Another McGuffin

My first short story, “The Deal,” was published in The Dark Sire on Halloween, 2020. It is a medical horror story set in the near future and based on the premise that we can get our brains transplanted into the body of a recently deceased—and perhaps more glamorous—younger adult.

The McGuffin (see my blog of January 12, 2021 for a definition and example) for my story is when Ruth, a wealthy but aging matron, sees a New York Times article about the remake of the 1939 classic Gone with the Wind. The actress playing Melanie Hamilton, a young ingénue, makes a pitch-perfect performance comparable to Olivia de Havilland’s. And so, Ruth, sure that Olivia de Havilland’s brain had been transplanted into the body of the ingénue, wants that procedure too.

Do you have an idea for a short story? Just take a premise, start with a McGuffin, and you’re on your way. And I don’t think my premise was that outrageous! I just had to push reality a little bit. After all, surgeons do so many different kinds of transplants these days. To read the entire story, click here.