CRY

Cry is the title of the longest story in my collection of "short" stories, SOUTHERN FRIED WOMEN. And I finished it last night. Cry tells the story of a fifteen-year old girl, Estelline Aikens, or Essie as she's called, who accompanies her very pregnant cousin, Janey Gay Bertram, to Cherry Point, NC to visit her Marine husband. He's about to be shipped to Kuwait ... it's the beginning of the Gulf War. But on the way, they get lost and their car ends up in a deep pot hole along a deserted back dirt road they thought was a "shortcut." Janey goes into labor. But strange things happen when Essie must abandon Janey in their Ford Pinto and find help. Hours later in the dark, she flags down a van. They meet Evangelist Loretta Lynette who has abandoned her crusade in Atlanta and is on her own quest for peace in her life.

This is one of those stories that just wrote itself. These characters lived on my shoulder for days and guided my fingers on the keyboard. I had originally intended that Janey Gay be the main character ... but in the end, it was Essie and Loretta that had the biggest story to tell, Essie being my protagonist. And I love the way it came together.

It's also told in two different story lines running side by side, that come together three-fourths of the way through the story. Essie's story is told in first person past tense, and Loretta's story is told in third person past tense. I'm sure I've broken some writing craft rule, but I believe it works. In the end, when it all comes together... Essie finishes telling the story in first person.

The stakes are high, the story delivers ... I hope you'll enjoy it. I know you'll enjoy it. You'll love the book ... you'll see it on bookshelves come late February, early March.

Be on the lookout ... SOUTHERN FRIED WOMEN ... a collection from the heart.

Blessings to you and yours.