Here we are again for #SundayStories where you can learn about the inspiration behind one of the stories from my new collection, When We Come Back.

This week tackles the first story in the collection to explore futurism, albeit in a background context kind of way. “Mischief, Muskrats & Mudslides” was inspired by two small but indelible moments from our annual family vacations to the Fingers Lake, NY. The first was when my sister-in-law encountered what she suspected were two muskrats while kayaking on Keuka Lake. The second was a brief encounter with a friendly cashier at a small mom-and-pop grocery store in downtown Hammondsport who was especially nice to our son when we purchased only a candy bar. From there the character of Jodie was born.

I wanted the setting to feel familiar yet eerily off, something that would lend itself even more to the crushing feeling of fatalism felt by Jodie. Thus, the story takes place in the not-too-distant future with heightened chatter of additional pandemics, catastrophic climate change, and floods. But amongst it all, everyday life creeps along…crawling towards some final end of our own making.

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