A Middle-Aged Writer's Daydream - Hank Preston & Dr. Manheim

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Book: A Middle-aged Writer's Daydream

Genre: General Fiction / Sci-Fi

AuthorSoulFarAway

Character: Hank Preston, writer. Dr. Phillip Manheim, A.I. and creative psychologist.

Nominated by: GalaRu57

About the story:

Hank Preston was a famous writer whose debut book, "Stygian Blues", was a bestseller. His subsequent publications, however, were all low ranked. After a year of facing total writer's block, his editor is picking on him with deadlines, his wife is leaving home, and he's under the risk of losing his property.

Hank is drowning in the deep end. Will he be able to climb again?

Maybe it's time to take some desperate measures... with an odd psychologist.


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Today we are joined by two guests.  What should I call you gentlemen? 

Hank: You can call me Hank.

Dr. Manheim: You can call me Doctor if you want it. Hank calls me just Doc, but I'm not comfortable with nicknames.

Welcome and thanks for agreeing to talk to us today.

Hank: It's my pleasure.

Dr. Manheim: (silence)

Can I get you something to drink? Water? Soda? Coffee? Wine? Whiskey?

Hank: I'm a whiskey man, for sure. It's good for writing, and it's good for talking. Thank you.

Dr. Manheim: I can't drink, but thank you anyway.

Let's get to it. Tell me a little about yourself?

Hank: Well, I'm 47 years old. Or 57. It depends on when and where you knew me. I had a difficult childhood and that made me grow up feeling displaced from the world. But I found love and compassion in my marriage. My wife and my children are the most important things to me.

Dr. Manheim: I'm not programmed to talk about myself. It's confidential information.

Interesting. Where do you live?

Hank: In New York.

Dr. Manheim: I'm stored on a hard disk. No, I'm not in the cloud, Hank brought me here on an external HD. I have two physical backups to keep my life in safety.

Do you have any jobs or hobbies?

Hank: I'm a writer but sometimes I have to teach some classes to make extra money. Hobbies? Yes, when I'm not depressed, I like to travel, go out for dinner or dancing, you know, things that make us feel alive.

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