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Midwest Motion: Two Stories about Desire
Here are two stories that revolve around the Midwest and people in love. While Christopher Meeks lives in California, he had grown up in Minnesota. The first story, “A Warm Front Appears to be Moving from California and Deep into Minnesota” is about a young woman named Summer who is off to look for an apartment in Minneapolis as she anticipates the arrival of her California boyfriend, Reed. They will live together soon. She tries to prove her Scottish mother wrong that Reed won’t come.
The second story, “I’d Rather Die than Go to North Dakota” is about a Japanese woman, a swimmer and a poet specializing in haiku, living in the Hollywood Hills with her American husband. He has just secured a new job at a TV station in North Dakota. She desires to keep her California life.
These stories are part of a series of new tales from Christopher Meeks of modern life in America. When his first short story collection, "The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea," came out, the Los Angeles Times called his work “poignant and wise, sympathetic to the everyday struggles the characters face.” Entertainment Weekly wrote it was a “stunning” collection. He continues here with his trademark insight and humor.
The second story, “I’d Rather Die than Go to North Dakota” is about a Japanese woman, a swimmer and a poet specializing in haiku, living in the Hollywood Hills with her American husband. He has just secured a new job at a TV station in North Dakota. She desires to keep her California life.
These stories are part of a series of new tales from Christopher Meeks of modern life in America. When his first short story collection, "The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea," came out, the Los Angeles Times called his work “poignant and wise, sympathetic to the everyday struggles the characters face.” Entertainment Weekly wrote it was a “stunning” collection. He continues here with his trademark insight and humor.
26 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2018
1 person is currently reading
About the author
Christopher Meeks
27 books80 followersChristopher Meeks first published short stories in such literary journals as Rosebud, The Clackamas Literary Review, The Santa Barbara Review, The Southern California Anthology, and The Gander Review. His stories are now available in two collections, The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea and Months and Seasons. He has four novels: The Brightest Moon of the Century, a story that Marc Schuster of Small Press Reviews describes as "a great and truly humane novel in the tradition of Charles Dickens and John Irving," his comic novel, Love At Absolute Zero. In addition, he has published two acclaimed crime books, Blood Drama and A Death in Vegas.
He began as a playwright and has had three plays produced. Who Lives? A Drama is published.
He began as a playwright and has had three plays produced. Who Lives? A Drama is published.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 1, 2018
‘If ya had money, why didn’t you stay out in California?’
For those readers fortunate enough to have read Christopher Meeks' first short story collection - THE MIDDLE-AGED MAN AND THE SEA - and discovered the idiosyncrasies of Meeks' writing style and content, rest assured that this new collection – The Tender Heart Series - not only will not disappoint, but also it will provide further proof that we have a superior writer of the genre in our presence! Meeks is an observer of the human condition, and that does not mean his view is lopsided or focused on only one realm of characters. True, he does create characters that have strangely vulnerable aspects that alter the way they interact with those around them. But in the end, these are people we pass in the street or sit next to on the bus, or notice in the strange places of Southern California like malls, funky parties - or just 'around' the neighborhood or cities. But his strange creations have just the right amount of 'normalcy' that in our eyes could make them part of the unnoticed woodwork: in Meeks' eyes (and pen) they become extraordinary seeds for terrific stories.
MIDWEST MOTION is Christopher’s second chapter book in this series that addresses conflicts – short reads, once called chap books – that tackle a serious problem and bring a new stance. Here are two stories that revolve around the Midwest and people in love. While Christopher Meeks lives in California, he had grown up in Minnesota. The first story, “A Warm Front Appears to be Moving from California and Deep into Minnesota” is about a young woman named Summer who is off to look for an apartment in Minneapolis as she anticipates the arrival of her California boyfriend, Reed. They will live together soon. She tries to prove her Scottish mother wrong that Reed won’t come. The second story, “I’d Rather Die than Go to North Dakota” is about a Japanese woman, a swimmer and a poet specializing in haiku, living in the Hollywood Hills with her American husband. He has just secured a new job at a TV station in North Dakota. She desires to keep her California life.
Each story is brief but is more sensitive to the life of people separated wither physically from their home place or emotionally from their before. That is his gift: terse, succinct, no nonsense gift for grabbing our attention, dallying a bit to infect us and then it is over - with an unexpected and very well related endings. Just like that!
For those readers fortunate enough to have read Christopher Meeks' first short story collection - THE MIDDLE-AGED MAN AND THE SEA - and discovered the idiosyncrasies of Meeks' writing style and content, rest assured that this new collection – The Tender Heart Series - not only will not disappoint, but also it will provide further proof that we have a superior writer of the genre in our presence! Meeks is an observer of the human condition, and that does not mean his view is lopsided or focused on only one realm of characters. True, he does create characters that have strangely vulnerable aspects that alter the way they interact with those around them. But in the end, these are people we pass in the street or sit next to on the bus, or notice in the strange places of Southern California like malls, funky parties - or just 'around' the neighborhood or cities. But his strange creations have just the right amount of 'normalcy' that in our eyes could make them part of the unnoticed woodwork: in Meeks' eyes (and pen) they become extraordinary seeds for terrific stories.
MIDWEST MOTION is Christopher’s second chapter book in this series that addresses conflicts – short reads, once called chap books – that tackle a serious problem and bring a new stance. Here are two stories that revolve around the Midwest and people in love. While Christopher Meeks lives in California, he had grown up in Minnesota. The first story, “A Warm Front Appears to be Moving from California and Deep into Minnesota” is about a young woman named Summer who is off to look for an apartment in Minneapolis as she anticipates the arrival of her California boyfriend, Reed. They will live together soon. She tries to prove her Scottish mother wrong that Reed won’t come. The second story, “I’d Rather Die than Go to North Dakota” is about a Japanese woman, a swimmer and a poet specializing in haiku, living in the Hollywood Hills with her American husband. He has just secured a new job at a TV station in North Dakota. She desires to keep her California life.
Each story is brief but is more sensitive to the life of people separated wither physically from their home place or emotionally from their before. That is his gift: terse, succinct, no nonsense gift for grabbing our attention, dallying a bit to infect us and then it is over - with an unexpected and very well related endings. Just like that!
Displaying 1 of 1 review