Her Decade

It's no secret that my books (all two of them!) have been in set the same town and even in the same high school, with some recurring background characters and bits of "business" shared between them. My third book, Hero-Type, continues in this vein. The setting is, once again, Brookdale, Maryland, a fictitious town in the fictitious Lowe County. (For those of you who care about such things, both Josh Mendel and Kyra Sellers are name-checked in Hero-Type.)

You can read "Her Decade" online by clicking here.

Or you can download the story as a PDF by clicking here.

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But there's more to Brookdale than just the novels. I originally invented Brookdale for a series of short stories I was writing. These were not YA stories per se, though they all involved -- to some degree -- something that happened to the protagonists as teens or children. Since I had already been thinking about Brookdale, it made sense to use that setting for my first book...and then I just kept using it!

In Boy Toy, we get to see a little more of Brookdale than we did in the first book, including SAMMPark, a municipal park named for Susan Ann Marchetti. This park also plays a role in the upcoming Hero-Type.

Thing is, I knew why SAMMPark even existed at all. It had its roots in a story I had written a few years before my first novel was ever written, much less published. I thought that readers might be interested in seeing that original story and learning how a young woman named Susan Ann Marchetti ended up becoming the "patron saint" of Brookdale.

If you've read Boy Toy and if you read Hero-Type when it comes out, this story may give you a little more insight into things going on in the background of both stories. In any event, I hope you enjoy it!

(Oh, and BTW -- if you've read The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, you may already know the last name "Marchetti." And a character from that book has a small appearance in "Her Decade" -- see if you can spot him.) 

If you'd like to comment on "Her Decade," do so below. 

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1

Her Decade
By: Zaq Cass on Mon March 10, 2008, 23:49:07

First off, thank you for loving the spelling of my name. At school, I'm officially "The Zach with a Q".

Regarding "Her Decade", I would just like to say that it is no surprise to me that you are quickly becomming my favorite author.
In ten years, how he's went to the gravesite of someone who will never, ever get to live her life. Never have the oppurtunities she wanted. Never had the family she deserved, and at the same time, showing him get everything that she would never have.
I liked it. In my honest opinion, I really liked it. I've never been good at critiques, especially when i like a story. I tend to get a bit bias about a story to think negative about it.

Thank's for an awesome story.
If it were on deviantart, I'd fav it.

~Zaq

Btw, I remember the name Marchetti, but I didn't make the connection.

2

Inspiring
By: Shawn on Tue March 11, 2008, 22:03:31

This was by far one of the saddest stories I've ever read. Rare is it that tears well up in my eyes just enough to make my eyeballs glisten. This did it for me. It truly is a piece of work.

3

Her Decade
By: Cara Zajac on Tue March 11, 2008, 22:18:37

I just finished reading "Her Decade" and it is one of the most moving stories I've read (besides "Boy Toy".) Just the fact alone that he comes full circle and then has a daughter of his own....wow. I'm happy that the father didn't kill him though because that would have made him no better, the irony that he'd be killing someone's son would be unbearable.
Amazing story, can't wait for the next installment =)

-Cara

4

love your books
By: Anna B. on Fri May 02, 2008, 22:52:46

i love the way barry lyga writes
his level of detail and the sarcastic and relistic humor that is in his writing is what really draws me to his books. im really interested in the new book and have to get it.

+anna-