Chris Stenson talks about "Two Bobbies"

“Two Bobbies” started as a 250-word flash fiction writing assignment for my writing group (Moorhead Friends Writing Group) in 2017. While struggling to query my novel I decided not to edit book two or start writing book three until I found an agent or a publisher. I still needed to write.

I started writing a werewolf short story entitled “Roadkill Surprise” that had been percolating for the past 30+ years, ever since driving numerous times on US-71 North between Blackduck and International Falls Minnesota. It’s dark at night, and your imagination can get the best of you. The story still isn’t finished, but it might have a home once completed.

A short time later the call came out for The Gates of Chaos: Stories Written During the Pandemic. I didn’t think about the Pandemic, my mind wandered to the words Gates and Chaos. My novel, Sins of the Mother, uses magic-marker drawn doors as gateways between realities. I pulled out “Two Bobbies” from my short story folder and the ideas flowed. The additions to the original story clicked into place.

One of the focuses of the short story and the Maiden, Mother, Crone series is a pristine pond in Northern Minnesota. A place where the walls between realities are thin. The world is wild and chaotic. A place where evil walks unfettered, no longer having to hide in the shadows, and the dead don’t stay dead long. 

Some other characters that I pulled from Sins of the Mother are the green-eyed girl–the queen of lost souls–and the dead children, who torment and scare Bobby. 

The inspiration for Bobby would have to be my younger brother. Growing up, he was both the Bobbies. At times he was a scared child and at other times, he was a terrifying monster.

Some of the questions that I asked myself while I wrote “Two Bobbies:” What follows you home in the dark, when you are alone, and at your most vulnerable? What can be more horrifying than drowning alone?

Two weeks after “Two Bobbies” was accepted, I was offered a publishing contract for my dark fantasy/ horror novel MMC 1: Sins of the Mother by Sage’s Tower Publishing.

This is just the beginning.

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At a young age, American author Chris Stenson had success winning young author contests and his love for writing continued throughout high school and into adulthood. He is the founder of a local writer's group that has hosted nationally known authors as guest speakers. He is currently working on his debut dark fantasy/ horror novel Sins of the Mother which will be published by Sage’s Tower Publishing sometime late 2021 or early 2022. He can be found at www.chrisstensonauthor.com. His first novel will be published by Sage's Tower Publishing. www.Sagestowerpublishing.com

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