The Eyes of Mictlan Origins: Dalton

Old West judge Dalton Freely awakes under a scorching desert sun in a pool of blood-soaked dirt, a noose around his neck, his arms bound behind his back. He turns his gaze upward to find the bodies of his wife and children hanging from a tree. Only then does he begin to recall the horror of the previous evening when a gang of outlaws murdered his family. On the verge of death himself, Dalton desperately drags his broken body back toward civilization, a single thought on his mind: revenge. "Dalton" is part of "The Eyes of Mictlan Origins" series, a collection of free short stories excerpted from the dark fantasy novel, "The Eyes of Mictlan."

Michael Rappa wrote his first story when he was six years old, a collaboration with two classmates about a haunted house, thus kicking off a lifelong love affair with the written word. Throughout grade school Michael wrote stories that he would read in front of the class. Some of these stories (to the occasional chagrin of his classmates) reached epic proportions in length. When he wasn't writing stories for school, Michael wrote much longer stories at home, and by eighth grade his stories had reached novella length.
Carrying his love of writing into college, Michael chose a Creative Writing specialization at Rowan University to augment his Communications (Radio/TV/Film) degree. It was in his creative writing classes that he first delved seriously into poetry, culminating in the publication of five of his poems in the school's literary journal, Avant. Michael also wrote a one-act play that was one of five chosen to be performed by his class, and he continued to hone his prose craft via short stories. For his film class he wrote and directed a short film called Fast Food that was featured in the school's In the Can film festival, a rare honor for a first-year student film. During his time at Rowan he also studied the craft of screenwriting, eventually completing an original, feature-length screenplay.
After graduation Michael worked as a Creative Services Producer for WMGM-TV 40 for two years before moving into the editorial field, and ultimately the IT industry, where he currently works as a web designer for Educational Testing Service. During this time he began to put to paper (and to computer screen) the novel that had been germinating in his head for several years, Life's Blood, which eventually became The Eyes of Mictlan, his first published novel .
In his spare time, when not feeding his television addiction, Michael is an avid traveler and photographer. He also enjoys tennis, cooking, and a good game of chess. He lives in New Jersey with his wife Jen and dog Ollie.