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Roadkill
Steven has one year left of college when he returns to his small New Hampshire hometown for the summer. He says he is home to help his friend John, whose mother is dying, but he just might be escaping the uncertainty of his future. While he’s home, Steven finds himself drawn to the mysterious Catherine, an out-of-towner who drives around with a shovel in the back of her truck. Through alternating first-person POV and flashbacks, Steven’s present insecurities and Catherine’s heart-breaking past are revealed. The two must decide if they can trust each other – and themselves when a natural disaster is sparked nearby.
“Set in rural, smalltown America, Roadkill grapples with grief and loss in the uncertain, transitory, and liminal space of young adulthood. Told in crisp, elegant prose, this co-written novelette moves through time and space with purpose and subtle grace. Roadkill is a coming-of-age tale reminiscent of Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories—it rings true.”
–JD Clapp, author of Five Things That Happened in Bars
“A bittersweet but beautifully hopeful romp through the landscapes of fires that burn in us all.”
–Zephaniah Sole, author of A Crime in the Land of 7000 Islands
“Visceral, suspenseful, and inventive, Roadkill kept me guessing until the end. These writers have built a world rich with history and atmosphere, all while subverting every expectation as to form. There’s something here for every reader.”
–Shannon Sanders, author of Company.
“Set in rural, smalltown America, Roadkill grapples with grief and loss in the uncertain, transitory, and liminal space of young adulthood. Told in crisp, elegant prose, this co-written novelette moves through time and space with purpose and subtle grace. Roadkill is a coming-of-age tale reminiscent of Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories—it rings true.”
–JD Clapp, author of Five Things That Happened in Bars
“A bittersweet but beautifully hopeful romp through the landscapes of fires that burn in us all.”
–Zephaniah Sole, author of A Crime in the Land of 7000 Islands
“Visceral, suspenseful, and inventive, Roadkill kept me guessing until the end. These writers have built a world rich with history and atmosphere, all while subverting every expectation as to form. There’s something here for every reader.”
–Shannon Sanders, author of Company.
36 pages, Paperback
Published April 30, 2024
About the author
Melissa Flores Anderson
3 books3 followersMelissa Flores Anderson is a California native who has published work in swamp pink, Chapter House and HAD, and has a flash forthcoming in Best Small Fictions 2025. She is the author of the CNF chapbook "A Body in Motion" (JAKE) and the novelette "Roadkill" (ELJ Editions.) Her debut short story collection "All and Then None of You" (Cowboy Jamboree) is out September 2025. She is a reader/editor for Roi Fainéant Press and EIC of the Broken Hearts Gallery Literary. She lives with her husband and young son, and works as a communications professional in higher ed.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 5, 2024
Roadkill, a novelette cowritten by Melissa Flores Anderson and François Bereaund, is fantastic. What starts as a spark between the stalwart Steven and the mysterious Catherine grows and smolders through this fun read. What brings Steven back to his small hometown? What brings Catherine and her shovel? I love a story that explores the answers and adds just enough new questions to keep you reading and reading, igniting your imagination and senses and filling it with just enough fire to keep you warm. How does such a small book tackle grief, adulthood, and the uncontrollable experience we call life? Highly recommend getting a copy and finding that out for yourself.
July 12, 2024
Fantastic novelette from two very talented writers who truly understand the craft of short fiction.
October 8, 2025
A love story wreathed in sadness. Read it before the world ends.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews