Twisted: Short Stories by Young Writers

From dueling families to an insane asylum, these short stories are… twisted.

During the autumn of 2016, the team behind the Chapter One Young Writers Conference mentored two talented young writers through the publishing process, giving them a head start on becoming the successful authors of tomorrow. Now, read the stories on which these up-and-coming writers worked, along with four by the Ch1Con mentors themselves.

Each of these stories comes with a twist. You’ll never see what’s coming next.

I’m extremely excited, and can’t wait for everyone to read it! For an excerpt of my story, scroll down to the blog tour schedule and click on the link!

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Today, I’ll be interviewing another one of the authors in the anthology, Cameron Vanderwerf!

First off, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hey, blogosphere. My name is Cameron Vanderwerf, I’m 22 years old, I graduated from college with a BA in English in 2015, and I love to write fiction. My interests within fiction seem to change rapidly—one month I might be really into British social satires, and the next month I might only be reading Raymond Chandler—but I almost never stop loving authors I’ve loved before, and I never stop loving fiction in general.

When did you decide to become a writer?

Well, I know I’ve enjoyed writing—especially fiction writing—since I was about ten years old, but it wasn’t until this past year that I realized writing is really one of the things that I most enjoy spending my time on. I graduated from college 18 months ago, and being out of school has really given me perspective on how I want to spend my future.

Can you explain your story in five words or less?

Dressage instructor faces thwarted ambitions.

What’s your favorite thing about this story?

My writing generally tends to reflect the type of literature I’m interested in at the time, so this story reflects my own personal take on British literature of the 1800s. I think that era of literature was very apt in exploring the social stratification of the time with honesty, beautiful language, and the occasional touch of dry British humor. I’m obviously no Dickens or Forster, but I always enjoy the challenge of updating old styles of literature to suit more modern tastes.

What’s your favorite thing about writing in general?

If I had to choose one thing, probably character development. There’s nothing more satisfying than creating a person that feels both interesting and well-rendered. Whether it’s their backstory or their way of speaking or their own peculiar habits, interesting characters provide much of my enjoyment in both reading and writing. But that’s if I had to choose only one thing. Writing in general provides both a great escape and a great path to reflection and discovery, and every part of the writing process is an aid to those things.

Where would you like to see yourself in ten years?

Ideally? Travelling the world in my personal high-speed hovercraft, writing first-hand accounts of the world’s many different cultures. But I would be just as happy to stay at home and make a living writing funny mystery novels.

What was your favorite part of the Ch1Con mentorship program?

Every part of the program was great, but if I had to choose a favorite session, I’d have to say working with an editor. Preferences vary by writer, but to me, revising is always the scariest and toughest part of the writing process. I usually get outside critiques from people in my writing group, but it was also helpful to get feedback in the more formal and rigorous context that the writer-editor relationship provides.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

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In honor of Twisted’s release, we’re holding a mini blog tour on the mentors’ blogs. The tour includes interviews, excerpts from the anthology stories, and more. The blog tour schedule is below:

• Monday, November 21: Excerpt from Brett Jonas’s story on www.juliathewritergirl.com
• Tuesday, November 22: Excerpt from Allison Mulder’s story on www.theultimatelyuselessstoriesofanaverageteenager.com
• Wednesday, November 23: Excerpt from Emma Rose Ryan’s story on www.juliathewritergirl.com
• Saturday, November 26: Excerpt from Kathleen Rae’s story on www.theultimatelyuselessstoriesofanaverageteenager.com
• Sunday, November 27: Interview with Anne Brees on www.literaryabstractions.blogspot.com
• Monday, November 28: Interview with Cameron Vanderwerf on www.brettjonas.com
• Tuesday, November 29: Interview with Mentors on www.ch1con.tumblr.com
• Wednesday, November 30: Giveaway of one paperback copy of Twisted on www.chapteroneconference.com

The paperback and e-book editions of Twisted are available now for order on Blurb.com, and the e-book will be available soon on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks.

• Paperback Edition (Blurb): http://www.blurb.com/b/7498410-twisted
• E-book Edition (Blurb): http://www.blurb.com/b/7498410-twisted?ebook=602724

From dueling families to an insane asylum, these short stories are... twisted.

During the autumn of 2016, the team behind the Chapter One Young Writers Conference mentored two talented young writers through the publishing process, giving them a head start on becoming the successful authors of tomorrow. Now, read the stories on which these up-and-coming writers worked, along with four by the Ch1Con mentors themselves.

Each of these stories comes with a twist. You'll never see what's coming next.

Purchase Links:
Paperback
Kindle
iBooks

Excerpt:

I shouldn't have answered the phone. Mom was going on and on and on about this boy she wanted me to meet and how he'd just moved down by me to go to my college, and I should date him, because he was her best friend's son or something like that and "you should see him with his shirt off," and-- whoa. Really, Mom?

I sighed and tucked my phone between my ear and shoulder. "Mom."

"What, honey?"

"Do you know how many people named Brown there could be here? Or heck, even Joshes. I know at least five of them, just from college. Chances are, we'll never run into each other, and you and Maggie will just have to live with that. I've got a date with someone else tonight, anyway."

“Just keep him in mind, honey.” Mom sighed. She wanted grandkids, and had never been shy about telling me that, unfortunately.

“Okay, Mom. Maybe we’ll find each other, and maybe we’ll become a thing.”

“You should.”

“Maybe.” My doorbell rang and I sighed. "That's probably the maintenance man coming to fix the leaky drain he’s already ‘fixed’ three times. I'll talk to you later."

"Love you, sweetie."

"Love you too."

My socks slid along the linoleum as I hung up and tucked my phone into my back pocket. I undid the latch and opened the front door, only to stop short when the man who appeared was definitely not Bill, our building's janitor and handyman.

"Um, hi," he said, brown eyes meeting mine. "I just wanted to come over and introduce myself. I'm Josh, your new neighbor."

Of course he was a Josh. Make that six Joshes I knew who weren’t Maggie’s son.

Oh, wait, this must be the source of all the banging next door. It wasn't actually a herd of elephants?

"I'm Kassidy," I said, opening the door the rest of the way. "Want to come in?"

			Twisted: Short Stories by Young Writers by Brett Jonas, Anne Brees, Cameron Vanderwerf, Kathleen Rae, Emma Rose Ryan, Allison Mulder, Julia Byers (2016)