Did you know that Oregon was the first state in the US to enact an official recognition of Labor Day as a holiday? Neither did I until I looked it up. The State of Oregon passed the legislation on February 21, 1887. Four more states followed that same year. Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894. Its intent is to honor the achievements and contributions of American workers. You can read all about the history of this holiday here.
WMG Publishing gives its employees today off—which is why I wrote this blog last week. I am enjoying today with my family on my daughter’s last day before school starts. We will, I’m sure, be helping keep the US economy strong by doing some back-to-school shopping.
For many Americans, especially those with kids and those who live in tourist towns, Labor Day also marks the final weekend of summer. Ironic, because most folks in the tourist industry find themselves working on Labor Day…
So, with both American workers and tourist towns in mind, I’m offering you the following story free this week. It’s Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s “Incident at Lonely Rocks,” which is part of her Seavy County world, and it’s an eerily perfect accompaniment to this blog.
Here’s the synopsis:
Oscar cleans portable toilets for a living. He loves the job—it takes him to beautiful isolated places, like the Lonely Rocks Wayside on the Oregon Coast. Nothing really grosses him out either—until he discovers the body, slashed to death, with a knife still in the chest.
Then he sees a break in the guard rail above the ocean, a second car, a ruined bicycle, and Oscar realizes his troubles have just begun.
You can read that story by clicking here. And if you enjoy that one, you can find more great stories set in Kris’s Seavy County world by clicking here.
And if you want even more reading, don’t forget about the Racing the Clock Storybundle, which ends this week, and our Pulphouse Fiction Magazine Kickstarter subscription drive, which ends next week. Click here for the former and here for the latter.
Happy Labor Day!
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer, working mother, and brain tumor survivor.