Book of the Day (BotD): River's Edge

 Yes, I' know River's Edge isn't a book. It's not even a novella, it's a short story. 

I started writing RE Halloween night two years ago while Aubrey was out with their friends trick-or-treating our neighborhood and I was hiding in the dark from trick-or-treaters. It started as a Thanksgiving story about a guy who comes home for the first time in years and meets the boy he'd fallen for in high school again, and I'd planned for a novella length small town Hallmark-esque story in which the guy buys a vacant building and starts a restaurant and HEA was achieved. But it was Halloween and I was listening to witchy mood music and it took on a darker tone as I wrote.

I know the cover is bad. I made it myself from a picture I bought using Canva. I am not that good with Canva. But I was broke and did the best I could so I could pay for a round of edits.

Anyway, I probably should have changed the Thanksgiving part to a more non-holiday oriented night. But that's the only regret I have with that story. I think of it as a writing exercise of setting a scene and tone and using surroundings to pervert a character's POV. Sometimes I wish I'd written Brick's POV but I don't think it would have had the same effect. I don't think you would have felt River's relief in finding him if you knew Brick was waiting for him. Or if you knew why Brick was there in the first place. I thought to have the epilogue in Brick's POV but it wouldn't have had the same feel than to have it stop and switch to Brick to get the twist at the end.

I thought, that I was being smart in starting it over but with subtle changes... but I think I failed to stick this story at the end.

And yeah, the blurb sucks. I still don't know what else to say about a twelve thousand word story that wouldn't give the whole thing away.

Is it bittersweet? I thinks so? Is there an HEA? I think so. But not a conventional HEA. Did the bulk of the readers understand what I'd written?

Sighs... probably not.

River's Edge

The story of two lovers reunited for one night... and all eternity.

BUY links HERE