Trowbridge Dispatch
Trowbridge Dispatch is a series of short written and audio works that explore Trowbridge Vermont and the characters introduced in the novel The Little Ambulance War of Winchester County.
Trowbridge Dispatch #1: Cooking Bacon with Propane
Boston-born first-responder Alex Flynn is back with wry wit and still chasing emergencies in rural Vermont in this tale involving a gas line, a chainsaw, and other things that might or might not go boom and that might or might not go horrible wrong. Eavesdrop on emergency personnel as they attempt to diffuse a dicey situation in this, the first in the Trowbridge Dispatch collection of short stories. Trowbridge Dispatch is part of the Trowbridge, Vermont series of novels and stories, wherein I.M. Aiken draws on her roots in public safety to narrate tales of the everyday heroes that every community depends on.
Read Now / Listen Now
Word Count: 2,000
Small Town Medical Drama
The kind of stories only an industry veteran could write…They read like mini medical memoirs—complete with medical jargon and fascinating insights. The narrators don’t think of themselves as heroes, but rather as students and public servants, mischievous, precocious ones at that. These stories offer behind the scenes looks at all manner of captivating small-town dramas. See Heather Lende’s Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics.
Folks Love First Responders
Particularly since the pandemic, but even in years prior, critical care and first responder memoirs and fiction have seen unprecedented sales. See: Burnt by Clare Frank, Breathing Fire by Jaime Lowe (both female-led narratives), Both Sides of the Fire Line by Bobbie Scopa, Riding the Lightning by Anthony Amojera, and Kevin Hazzard’s smash hit A Thousand Naked Strangers. You can also look to smash-hit medical memoirs like This is Going to Hurt, Duty of Care, When Breath Becomes Air, Something for the Pain, The Night Shift, or David Nott’s War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line.
Medical Humor
There is plenty of irreverent humor and comic relief that only adds to the poignancy of these stories. Fans of Emergency Laughter: Stories of Humor Inside Ambulances and Operating Rooms by Mike Cyra, and A Paramedic’s Tales: Hilarious, Horrible and Heartwarming True Stories will not be disappointed.
Gender non-confirming narrators and characters
Characters like Alex Flynn, Brighid Doran, and Sam Musgrave push gender boundaries and gender expectations in these stories.
New England/Vermont Interests
The Northeast is a beloved setting for readers across America. See classic Northeast fiction like Midwife and The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian, Howard Frank Mosher’s Vermont novels, Kate Maloy’s Every Last Cuckoo, or more recent titles like The Family Compound by Li Parker, Heart Spring Mountain by Robin MacArthur, and Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard.
Trowbridge Dispatch #2: When Johnny Goes Marching Away
EMS Chief Alex Flynn gets called into the principal’s office in this short story set in rural Vermont, where poor roads and under-funded public services form a comfortable and familiar background. Explore the hidden links and community found in an ordinary New England town when local first responders might or might not have to engage with an active school shooter. Trowbridge Dispatch is part of the Trowbridge, Vermont series of novels and stories, wherein I.M. Aiken draws on her roots in public safety to narrate tales of the everyday heroes that every community depends on.
Publication: Feb 2025.
Trowbridge Dispatch #3: Firefighter’s Statue
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, Trowbridge Vermont EMT Brighid Doran delivers the region’s ambulance to a three-alarm house fire. Afterward, she sits in a warm truck with her girlfriend Sam, a US Army officer fresh from the battlefields of Iraq, as they watch a local volunteer firefighter battle the blast in subzero weather. The story was written by I.M. Aiken just prior to the 21st Anniversary of 9/11. The reader may be reminded that the spirit of that day lives in the everyday heroes found in every community. Trowbridge Dispatch is part of the Trowbridge, Vermont series of novels and stories, wherein I.M. Aiken draws on her roots in public safety to narrate tales of the everyday heroes that every community depends on.