🎙️ George P. Cross

Read George's story, The Bug, now!

What does The Bug mean to you?

It means a lot of things to me—imposter syndrome, social malaise, suppression of anxiety—but more than anything it really is about a bug. Sometimes it feels as though you lack all control or agency in your life, and that something else (a bug, in this case) is pulling the strings.

What’s your relationship with bugs like in the real world?

I actually hate bugs. I recognize their value in an ecosystem and all that, but I am also very easily disgusted by them. I don’t trust them; they’re too quick and difficult to catch.

What kind of bug do you think The Bug is?

Well, I assume it’s green. I don’t know, something pretty alien or foreign to what we know on Earth. I pictured it looking something like a grasshopper or the Runed Progenitor card in Hearthstone. It has to have long legs to poke around the brain.

Do you think The Bug is happy with it’s life?

I hadn’t really thought about that. I hope so. I don’t think many bugs get the opportunity that The Bug here does. Getting to live a whole life like a human, it’s probably pretty awesome for a bug.

Does our protagonist ever rid itself of The Bug?

I’m not sure. If they do, I doubt it would actually change much on a mental or emotional level.  The Bug causes a lot of problems, but there’s clearly something deeper and more fundamentally flawed at play, in my opinion.

If you could be a bug in someone else’s brain, who do you think you’d choose?

George R. R. Martin, so I can make him finish his damn books.

How many times has this story been rejected by other markets?

Zero times! Foofaraw is actually the first place I submitted it, just after finishing, so it was something of a successful maiden voyage. I’ve had plenty of trouble with other stories finding a home, though.

What’s a great short story you’ve read recently?

I reread Donald Barthelme's “The School” recently, which is just a classic. Anything with that bizarre, dreamlike quality tends to captivate me.

What book are you reading right now?

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami, I’m in the last quarter or so of the book, though I’ve unfortunately slowed my reading pace. I hope to finish it soon.

Do you have anything else you’d like to share?

I’ve previously had a story, “Drummer Boy,” published in The Write Launch, and I self-published a shorter novel while in high school, (I cannot swear by its quality anymore.) I have a lot of different stories on the backburner that I’m always shopping around, so if you’re interested in more if and when it ever arrives, I would recommend finding my Instagram @gpcbooks.

Thanks to George for taking the time to talk about bugs and anxiety!