This month I’m highlighting Vienna, USA, a collection of five short stories set in the fictional Midwest town of Vienna. The first story of the collection is “Transitions,” and like most of the stories in this collection, it’s based on real life.
My dad was presented with the opportunity to take over the family business, and his decision was due after his trip overseas. This is the idea that sparked this story. Here, Mitch is returning home after a roadtrip (also inspired by my dad’s epic roadtrip back in the day).
The opening paragraph:
Mitch had long grown accustomed to the rhythm of orange lights over the dash of the van, and in the days to come, when the road was not so long or so lonely, the sounds of Meatloaf and Led Zepplin and the Rolling Stones would still echo in his mind. But this road was ending, and Greg was asleep in the passenger seat, so Mitch exchanged the classic rock station for a cassette tape of “American Pie,” which Greg hated. The van was old, with too many miles before they had rolled the odometer 10,000 more. Plus, tapes were cheaper than CDs.
“Transitions” is set in 1997, so tapes were a little more common than today.
When I wrote “Transitions,” its purpose was to be the first in a series of stories written by other writers. (One of my college projects.) You’ll notice I do a lot of “worldbuilding” in this story.
I remember struggling with the ending because this was one of the first stories in which I used an understated conflict. I was teaching myself how to do new things.
There’s a fabulously awesome postcard in the story that’s copied verbatim from one my dad wrote. But you’ll have to purchase the collection to read it. (Tricky me.)
Available at Smashwords and as a PDF currently.