Eric Neher is an award-winning author who resides in Newcastle, Oklahoma. His published works include Permian Remorse, The Cycle, A Fractured Frame, and others. His novel The Killing Pledge will be released in June 2021.
In Something in the Wheat, a widowed farmer, wracked with guilt and ghosts, bears witness as his land transforms into something monstrous and alien…
GI: The setting of this story is so rich and “lived-in”; it feels quite close to your heart.
Did any particular location inspire it?
EN: I was in a secluded spot by the Cimarron River [north of Oklahoma City] once,
and littered along the banks were rusted washers, discarded furniture, various
trash. It made me wonder how much longer we as a species deserved to last.
Then it occurred to me: what if something else was watching us, and decided
that it could do better?
GI: How have you been coping with all of 2020’s turbulence?
EN: To me, 2020 represents the zenith of reality TV and [burying our] heads in the
sand. [In general] I've noticed that, as I get older, my anxiety levels have risen.
On the plus side, all I have to do is wait a couple of minutes and I forget what
had me so tense!
GI: GREEN INFERNO is sub-titled, The World Celebrates Your Demise. How do you
feel your piece relates to this sentiment?
EN: Man treats the planet like an endless buffet. The fact that we are still allowed to
barrel through with blind disaster is quite astonishing to me. I look at my story as a
viable option for pressing the RESET button.