I’ve just posted a short story for any and all to enjoy. It’s titled “Her Decade” and you can read more about its origins on the Her Decade page.
For those who are interested: This story has connections to both of my books, as well as to my upcoming third book, Hero-Type. It recounts events that took place in the past in Brookdale that still have repercussions today. I hope you like it.
I just want to say wow. What first brought me here was Wikipedia, honestly. Before that, a list of top summer books of 2012. Your name came up. I googled you, which inevitably led me to Wikipedia, as most of my internet searches are prone to do. (I don’t give a damn about what my teachers say, calling it an “unreliable resource”. On more than one occasion Wikipedia has exhibited more knowledge to me than my teachers. Not that I’m a teacher hater, mind you.) But I digress. On that page it talked about your works. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl interested me, and I hope to read it one day. But then I scrolled down. Boy Toy is what the next entry read. I read the premise, and my heart dropped down into the pits of my stomach. I knew I had to read this story. All I can say is that I have intimate knowledge of a similar set of circumstances, but that is not the point. I went to your website, seeing if I could find a least a somewhat detailed synopsis, which is what I usually do if I know I really want to read something that I know isn’t readily available to me. I read the deleted scenes (Which is stupid, of course. Now when I read I’ll know the end. But that doesn’t usually strike me as a depressing prospect, because in my opinion the journey is what counts the most, and even if I know it or not the ending is still as satisfying.) and rest assured I’ll definitely try to buy it or find it at the library. But anyway after I finished with that I came to a blue box with the “Her Decade” title on it. I clicked it, read the explanation, and proceeded to read the story. And it blew my mind. The beginning kind of confused me a little bit, but he was drunk, and I imagine when you’re drunk things tend to be a wee bit confusing. It was amazing. I want to be like you when I get my big girl pen and write stories for the world to read. (Well not exactly, of course, plagiarism is illegal, after all.) The ending moved me. I was almost in tears. After all that time, he didn’t realize the meaning behind his sentence, until it was over. I must admit, I kind of expected Heller to not be there at some point, but I was glad when the new guy said he retired, and Heller didn’t die or anything. I also didn’t expect his comments when he pulled into the kid’s house when Mr. Marchetti was there when he came in the night. But a split second later I realized I probably would of said the same thing, probably a little bit harsher. All in all, I loved Her Decade. It was a great story and I’m glad I read it. I’ll be keeping my eye out for Boy Toy because it also looks amazing, and all I read about it was one Wikipedia article and scenes that didn’t even make it in the final book. Bravo, I loved it.