Bozeman Magazine

The Flood Girls are a special kind of team. Bound together over the years, they come from the small Montana town of Quinn. They’re dreadful at softball, and have never once had a winning season. Regardless, they take the field every year, ready for whatever the game will bring, whether it’s pop flies or fist fights.

The people of Quinn don’t welcome outsiders easily, but they especially have it out for Rachel, who for years was the alcoholic town harlot. She hit the road soon after high school, but nine years later, she’s back with a list of amends to make.

Rachel knows her mother, Laverna, hardnose captain of the Flood Girls, wants nothing to do with her, and quickly learns that the rest of the team don’t either. Rachel befriends one of the only people in town who will acknowledge her – her 12-year-old neighbor Jake. An outsider like her, he’s obsessed with Madonna, thrift stores, and his daily outfit. With Jake’s help, Rachel begins to make a life for herself in a town she never wanted to return to.

Richard Fifield earned his MFA from Sarah Lawrence College in upstate New York. He grew up in Troy, Montana: population 956. For the past twenty years he has worked as a social worker for adults with intellectual disabilities, while volunteering as a creative writing teacher. A member of Alcoholics Anonymous and proud of living nine years sober, Richard spends his time playing softball, writing, and directing hip-hop music videos. He lives in Missoula, Montana.