My short story, The Truck Stop, is free this weekend on Amazon’s Kindle store. Some have called it a “Weird Western.” But I just call it literary fiction.
It’s about Thomas, his friend Trish and the last truck stop in Orange County, California. It was a story that incubated in my head for about seven years…And then…I heard this song and everything fell into place.
I kept playing the song over and over on my PC and in my own head, and then I realized it was the atmosphere I had always wanted in my story. So, I just sat down and wrote the opening paragraph, but with the mood and tone of that song laid in. The rest of the story (which I had tucked away for years in my head) just flowed from there.
This was written and published (via the miracle of wireless, thanks, Nikola et al) from Lafayette Square in beautiful Savannah, Georgia. The vibe down there added something to the story because it didn’t end where I intended it to. Instead, as I sat there, I decided to change the ending and have Thomas just take a walk after most of the action had ended. I’m glad I did because it I think it adds something to the story. I think it adds quite a bit, in fact.
But see what you think. As you hunker down for Sandy or get back from your Halloween party, download the piece and read it. At about 4,000 words, it’s a typical length for a short story.
And one last thing, the song playing over the speaker system in The Truck Stop became “Dancing with the Women at the Bar.” It was that final, small detail that really tied the story together. Or am I wrong?
Hope you enjoy it.
(The story is free October 27 and October 28 on Amazon’s Kindle store, just to be exact.)
Inside the Writer's Mind 