And of course it added fuel to my crush because he “got me” (spoiler: he never asked me out).Įven though I LOVED to read, I’d never considered being a writer at that point. Then … my crush guessed it was me! Everyone was SHOCKED that the quiet, mousey nerd wrote such a gruesome story. Of course everyone guessed several of the guys in the class. Then he asked people to guess who wrote it. Kaple read it to the class and everyone was captivated. At the end we learn the BP stands for Body Parts Bank. They chop off an arm and a leg and three fingers for interest. When they can’t pay it back, the bank comes for their child, who was the collateral. I wrote a story called The BP Bank, in which a couple need to buy something that costs an arm and a leg, so they take out a loan from the bank. I can’t remember now if we had prompts or not. Jocelyn: When I was a freshman in high school, my English teacher did a unit on short stories, and we had to write a story every week. What inspired you to write it? What was it about? Me: I can’t wait to get to the brainy part of our conversation, but I don’t want to skip how you got there! So, Tell me about your “first story.” The one that really pushed you to consider publishing. Me: Hello Jocelyn and welcome to First Stories! Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her dog. When she’s not writing, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading.

Her second book, BATTLE OF THE BRAINS, is about ten animals with mind-blowing brain abilities. Her first book was BATTLE OF THE BUTTS, about ten animals that do weird things with their butts. JOCELYN RISH is a writer and filmmaker who loves researching weird and wonderful animals and sharing what she learns. My guest on First Stories today is Jocelyn Rish! Hooray! She’s here to discuss her BRAND NEW release – Battle of the Brains! Many animals are settling down for a long winter’s nap, but others must use their brains to survive the harsh weather. The holidays are fast approaching, schedules are filling up, and the weather is growing colder.

Battle of the Butts by Jocelyn Rish