The Girl Who Raced Mules & Other Stories

"The Girl Who Raced Mules"--Winner of the 1994 Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest; published in Blue Ridge Traditions and Fit to Print II (the Anthology of the Valley Writers' Club): A divorced mother of a twelve-year-old who wants to enter a teen beauty pageant decides that her own childhood mule-racing experiences were not unlike her daughter's beauty pageant obsession.

"Eye of the Beholder"--Third place in the 2000 Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest;published in Virginia Adversaria: Much to the despair of their obsessive mother, the older sister of a kiddie beauty pageant contestant arranges for the child to get her wish-- a tattoo and a pony.

"Chosen Child"--the only story with no history: An unwed teenage mother identifies the father of her child as the deceased school nerd and discovers that living a lie leads to a much better life for her and her baby.

"Angel on Ice"--Nominated for a 1997 Pushcart Prize by Virginia Howard, editor of THEMA; published in THEMA and Blue Ridge Traditions: A stranger appears to an elderly woman after an ice storm and grants her three wishes. When her wishes come true, she believes he's an angel.

"Rest in Peace"--Winner of the 1996 Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest; to be published in the next Sherwood Anderson Contest anthology: A boy who wants to be a preacher practices preaching funerals by burying his drunken father.

"Miracle of the Concrete Jesus"--Winner of the 2002 Traveler Chapter (Virginia Writers Club) Fiction Contest: A woman's desire for recognition goes awry when the concrete Jesus she purchased for her church slips off the back of a truck.

"Burning Bridges"--Winner of the 2002 Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest: A rural Virginia woman, trying to set Yankees straight about the real Thanksgiving, causes problems in her daughter's elementary school, gets herself arrested, and alienates her mother-in-law.

"The Mystery of Emmaline Carter"--Published in THEMA: A woman who buys some old books that she enjoyed as a child becomes obsessed with finding the "Emmaline Carter" who penciled comments into each book.

"Everybody's Business"--Winner of the 1999 Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest: A small town teenage jock futilely tries to score with the new girl at school.

"Insult to Injury"--Winner of the 2001 Wytheville Chautauqua Literary Contest: A young Bedford County girl who desperately wants to be Roy Rogers becomes a heroine with the help of her mule, Trigger.

"Fixing the Blame"--Third place in the 2003 Wytheville Chautauqua Literary Contest: Three elderly siblings finally settle the argument about who was to blame for the whipping they got as kids when they tried to prove who was fatter--their pig or their aunt.

"The Best 'Un Yet"--Honorable Mention, Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest; published in Blue Ridge Traditions: A transplanted city family tries to change a rural school's Christmas pageant to make it more politically correct.

"You Ain't Buck Nekkid and You Got Enough to Eat"--Winner of the 1996 Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest and the 1998 Women in the Arts fiction Contest; published in Blue Ridge Traditions, Women in the Arts Spring Fantasy, Fit to Print (the Anthology of the Valley Writers' Club): A poor rural girl, ashamed of her mother and envious of her affluent city classmates, realizes that she has much more than her classmates have when her mother hosts a school Christmas party.

If you grew up in the country or just wished that you did, if you miss the days of sitting on the front porch listening to family stories and watching the day go by, you'll love THE GIRL WHO RACED MULES & OTHER STORIES. This collection of short stories is full of humor, entertainment, and life.

From the first story, where a mother tells her daughter of the glorious days of racing mules for fun and a pop, to the very last, where a young child, ashamed of her farm life, learns to see it from another's point of view and understands how blessed she is, the reader will find memorable tales much like the ones that are passed down at a grandparent's knee. You will giggle through a story of an older sister "ruining" her beauty pageant-winning sibling by getting her tattooed. You will laugh out loud at a story of a drunk father of an up-and-coming preacher finding himself covered in the red mud of the region in the middle of a Baptist gathering by the river, only to be scared sober when the real preacher screams at the devil in their midst. You will wonder at the tale of the Angel who appears to an elderly woman during ice storms and of a simple mystery of what can found written on the pages of library books.

The author claims that these stories are not altogether real life stories, but rather inspired by some true happenings. That is the beauty of tales like these; they could have happened. What is real is the feel of the Blue Ridge region that is found throughout the book. Becky Mushko lives in rural Virginia and knows the ways of the country well. Her love for the area shines through in her work.

Nearly every tale in the collection is an award winner of some sort. With stories like "Everybody's Business," where a young man's experiences with a city girl and a big old bull become more local talk than he'd care for, and "The Best 'Un Yet," where outsiders try to take over the local school's Christmas pageant, the author is highly skilled in portraying small town and rural life.

A wonderful book to cuddle with in front of the fire or swing with on the front porch, THE GIRL WHO RACED MULES & OTHER STORIES will have you recalling the simpler things in life and perhaps a family story of your own. Let's hope you haven't got a tale to tell that includes putting underwear on a pig.

--Heather Froeschl, Senior News