STORY SHOWCASE #12

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MEXICAN MENNONITES

by Selene Macleod

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A little taster…

“Where are we going, anyway?” asked Jessie, interrupting his reverie.

“I think I know how we can get some money,” he said.

“What’s your landlady going to think? Should I call my dad?”

“Not yet. She’s probably just figuring out we took the car.” Stole, more like. Jack didn’t have permission to go upstairs, but when he and Jessie had snorted their last, they stumbled around and found the keys. He wasn’t sure how long they’d been driving, could be hours or days, but the sun would be up soon.

They had to get some more – nothing matched the feel of the meth as it flooded his bloodstream and hit him like a speed train. The first golden hit had given way to the “curve” of the high a couple of hours ago, and now he was on the down side. He drew dry lips back over stained teeth and grimaced, the craving not yet a ravening beast but it would get worse as he came down. Jessie turned her head and returned a smile full of black and broken teeth of her own. The girl lived on caffeine, nicotine and watermelon Jolly Ranchers.

About the author

Selene is a proud Canadian who sometimes writes, sometimes edits, sometimes answers phones at a job, and can be found hosting the YouTube channel Ella Gorey’s Horror Stories. Her stories have appeared in the webzines Luna Station Quarterly, Shotgun Honey, and in such anthologies as Tragedy Queens: Stories Inspired by Lana Del Rey & Slyvia Plath, Long Distance Drunks, Drag Noir, and Garbology: The GarbAugust Anthology of Awesome Trash.

We asked Selene…

K&R: What was the spark or idea that led you to write this story?

SM: The seed of the story happened years ago, when my friend Gary (RIP) told me about his parents, who lived in St. Jacobs Ontario, where there is a big Mennonite community. His parents sold their house, and the Mennonites paid cash for it. This led to a discussion about how they don’t believe in banks, so most of their transactions are cash, which of course means they have a large cash fund somewhere on the farm. Gary mentioned that Mennonites generally don’t believe in law enforcement, plus they’re pacifists, so if you were to rob them, they would just stand back. Of course, what kind of psycho robs a Mennonite? No more beautiful furniture and shoo fly pie, come on! The second part of the story happened when I read about Mennonite communities in Mexico, who started moving there in the early 20th century. The cartels came in and the Mennonites figured out it was more lucrative to grow drug crops, which were then trafficked into Canada. At one time, I thought a novel about a Mexican Mennonite mob would be interesting … then the CBC beat me to it.

“Pure” – Canadian TV Series (Wikipedia)

CBC News article.

CBC video: “Mennonite Mob”

K&R: Do you have any other work do you have out there, for folks to dig into?

SM: It’s been a while since I published much, but here is my Amazon author page, and my Shotgun Honey stories.

“Conversion” – Shotgun Honey

“Cody” – Shotgun Honey

K&R: What’s next for you as a writer?

SM: I don’t know what’s next. Maybe I should collect my short stories into one volume. They’re all so different, though I don’t know if it would just be a mess.

K&R: What does “trashy fiction” mean to you, and what do you love about it?

SM: Since “Garbaugust” started, I’ve often thought about what makes something “trash” vs “good” or “quality”. And then I looked at the lists of “trashy” authors and books, set against the annual bestseller lists … and it seems to me that a LOT of people love “trashy” fiction! So I just try to read what’s interesting and leave the labels for bookstores, library shelves, and marketing agents.

K&R: Hit us with your own favourite “trashy” fiction recommendations!

SM: My trashy heart will always belong to Jackie Collins (the Santangelo series), Sidney Sheldon (Master of the Game and If Tomorrow Comes), the Dollenganger series by VC Andrews, and of course, Stephen King. 

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