A collection of stories about rough people living through rough times in a rough town.
The Streets of Greenfield will be a collection of sixteen to twenty short stories set in my hometown of Greenfield, Ohio, between 1960 and 2023.
Every story is a work of fiction. The stories will vary in length, but generally, they will be between one hundred fifty and eight thousand words long. A few are loosely based on actual events or local legends, but most are drawn from ideas I conjured up in my head. Likewise, the characters are all fictional; simply characters I created to fit the narrative I am trying to weave. However, a few may be based on real people or, more likely, composites of people I have known, including myself.
Specifically, The Streets of Greenfield is what is known as a “short story cycle.” A short story cycle is a collection of stories with a common theme, including recurring characters and locations, which, when read individually, stand alone as complete narratives. However, when read together, they intertwine characters and events to form a larger narrative, almost like a novel.
The Streets of Greenfield is an original work. All of the characters and events depicted are my creation. That said, the subject matter and style of writing I have chosen to present are influenced to some extent by two books written by two authors eighty-nine years apart. The first is Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson and published in 1919. The second is Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock and published in 2008. If you are familiar with either of these books, you’ll have a general idea of what I am creating.
It’s essential to establish what The Streets of Greenfield is and what it is not. It is not a book full of folksy tales set in a quaint southern Ohio town located on the edge of Appalachia. Don’t envision a Norman Rockwell painting of smiling neighbors gossiping over the fence in their backyards. The Streets of Greenfield is about rough people living through rough times in a rough town. Many characters are flawed, some fatally. They are at odds with their environment, their station in life, and the people around them. More than anything, they are at odds with themselves. There are heroes, and there are anti-heroes. There are a few winners, and there are a few losers. There is tragedy, but there is also triumph, humor, and nostalgia. These stories encompass life, and life isn't always pretty. While writing, I have been careful not to be offensive for the sake of being offensive. However, I have also been careful not to censor myself merely to avoid offending anyone. Does that make sense?
I have completed a dozen stories for my collection and am working on a dozen more. When I have chosen the sixteen to twenty stories for The Streets of Greenfield, I will compile them into a manuscript to present to publishers. My goal is to complete this step by March 15, 2023. By Spring 2024, I hope to have the book available to the public. It’s a lofty goal, but I am confident I can accomplish it with some help.
That brings us to this website. Through this site, I want to introduce folks to my writing in general and The Streets of Greenfield in particular. Publishers require prospective authors to have established an online presence before seriously considering publishing their work. By becoming a site member, reading the posts, sharing them with others, and leaving comments, you can help me establish the online presence required by publishers. It will show them a level of excitement and support for a book like The Streets of Greenfield, and they will be likelier to want to publish it. I also have a Facebook page (Eric Grate - Writer) that I encourage you to follow for the same reasons stated above.
Soon, I will be releasing snippets and descriptions of the stories included in The Streets of Greenfield; stories like “Mediocre Moon,” “Farewell To Fiona,” and “(From Greenfield, Ohio) The Love Brothers!” However, I will not be publishing them in full on this site, as that would be counterproductive to writing a book and make publishers less likely to want to publish it. I will, however, be releasing other works of fiction (not related to The Streets of Greenfield) in the coming weeks. For now, I will continue to give updates on The Streets of Greenfield and make blog posts about life in general. I can be pretty witty sometimes, so I think you will enjoy what I have coming your way.
I want to thank everyone who has supported my endeavor up to this point by becoming members of the site and Facebook page and for leaving comments and likes on the posts. My chance of success is minimal without your help. I am very grateful.
In closing, I ask you to consider telling a friend about what I am doing and encourage them to join us here. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments section. I will do my best to answer them.
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