A Tale from the Blackwater River

A struggling author named Alanda Streets finds herself in trouble when an old boyfriend begins to stalk her. From the notebooks of Alanda Streets: I suppose A Tale from the Blackwater River might seem like a satire or a parody. But as a matter of fact, my experiences with Kevin Decker have altered my life and aren't really all that funny. I had so much wanted to become a great writer, but then all these bad things happened to me. I know you're going to laugh when you read this book, but that wasn't my intention when I wrote it. What I was really hoping to do was write the great American novel, but all I've been able to come up with is a novella that will have people laughing their heads off. It's a lot of fun to write a book, but the part that comes afterwards is not so much fun. In fact, it's traumatic. Almost nobody wants to read your book because they take it for granted that with an oddball name like Alanda Streets, you're just a rank amateur who's incapable of writing something that could actually be worth reading. And here I am, halfway through page one, and I'm sure everyone is going, "Come on, get to it—you've got about one second left before I delete you into electronic oblivion." Unfortunately, the scene has to be set, but I'll be frank with you—what you're about to read is an amazing story. Or is it a parody? And if it is a parody, who are the ones being mocked?