About The Artifact
The Artifact is a collection of original short stories written by me, David Sheley, your Museum Director and Curator of The Artifact. I am a husband and a father of three. I love to practice photography, create stories, and give voices to my characters (yes, that means original narration!).
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Why Call it "The Artifact"?
I want you to imagine that you are an archeological researcher in the early to mid-nineteenth century. We've set up our camp in the deserts of Egypt, and we're following a cryptic lead in search of ancient treasure. Suddenly, your shovel hits something hard in the sand.
You've just taken the first step toward uncovering something of massive proportions. With each shovel full of sand, your excitement builds. Finally, you are standing in the doorway to an ancient library. The scrolls, books, and documents within seem to be both anachronistic and otherworldly. You carefully select a piece of paper from one of the thousands of shelves. This particular artifact tells the story of a race of winged creatures that sought to enslave humanity. What other stories will you discover within the walls of this ancient place?
Sections
Short Stories is where I will attempt to answer those What-If? questions. You’ll find space elevators, airships, and hollow Earths. There will be aliens and far-flung planets. You might even find wizards and worlds of magic. Oh, and no collection of stories would be complete without love stories.
Flash Fiction is where I will take inspiration from a photo or image I’ve found on social media and write a brief story or description based on that image. In this section, I’ll stretch your imagination and break all the rules.
Why Subscribe to the Free Version?
The Archives
My original thought was to push stories into the archive after a few weeks and add a paywall to the archive, as I have seen many others do. But I changed my mind.
This seems like an appropriate place to state that I reserve the right to change my mind and therefore change these plans without prior notice.
I want to keep all of my stories FREE to access. I’ve learned that I can’t possibly keep up with all of the great stories that are being posted on Substack, so my only hope of you seeing and enjoying as many of my older stories as possible is to keep my archive FREE. I’ve already run into instances where I got behind on reading some of my favorite author’s stories, but since their archive is behind a paywall, I may never know the end of the story! Ahh! Once I have a few paying subscribers of my own, I plan to re-invest a portion of that income into supporting others on Substack, and then I’ll go digging through those locked archives.
Why Subscribe to the Paid Version?
In 2024, I will turn on paid subscriptions. A paid subscription will give you access to an eBook version and an Audiobook version of The Artifact. There are still a few details to iron out before payments officially go into effect, but I am currently targeting July 1, 2024.
eBook Version of The Artifact
I’m going to experiment with eBook versions of the Artifact. The eBook version will contain the same stories as what you find here on Substack, but you’ll have them in a nice, compact little package for future re-reading. Or perhaps you’ll find a story in there that you missed due to the overwhelming number of great stories being published on Substack every day.
For 2024, I will create a single eBook version of The Artifact.
Audiobook Version of The Artifact
Each story I publish has an original narration, and aside from writing the actual story, that is the part of this project that takes the most time and effort. I think it naturally lends itself to being worthy of a paid benefit. Paid subscribers (at any level) will receive a copy of the audiobook.
For 2024, I will produce a single audiobook version of The Artifact.
Will there be a Print Version of The Artifact?
For those who subscribe as a Psycho-Historian, I will create a premium print version of The Artifact. It will be a hardcover, but the content will be black and white. Going with black and white for the interior of these books will keep costs down. Am I willing to consider full-color in the future? Of course! But let’s start with B&W and see how it goes.
For 2024, I will create a single printed version of The Artifact.
Do you have other ideas? Share them with me!
So, let’s review those Subscription Details
What Do You Get for FREE?
All stories in The Artifact are sent directly to your email inbox (or in the app, your choice)
All stories will include an original narration
What Do You Get with a Subscription?
All FREE benefits, and:
An eBook Version of The Artifact
An Audiobook Version of The Artifact
What Do You Get if You Subscribe as a Pyscho-Historian?
All FREE and PAID benefits, and:
A Premium Print Version of The Artifact
6 x 9-inch hardcover book
What else am I up to?
Take a tour through my links to see what other things I spend all my time and hard-earned money on:
