Branches Book

BRANCHES

Author’s Statement: Haley Katz

The motivation for this short story came from my love for reading. Growing up, I spent many late nights frantically flipping through the pages of thriller novels, desperately try to find out the culprit was. Reading these stories became a huge part of my childhood and ultimately inspired me to write one of my own. I can only hope that when people read my piece they too can share the experience I had growing up, and that my piece gives them the opportunity escape their daily routine and experience something they wouldn’t otherwise experience. When writing this piece, my intention was to create suspense and tension in this story with a successful twist. I remember these two things being the key to a successful thriller story in my childhood. With that premise, I intended the character Brewster to be a smart and cunning, detective that could explore what the inside of a murderer’s mind was truly like. In doing so, my readers would have the opportunity to solve the murder along with him. I accomplished this by withholding critical information from the reader as well as allowing them to hear the thoughts that occur in Brewster’s mind.

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