Joyride: A Short Story

by Betsy Tobin

Winner of the London Writer's Competition: First Prize Short Fiction

I had just turned eleven when Tom Woods came into my life. That was two years ago, though it seems like only yesterday we were listening to dirt tumble onto his grave. My father paid for the burial, because Tom's mother was bone poor, and my father said no one should have to go to God without a decent burial. He said that, even after what had happened to Lucy. And I remember thinking that maybe my father was God, because nobody human had that much forgiveness in them.

Southern Ohio, 1971. Eleven-year old Sam isn't sure she likes the high school dropout her father has hired as a farmhand. And her older sister Lucy is even more scathing, when she isn't secretly watching him. But Sam's idealistic father reckons he's just the man to turn young Tom Woods around. Until one blistering hot summer's day, when Lucy and Sam accept a ride to the quarry. And their lives swerve, momentarily, out of control...

From the acclaimed author of Bone House, Ice Land and Crimson China comes a searing tale of lost innocence and misplaced hope.

Praise for Betsy Tobin's novels:

'A gripping narrative shimmering with psychological depth.' The New York Times

'A surprisingly delicate murder mystery, tempered by great detail
and remarkable control.' Los Angeles Times

'A fine gothic novel which burrows under the skin.' The Times (London)

'An elegant, haunting novel.' Publishers Weekly

'An entertaining and highly original first novel.' Harpers & Queen

'Elegant and engrossing.' Chicago Tribune

'Beautiful, tense and moving.' Le Monde

22 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 12, 2014

About the author

Betsy Tobin was born in the U.S. and moved to England in 1989, where she now lives with her husband and children. Her first novel, Bone House, was short-listed for the Commonwealth Prize, and won the Herodotus Prize in the United States. Her other novels include The Bounce, Ice Land, and Crimson China. Crimson China was Radio 4 Book At Bedtime in the UK, and was short-listed for Epic Romantic Novel of the Year.

Her latest book, THINGS WE COULDN'T EXPLAIN, is available for pre-order now on Amazon in the UK. (Digital ebook available in August. Paperback coming in November 2014!)

Watch the trailer at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA_TX...