Wrong Way Wayne: A Short Story

By D.D. Larsen

Look up loser in the dictionary and you’ll find Wayne—Wrong Way Wayne, to be exact. He’s spent most of his life deserving that definition, but now he’s determined to not let it define him. Not today. Not with his best shot at buying a farm.

He’s dreamed of raising his kids on a farm for as long as he can remember. Like he was raised, until that horrible day when he had to leave it for the city.

But today he’s hoping his losing streak will end. It has to. His children are almost grown. He’ll make his stand on the courthouse steps and put in the winning bid at the farm’s foreclosure auction. Or will he?

Is it Wayne’s destiny to always lose? And if so, can a loser win for losing?

• Language: English
• Publisher: D.D. Larsen
• Release date: Nov 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9780991442225

D.D. Larsen

D.D. Larsen answers to the name Dean—mostly because that’s his name, but also because he’s a friendly fellow. He’s now retired from the corporate world, living with his wife in the high desert of northern Arizona where he is writing his little heart out. But how did he get there you might ask? Well, he was born into a large family in a small town in Nebraska with a dream of becoming a comedian when he grew up. With no comedy clubs to be found in the farmlands of his youth, his first job titles were Chicken Catcher and Corn Detasseler. He managed to maintain a normal life in the Midwest until he turned 21, listened to his inner child, dropped out of dental school, and moved to Los Angeles where he became a stand-up comedian and founding member of The Groundlings improvisational comedy troupe. He wrote many comedy sketches and routines along the way, as well as some TV shows. He even earned the dubious claim to fame of setting the record for performing the most winning acts on The Gong Show (three). But then, he also holds the record for the most gonged acts (three). He’s living proof that in life, you win some and you lose some. Though he kept a finger in the show biz pie through the years as an announcer and voice actor in tons of TV commercials and continued strengthening his story telling muscles, including learning story structure under the tutelage of John Truby, Hollywood’s premier story consultant, Dean succumbed to the lure of a lucrative income and added salesman to his resume. And now that he’s left the world of sales, he’s back doing what he loves best: making up stuff for the amusement of others. Though now in the form of novels and short stories. First came a middle-grade fantasy adventure The Legend of Butterfield Farm, followed by a short story lead-in to it called Wrong Way Wayne. Currently he is writing a story aimed at a more mature audience, the first in a planned series of humorous mysteries titled The Mystery of Mr. Who—A Case of Fatal Flatulence. With any luck it will be coming out in early 2016. When not making up stuff for the entertainment of others, he serves as the Founder and President of Goofballs Anonymous® – A 12-Step Program For Taking Silly Seriously.