I'm always fascinated by collaborations. How they come about. The division of labor. Who gets the final say in arguments. Etc...
The back story on Out Behind the Barn was particularly interesting. John sends a short story called Maggies Farm to Chad for his insight. Even though Chad loved the story he felt it needed more. The case of a short story longing to be a novella. After a couple of rejections as a short, Chad tells John he'd add 15,000 words if he had to write them himself. Some time passes, other obligations are met and after collaborating we have the final cut and its a remarkable story.
Young Davey and Ronny have lived with Miss Maggie for as long as they can remember. Others have come and gone, but the two boys remain.
What follows is a story which immediately draws me in. I really enjoyed how the boys share a love of reading, particularly their fondness for Poe.
The storytelling of Boden and Lutzke is top notch, too...
"The three ate breakfast together while Maggie sat and observed. She always kept a close eye, especially when it came to her boys. If anything ever happened to them, the world couldn't hold all the tears that'd fall. She stoked these thoughts as she pretended to read the cereal box before her, then was dragged from them when Davey started speaking of a cartoon he'd watched about a land of balloon people and the terrible pincushion man who came to terrorize them."
The result of this collaboration is a sound tale which guards its secrets closely. And the prose is often to die for...
"The sky above was a sea of motor oil and diamond buckshot, the air smokestack ejaculate and lingering diesel."
Recommended.
Published by Shadow Work Publishing, Out Behind the Barn is available in both paperback and Kindle formats. BTW, if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read it at no additional charge. Also, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can read it for FREE using the Kindle Owners Lending Library.
From the authors' bios...
John Boden lives a stone's throw from Three Mile Island with his wonderful wife and sons. A baker by day, he spends his off time writing, working on Shock Totem or watching M*A*S*H re-runs. He likes Diet Pepsi, cheeseburgers, heavy metal, and sports ferocious sideburns. While his output as a writer is fairly sporadic, it has a bit of a reputation for being unique.
Chad Lutzke lives in Michigan with his wife and children. For over two decades, he has been a contributor to several different outlets in the independent music and film scene, offering articles, reviews, and artwork. He has written for Famous Monsters of Filmland, Rue Morgue, Cemetery Dance, and Scream magazine. He's had a few dozen stories published, and some of his other books include: Of Foster Home & Flies, Stirring the Sheets, Skullface Boy, and The Same Deep Water As You.
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