Neon Saint: The Song That Needed a Story
- Jason Curlee
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
A free 1980s coming-of-age story about old love, bad choices, and the secrets carried into a bar.
Some songs are just...songs.
Then there are songs that make you wonder if there's more to the story than just the music.
That's what Neon Saint did for for me.
I created the song as part of the Pretty Armor project, and it quickly became one of my favorites. The reason was it was the first song I made that had a story too it. It's the story of Grace who see's two people in one of their worst moments. The thing was though it got me to thinking that there has to be more to the story than what happened that night.
Tommy Ray and Mary had to already be in trouble before the song began.
I wanted to know how they got there.
What happened between them?
What brought each of them into that bar?
And what all had Grace, the bartender who keeps everybody’s secrets, seen that night.
The more I thought about it, the more I knew this song needed a backstory.
So like any story teller I sat down to explore it and created one.
A Free Story Set in a 1980s Small-Town in Texas
Neon Saint is a new short story that you can read free on my website.
It's around 8,000 words, so most people should be able to finish it in about 30 to 40 minutes.
It gives you the story behind Tommy Ray, Mary, Grace, and the night that inspired the song.
It's the same kind of connected, character-driven story that made shows like One Tree Hill resonate with people. The hometown and stories of the characters matter. The real story is always about the people and their friendships. It's about the mistakes they make and the pressure they go through. it's the kind of stories that take you back to those times.
The Connection to Beyond the Goalposts
While I was writing, I found a way to connect the story to the world I had already created.
The Mary in Neon Saint is the same Mary who appears in Chapter Four of Beyond the Goalposts: Junior Year.
I hadn't realized part of Mary's story was there too and if you read BTG Book One you'd already met her.
You just didn't know more of her story and neither did I.
That connection made it more meaningful to me because it didn't feel like I was inventing someone new just to fit the song. It felt like I was finally turning around and looking at someone who had been standing quietly in the background.
Now she gets her own story.
Listen to the Song
You can read the story without hearing the song first, but I think they work best together.
The song gives you the emotion of the moment.
The story tells you how everyone got there.
Read it. Listen to it. Then let me know whether the two pieces work together. Drop me a line or comment below.
I would honestly love to hear what you think.
More Stories From This World
If you enjoy emotionally driven fiction about small-town Texas, high school football, friendship, first love, and the pressure of growing up in the 1980s, this story connects directly to the world of Beyond the Goalposts: Junior Year. Check it out and read the first chapter free if you haven't already.
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