party that afternoon. They planned to attend the party sans an entourage of publicists, reps, agents, and the occasional bodyguard. Jack and Corey preferred to pretend they were real people as much as safety would allow. Some celebrities needed their entourage like a security blanket, whereas Jack and Corey avoided that scene whenever possible.

“So…” Corey broke the silence, “who else knows about it, I mean, will it get out to the press?”

“Hope not, but she’s very private so I’m sure she’ll do her best to keep this quiet. It’s also against her culture. So…I got that going for me anyway.” He brushed water off his thigh that dripped down from the moisture of his bottle, and mumbled, “but everything seems to come out at some point.”

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We hope you enjoyed Sage Doyle’s original work! Please visit his blog to enjoy more of Mr. Doyle’s writing and leave a comment with your thoughts below.

Also, we would love to host more guest bloggers! If you’re interested, please review our invite.

Cheers!