Daddy's Side

by Melanie Tem, J. K. Abernethy (Illustrator)

"An affecting story about a little girl's twisted relationship with her father." When 7 year-old Emory's biological father steps back into her mother's life, she has to decide whether she will be on Mommy's side or Daddy's side. And much later, when Daddy is dying and going over to the other side, she has to decide whether she will be on Daddy's side.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Melanie Kubachko was born and raised in rural northwestern Pennsylvania. She received a degree at Allegheny College and went on to earn a master's degree in social work from the University of Denver. Apart from a varied career in social work she has published short fiction in numerous publications, including Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Skin of the Soul, and Final Shadows. Her work has also been included in such anthologies as Women of Darkness and Women of the West.

Married to Steve Rasnic Tem.

Reviews

[Darrah]

7-year-old Emory (or "Emry" to daddy) remembers every house she's lived in. And Tem gives us descriptions of the important ones vivid enough that they come alive. But Emory has never seen the house that Daddy is building "out of wood and metal and desperation". As with Emory, we don't really get to know mommy, but daddy's features, life, and failures are all over this short chapbook. And we are with Emory as she has to decide whether she is really on Daddy's side of the story. A powerful short story with an unexpected, and slightly creepy, ending. If you like Melanie Tem's work, you will certainly enjoy this. It's classified as "horror", and although it doesn't strike me as truly a horror story, horror fans will find here a story they will appreciate.

The 1991 original chapbook was a limited edition, and is hard to find. Tem included this in her collection "Singularities" in 2016. That is also a limited edition book, but the Kindle version (2018) of that book is easily available.