How I Came to Write This Story: Pat Dennis

Why I Wrote This Story. Pat Dennis

My short story, PUCK, was published two years ago in the Once Upon A Crime Anthology. Although the plot focused on Edith Mae who hated her neighbor Puck, I fell in love with the secondary character. Relationships are often a love/hate experience for me. Although I thought Puck was fun and quirky, in real life I would have refused her entry to my home, as well. The same way Edith Mae did.

Puck was cute, energetic, always aggressively positive and totally dedicated to her 1001 causes. Just the kind of person I love to kill off in my stories. But I allowed her at that point. By the time Anne Frasier asked me write for her anthology Deadly Treats, I knew it was time to take on Puck once again.

In Dead Line we meet Puck’s sister, Kate. The two siblings have had a rivalry since birth, with Puck always coming out ahead. When Puck moves back into the neighborhood, Kate is pushed over the edge.

As I wrote Dead Line I realized I was writing about something I knew quite well, sibling rivalry. My sister is a life-long beauty. At 70, she can pass for fifty. Her looks are classic with straight, thick hair, and a straighter nose. She is movie star slim with hazel eyes that change color. I look like a Cabbage Patch Kid. Complete with curly hair, round body and a pug nose. And at 63? I look 73.

Growing up, I don’t know if I had an actual rivalry with my sister. To compete you have to at least think you can win. I wasn’t that foolish. So while I retreated into books, my sister retreated into cans of hairspray. I do love my sister, a lot in fact. But it was interesting that I found myself excited by putting two sisters at war on the same page. And in some obscure way, I think it made me closer to understanding my sister and my response to her. Perhaps we aren’t so different after all. But to be honest, I can’t see myself splurging on Aqua Net. Not when there are books to be bought.