Back Road from "Y'ALL AIN'T RIGHT" published by Evil Cookie.
Back Road was one of those ideas that began as one thing, then morphed into something completely unhinged as I was writing it. I can say this was one of the few times that I surprised myself with the ending of a story. The majority of my writing process is internal, meaning I spend months thinking about an idea, getting to know the characters, allowing them to find a voice, feeling out the plot and tweaking it, making sure the characters approve and trust me, some days they do get real vocal about what they like and what they don’t. It may sound weird but ask a writer, they’ll understand.
My main character in this story was fairly quiet as I went through my internal process, just a sweet grieving girl trying to help her father, but the bad guys in this one clearly had other ideas for her. Ideas that did not become clear until I got to the end.
The story follows Miranda and her friends on a day trip to find a guy known for his great taxidermy. After the sudden loss of her mom, Miranda's discovers her mother's cat has passed away too and she doesn't think her father will handle this latest loss, this last part of his wife, very well. She plans to have the pet stuffed and preserved for her father as a reminder of his wife. The directions to the shop lead to a sketchy back road and the locals seem less than friendly. Let’s just say “hillbilly picnic” takes on a whole new meaning in this tale.
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