For this anthology, Muddy Backroads: Stories from off the beaten path, the editors asked for stories that moved away from the norms of daily life to explore the side roads that take us away from the known. What do your characters do when they step away from what's seen as normal or usual? What happens when they find themselves in unexpected situations or locations? What if nothing about their lives is what most consider typical? When a character takes a "muddy backroad," he, they or she moves away from society and out into a place where anything can happen. Where will those backroads and back alleys take us?

the judge is Alan Heathcock, author of Volt: Stories.