Joyce Carol Oates

"Later, I would think of it as crossing over. From a known territory into an unknown. From a place where people know you to a place where people only think they know you." Sometimes Franky Pierson has a hard time dealing with life. Like when her parents separate and her mother vanishes, Franky wants to believe that …

A collection of short works includes "So Help Me God," in which a young wife wonders about the identity of a flirtatious caller, and "Madison at Guignol," in which an unhappy fashionista discovers a horrendous secret at a clothing store.

Teena Maguire should not have tried to shortcut her way home that Fourth of July. Not after midnight, not through Rocky Point Park. Not the way she was dressed in a tank top, denim cutoffs, and high-heeled sandals. Not with her twelve-year-old daughter Bethie. Not with packs of local guys running loose on hormones, …

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is a frequently anthologized short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. The story first appeared in the Fall 1966 edition of Epoch Magazine. It was inspired by four Tucson, Arizona murders committed by Charles Schmid, which were profiled in Life magazine in an article written …