The creative process is like a train chugging along its tracks. If you sit and listen, you can hear the distant train whistle as it heads into the edge of town. You are welcome to jump on the train, if you dare, and take it for a ride. Sometimes the rides are free; sometimes they come with a cost. If you ride that train, then you can’t stop the train from deviating from the track – to do so would bring destruction to you as well as the train. For the engine to pull into its destination, you have to sit back and let the train take its course. There are valleys, mountains, tunnels, forests, and bridges. The train must pass through whatever is placed along its path to reach the destination. When the train pulls into the station, if your journey has been satisfactory, you want to share that journey with others. You say, “Come on. Trust me. This ride is worth your time.” Sometimes you realize the journey wasn’t worth the time and you tuck your experience away, keeping it to yourself as you look for the next train to come along.

When I started writing this project, I wanted to recreate what life was like in Science Hill, Kentucky when I was young. I had no intentions of writing about Witch’s Cave, which was the kernel of an idea stuck in the back of my mind. I was really writing as an exercise to get the creative juices flowing. Then the train appeared and I jumped aboard. On board were two guys on a mischievous adventure. They seemed like old friends, yet they really weren’t guys I hung out with, nor would I have run in their circles. However, they were guys I knew, guys I talked to in town or took classes with at school. They were fun to hang out with.

At first, I wanted control of this train, but Jeff was the one in control and I decided to just go along with his adventure. Even though I thought a certain turn here or there would make the journey better, Jeff stayed on the path before him and that is when the magic happened. The turns and twists of the plot were as much a surprise to me as I hope they will be to you. It was a fun and honest journey along a path could never have seen coming. I got to know these characters and the world they lived in. And at the end of my journey, I say to you, “Come on. Trust me. This ride is worth your time.”