Backroads Histórias

• | • | • | • Not everyone has the pleasure to slack off. Cassie can be no exception, but of course her sister can be. Oh, and almost her whole town can too. So you could say that she got the shorter end of the stick. Like always. It really doesn't help when a life long friend pleads for her to help with everything, all the time! Including showing around her mom's weirdo friend's kids. With these newly arriving strangers growing up out East, it makes them practically clueless to all the wonders of the Midwest. It also makes the whole town seem to go crazy. And not in a good way. • | • | • | • Cassie will find herself counting down every millisecond till these "friendly" strangers leave. But what happens when she wishes to reset the clocks?

Coming back from Juvie was not how she expected it to go. Caroline Delta Grant spent the last eight years in juvie for something she never did. Her town and peers won't let her live it down until one event that takes place in their small town in southern Mississippi. Can she overcome her obstacles or will she retreat back to her old ways?

What if you knew you were going to die and there was nothing you could do about it? Do you panic, bargain with the universe, reflect on your life so far? What about the things you never did, the places you never saw? What about the people you love and the things you never got to say to them? What if, as your final moment draws near, you decide to say goodbye to the closest person to you, but you never tell him or her that this will be the last time they hear your voice? Instead, you just have a normal conversation just like any other day

Two people in a small road side bar discuss life, drinking, and what makes a place memorable. (This is written fully in dialogue and uses southern vernacular. )

I write this poem about my best friend. She's amazing and I couldn't live without her.

Traveling down the backroads can be dangerous. One never knows just what they'll see.

Rejected by The Threepenny Review and the literary magazine, december, "Caution: Kids on the Road" is a short story composed nearly three years ago. Combining pandemic woes, the uncertainty and the unrest of youth, and inspiration from real life, the tale tells of semi-isolated teenagers inventing an activity to pass their unhappy days and drifting lives.

A second person short story in which you take a trip down a back road...

Erin, 25 married to her high school sweet heart Cole. They have been each others everything for the last ten years. She spends her evenings in routine preparing her and her children for the evenings after a day of work. She puts on a smile as she lays down to sleep. Closing her eyes she sees the flash backs of her and Cole locking hands as they pass the lockers in the hallway. As she breathes in she can feel his hands holding her face as he kisses her right before third block. She reaches across her bed, tracing an empty place, opens her eyes as a tear falls from her eye. There on the nightstand it comes back. The picture. Reminding her of who robbed her sweet Cole. The uniform. The deployment.

A fun drive with friends on the backroads has its turns..

18 year old Olivia (quote Liv) Frey is fresh out of high school and her parents are finally letting her spend the summer at her best friend Essa's horse ranch in Montana. When Liv gets there, she's expecting a summer full of horseback riding and fun times with her best friend before they both go to college. But she was not anticipating Charlie. Charlie is Essa's older brother who's back from college. He's tall, tan, and the hottest guy Liv has ever seen. The longer she spends at the ranch and spends time with Charlie, her attraction gets stronger. But he's totally off limits and not interested in his little sister's best friend. Or is he? Jealous exes, secrets, and bankruptcy... Will Liv and Charlie have a chance to be together? Or will the threat of a crumbling future keep them apart?

Addilyn and her little brother Jayne get stuck in a zombie apocalypse. They head to Addy's best friend Jemma's house. As far as they know she alive. On the way they run into Becky (the queen bitch of the school) and Mason (the hottest hottie ever). They all stick together and head to Jemma's house. Once they save Jemma they head to find Addy's big brother and his boyfriend in Auckland.

Within these pages lies a collection of whispers and storms-poems born from love, loss, resilience, and the quiet beauty of being human. Each piece is a tide, pulling you into the depths of the heart where loyalty, friendship, and vulnerability intertwine. This book is not just a gathering of words, but a journey through oceans of emotion-where trust is an anchor, love is a current, and the soul learns to rise again no matter how many times it breaks upon the shore. These poems speak to those who have loved deeply, hurt quietly, and healed slowly. They are for the dreamers, the broken, the hopeful, and the brave-anyone who has ever searched for light in the shadows or comfort in the chaos. Turn the page, and let the rhythm of these verses remind you that even in silence, you are never alone.

Charlotte thought that it was just another one of her family's parties when it came to be the day of her little sister, Daisy's, bridal shower. Little did she know, her entire family was keeping a huge secret from her for quite some time. How will Charlotte react when she finds out? Will she learn to forgive and forget when that secret comes walking into her life?

"You know what you're right I have trust issues, but you are wrong about one thing. I am not afraid. I'm strong. I have dealt with this my whole life, I can handle it. But you know what I can't handle? Loving someone who never cared about me. You may think the reason I have trust issues is because of my family, but that's where you are wrong. I trusted you, I loved you, but yet again I was used. You make me question everything. I'm not destroying myself, you are destroying me." I am a porcelain doll, but I am not perfect. I am cracked, and it will be a miracle if I can be put back together. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Clair Bradford is the perfect daughter. Or at least she's supposed to be. Dealing with the constant trouble of living in a lie, Clair takes comfort in doing reckless things. Things her family wouldn't approve of. Going to parties and messing up, but isn't she supposed to mess up. It isn't until she meets Cole that her life completely changes. He's everything she has ever wanted in a guy. Someone who she can be herself around. Someone her ex boyfriend would never be. Struggling with living in a lie Clair seeks truth and comfort in Backroads.

"Wow the world really doesn't want to let me have anything nice". "Nope, but hey I think the world made one exception. I'm still here". "I hope you aren't aspiring to be a future comedian". - - - It had been years of living with her best friend, building that relationship up, just for it to have a cracked foundation. Everything was being stripped away, just out of her grasp. Georgina has to once again pave a new road. One leading far away from all the former streets, streets that had known many hardships. Not only is Georgina all alone this time, but she also has gained a hateful following. With broken relationships around every corner, it's hard to say if she'll break too.

SO, in the lack of a relationship, I suppose you could say I created one. All names are based off of real people/places. (Besides Derek...he's made up)

A poem about broken hearts and drowning out sorrows. Worth the quick read if you like country songs and poems.

"What would you do?" Daisy raised a brow and an amused smile quirked up with it. "You want me to make the choice for you? Given my track record, are you sure that's a good idea?" "Your track record is the perfect reason. You've been with your share. You have a better idea than I do as to this choice," she wiped the back of her hand under her eyes once more. "Do I choose the boy who broke my heart more than once. Or do I choose the man who has watched over me all these years?" "You already know your choice, Jazzy." Her friend's brow furrowed. "You called one a boy and attached it to a horrible moment in your life. The other you called a man and called him your protector. Now, if I were a third-party stranger and I heard you refer to each of them in the same manner, I would slap you silly and ask how there could even be a choice. So, answer me this. Why are you still trying to choose?" ***************************************************** All roads lead you home... The only road on Jasmine Meeker's mind takes her away from home. Jasmine has spent twenty-four years in the same do-nothing town. Friday nights had been spent at the high school football games, farming season meant slow traffic twice a year and driving twenty minutes to the nearest town for something better to do. Everywhere she looked it was the same thing just a new year. When her old high school flame strolls in to Dave's Diner asking for her to hear him out, she gets sucked back down a rabbit hole of memories; good and bad. Unwanted advice has her second guessing everything from the past not to mention her future. *COMPLETED* (6/15/19) #1 backroads (10/3/19) #1 backroads (11/18/19) #1 backroads (1/13/20) #1 backroads (9/11/20) #1 backroads ~~Look for it on social media:: #backroadsthenovel