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The Story of how Chaser was given new life

Ashlee Cox • Oct 04, 2024

I have a story to tell you about how The Chase story came not only into being, but was edited to the hilarious, adventurous story it is today.


I wrote this story in my early teens when I was inspired to write my own adventurous, high energy short story, that was exciting, but also funny and lighter than some of the other short stories I’d read up until that point.


 I loved the idea of this young boy running for his life from some dark, shadowy figure, but I also didn’t want it to be too scary, rather I was aiming for a nice balance of dark humour and happy summer time lightness.


Living in Barbados – a small tropical island in the Caribbean- I was lucky to spend a lot of time in the rural side of the country, which meant I grew up with a few of my neighbours keeping animals, like goats, sheep and cows and tied them out on the pastures.


I’ve also fortunately/ unfortunately depending on how you view it, witnessed and experienced being chased by all kinds of barnyard animals, especially if they think you’re encroaching on their territory!


These experiences were the impetus for writing this hilarious tale that brought back so many tropical summertime memories for me, as I used to wander around the pastures, picking wild fruits and playing with my friends.


And those times felt normal and natural, so when I was writing The Chase drawing on those experiences was a no-brainer, however, what you find interesting is the fact that this story was originally a short story of less than a thousand words.


 If I'm being honest, it was written purely for comic relief…, but then as time went on and I re-read the story, I realised there was more to be explored.


I wasn’t sure yet how to do that. 


I wasn’t sure how I was going to build out the characters or play with the plot, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt how I wanted the story to end. 


Luckily for me when I was editing this work again, my youngest uncle had a white goat and she really filled in a lot of the blanks around how goats behaved. 


She became my major point of reference.


The jumping over the fences, trespassing on neighbours land and walking into their homes, as well as eating their crops, and rose bushes, all of that I observed from this one nanny.


Seriously,  I had war flashbacks to when she decimated my mother’s rose tree, my other uncle’s pea shrubs and straight up invaded my Gran’s house. 


You see, as an adult , who had spent more time away from the fun of the rural world and more time in an office,I had forgotten just how crazy goats can really be, how the easy way of a Caribbean tropical community by its inherent nature can give rise to so much awesome chaos in the rural areas but just like that Chaser was given a new life.


While my version of Chaser isn’t nearly as chaotic, invasive or untamed as my Uncle’s goat, he is however alot angrier about other people not allowing him peace… and he will not stand for it. 


This is why he and Speedo- a very stubborn boy- clash so often. They just can’t stand the thought of losing!


The story of
The Chase follows a young boy named Speedo and his tempestuous relationship with a grumpy old goat, named Chaser as they clash over and over again, each time moving them closer and closer to an explosive breaking point.


It’s a hilariously thrilling tale and their interactions throughout the book just gets more and more heated until boom! We have The Chase!

This story is a hilarious adventure in what happens when these two combustible elements are finally pushed to the brink.



Who will prevail?

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By Ashlee Cox 04 Oct, 2024
Welcome to The Chase! This novelette has a rebellious teen who is not afraid to square up with a goat, especially when spurred on by his group of equally chaotic friends; an old, cantankerous goat who just wants peace-probably-,and will attack all intruders to get it. Once you enter this story, you’ll be transported to a tropical, close knitted community where children spend their summers outside in the sunshine, deepening their bonds and expending their energy on different activities including playing cricket, riding their bikes around the community and of course gorging themselves on succulent, caribbean fruits. Sounds like a great summer time for the children, however there is one entity that continuously stands in their way of enjoying their summer infused happiness and most importantly, does all he can to chase them away from their favourite fruit tree. That entity is Chaser, an old cantankerous goat who fancies himself the guardian of the best mango tree in the community and will gleefully attack just about anyone who gets too close to his territory. Naturally he and Speedo clash hard and they clash often throughout the book. They were enemies from the moment they met. Within the book,, the main characters Speedo- a young, curious boy and Chaser an old, protective goat clash viciously every time they are in the same vicinity of each other. Speedo doesn’t understand what the goat’s problem is or why he is so mean to everybody, likewise Chaser can’t seem to get rid of the loud and annoying children who are constantly disrupting his peace by invading his territory. The story encapsulates their relationship, spanning years of heated interactions, misunderstandings, cruel deeds and chaos, all fuelled by increasing animosity which comes to an explosive and terrifying head when Chaser lives up to his name, pursuing Speedo up a hill and all the way into the village. Now it’s up to Speedo to live up to his moniker if he’s to escape unscathed, but for the first time ever, he truly fears for his life. Something he’s never truly felt around the angry old goat until today, where Chaser isn’t stopping, rather he’s really living up to his name, gunning after the terrified teen with a ruthless doggedness. Can Speedo also live up to his name and outrun or out smart the mean goat, or will he learn the real reason Chaser got his name. When looking for this book, it’ll be shelved under the category: Summertime Wildness.
By Ashlee Cox 04 Oct, 2024
“He was running for his life. Heart thumping erratically and painfully inside of his chest, blood gushing hotly to his muscles ,and lungs on fire from rapidly forceful inhales, Shawn Alleyne, better known to all in his community as ‘Speedo’, was running the fastest he’d ever had to in his young life. His arms, biceps, thighs and feet burned with an increasingly searing ache as he worked them faster and faster, pushing himself to swiftly speed over the green pastures, determined to escape the deranged being hot on his trail .”- excerpt from The Chase. In the world of The Chase book, every child knows that the fierce animal named Chaser is the self-proclaimed guardian of Riley's notorious mango tree, but only a few are able to challenge him and escape unscathed! Unfortunately for a rebellious teen boy nicknamed Speedo, his first meeting with Chaser led to a huge misunderstanding that has fuelled each and every one of their ill-fated interactions since. Years later, tensions between the two continue to escalate with neither backing down, until one day Speedo does something that ignites a rage within Chaser that forces the animal to exact his revenge…and take out a piece out of his nemesis in the process. “I’ve got to move faster! I can't lose here! He'll get me for sure~! Dammit! Dammit Dammit!" came Speedo's panicked thoughts as his legs started to slow down, fighting against the growing incline of the already uneven terrain. With a mighty roar, Speedo called on all that was left of his energy reserves to push his body even faster up the road, paying no heed when one of his cheap, red, rubber slippers that his mother had bought only two weeks ago popped, abandoning him on the white, rocky road, listless and broken. The resulting small stumble caused his big toe to stump against one of the sharp, loose gravel that made up the desperately-in-need-of-a-good-paving road. Pained, achy and bleeding, Speedo didn’t dare slow down to tend to his throbbing toe, even as his entire body acknowledged the injury and begged to make it better immediately. Speedo ignored it all. Safety first, healing later. That small stumble had nearly cost him much more damage, making it easier for Chaser to almost catch up to him, hooves plodding loudly on the beaten road, gaining even more speed as his horned head nodded maliciously. ‘Damn Riley! And his blasted goat -demon ! ’- excerpt taken from The Chase. Throughout the book, Chaser is determined to inflict serious harm on Speedo, and most of the citizens who live in this tropical community, however when tensions truly escalate, Speedo will have to use all of his skills to stay ahead of those sharp horns, when he finds himself running for his life from the vicious goat. This is the story of what lead to that terrible day, when Chaser and Speedo finally clashed. Who will prevail? OR Speedo is running for his life, after being locked in a fierce battle with a deranged goat named Chaser for years, but Chaser won’t let him go easily.
By Ashlee Cox 03 Oct, 2024
The story of a stubborn young teen’s continued battles with a relentless, cantankerous beast
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