“Queen of the Roller Disco” in This Book Has Ghosts in It
My story “Queen of the Roller Disco” in This Book Has Ghosts in It is a flash fiction piece I wrote back in 2023, with the inspiration of being “a place you love is haunted” and a list of words that included “skate,” which immediately jumped out at me.
From 2010-2012, I was first a referee and then a non-skating official with Jet City Roller Derby and the Seattle Derby Brats. I also traveled a ton in the Pacific Northwest to help out other leagues and watch roller derby bouts. So I have a lot of sense memory about roller rinks–the distinctive smell when they’ve just refinished wood floors, the carpeting that rivals airport carpets (and has probably soaked up way more soda), the sounds of a bunch of skates pounding on or gliding across the floor, and more. The story doesn’t include all of those details, but they were on my mind as I wrote, helping me bring the place to life.
The story itself is from the point of view of an older rink manager, sharing it with a newer employee, and explaining how the rink came to be haunted and what can be done about it. It’s a little dark and a little sweet, and it includes one prominent element of my roller derby experience–that time the ball bearings exploded out of a skater’s wheel and stopped her forward momentum.
“Queen of the Roller Disco” is only available in This Book Has Ghosts in It, along with other dark contemporary fantasy and horror stories, in print and ebook formats!
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