In Alex Ashbrook’s Long Lines at Nostalgia Park, we’re plunged into a sad and comedic near future where climate change and overpopulation has led to local governments demanding a person from each family to sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity. In this world turned upside down, we follow a young man and his twenties who has been voted out by his family, as he meets others who have either willingly self-selected or been forced into the role of sacrifice, at an island in Ohio that’s been built up as a dangerous amusement park, where they can easily find ways to die for the sake of others. Spoiler alert: a mystery is discovered, and our band of would-be sacrifices find a way to reveal to the world that not all is what it seems at Paradise Island. —Chris Barzak
Alex Ashbrook is a fiction writer and musician living in Cleveland, Ohio. He holds a BA in English and Fine Arts and an MFA from Cleveland State University.
Everytime you think you have a good idea for a Tweet, write it down and use it in a story instead.
Sometimes when I’m stuck, I’ll pick four or five books off my shelf at random and read their opening lines.
Edison’s Pub in Tremont.
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Cleveland State University
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