Today’s team review is from Georgia. Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com Georgia has been reading 222 Short Stories by Helen Keeling Marston. I chose to read this book as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team. I received a copy from … Continue reading
Today’s team review is from Jenni. Jenni has been reading The Shadows We Breathe by Sarah Brentyn. Sarah Brentyn and her contributors prove that big ideas really can come in very small packages in the second volume of her The … Continue reading
Today’s team review is from Jenni. Jenni has been reading Melancholic Parables by Dale Stromberg Dale Stomberg’s Melancholic Parables opens with a note to the reader asking them to meditate on the notion of self, on what it is to … Continue reading
Today’s team review is from Terry.
Terry blogs here https://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Terry has been reading The Shadows We Breathe by Sarah Brentyn.
4 out of 5 stars
Sarah Brentyn has edited as well as contributed to this collection; other contributors are D Wallace Peach, Georgia Bell, Ruth Daly, Ali Isaac, R A Kerr, S Mitchell-Jackson and Allie Potts.
The first part is ‘flash’ fiction – short stories of 500 words each. All were emotive and beautifully written, my favourites being Sanity by D Wallace Peach, Bar Made by Sarah Brentyn, Barbed Wire in the Palm of my Hand by Ruth Daly and Extended Performance by Allie Potts. They cover subjects of both physical and psychological health, as do the shorter pieces.
The second part is a section of ‘micro’ fiction: snappy 50 word stories. My favourites were The Fall by Sarah Brentyn and Reflection by Ali Isaac. After this is a collection of very clever ‘microbursts’ – stories of just 10 words. The group wrote with these prompts: Never, Insignificant, Discover, Lose, Reach, each of the microbursts including the relevant word. In a way I felt that these showed off the talent of the authors most of all; to be able to tell a story in such a controlled fashion is quite a feat, and so strongly illustrates the power of words.
This is a lovely book to read all at once or dip into. There is not one weak contribution and it is beautifully presented, with a photo and bio of each author at the end. Well done, ladies!
Book description:
WE ARE ALL PART SHADOW
Life promises joy and sorrow. Alongside the light, there will always be traces of darkness. It is the nature of being human.
In this anthology of short fiction, we explore health—how the state of our bodies and minds nurtures us, damages us, and forms our reality.
Eight artists, whose words paint worlds, bring you stories of pain, confusion, acceptance, and courage. They reveal the conflicting and contrasting nature of health.
Whether mental or physical, our state of being can create chaos or bring us peace.
Within these pages, beautiful words are spun into tales threaded with darkness.
Discover the shadows we breathe.
Today’s team review is from Sue.
Sue blogs here https://suelbavey.wordpress.com/
Sue has been reading Fast Fiction by Scotty Cornfield
Fast Fiction intrigued me due to its challenging premise. It is an anthology of 101 stories, each
with only 101 words. Keeping to such a strict exact word count is incredibly difficult and my
interest was piqued. The idea originated with a daily prompt given by the Monterey County
Weekly, which the author has been undertaking for years now. He writes the prompt at the end
of each story so you can see what inspired each one, which was a nice touch.
Naturally some of the stories are better than others. Some have clever puns and unexpected
twists in the final few words. These were the ones I enjoyed the most. My favourite was Close
Encounter with a Celebrity which had a fabulous twist. I also really liked Surgically Removed,
where a medical scene was not what it first appeared to be, They Think They Know Us So Well,
which is written from a dog’s perspective discussing humans with his pals and Lessons From a
Grim Reaper, where one of the harbingers of death decides to rebrand himself. As you can
see, the stories are very varied in their content.
These stories are so short a few can be read while having a tea break. They do not require
much brain power, which was ideal, since I read them while sick with COVID when my attention
span was not its best! What they are is fun and cleverly thought through. If you can think up a
prompt of your own the author states he will happily include it in a future volume and credit you.
In FAST FICTION, you’ll enter a cafe where the menu is loaded with nothing but literary appetizers, designed to be quickly consumed and easily digested. You’ll meet people with secrets and others who wished they knew how to keep them; characters looking to exact revenge and others getting their just desserts when karma calls. Fans of the combo platter will see it all here, from the dark to the darkly comical; the laugh-out-loud funny to the thought-provoking; offering more twists and turns than a pretzel—more ups and downs than a soufflé.
Like the world of improv, each tale has been inspired by a prompt (a single word or a phrase) provided by readers. From those simple suggestions, the stories evolve. You’ll meet people from all walks of life, but they’ll all have at least one thing in common: Your brief encounter with them will be over in less than a minute. Welcome to FAST FICTION,where you’ll find 101 stories of exactly 101 words each. How’s that for symmetry?
Suppose: Drabbles, Flash Fiction, and Short Stories by Kathy Steinemann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Suppose is a compilation of short stories, Flash Fiction and Drabbles written by Kathy Steinemann and fellow authors Amber Hayward, A.L. Kaplin and Donna Milward. There are lots of different styles and genres found in more than 50 pieces of writing offering a little for everyone.
Some of my favourites were; The Artist, Marianne Heinrich had a very healing method of painting. Pablo’s Pain was delightful and I’m glad it ended well. The Guardian’s Angel left me warm and fuzzy, while Fly on the Wall saw bees saving the Human race.
I particularly liked the pieces with ghosts or aliens, Always gave us a ghost dog and The Martian needs no exclamation, it was fun to read. With Drabbles being just 100 words long, they are a skill amongst themselves for authors to fill with a story.
If you don’t have much time for reading or want to dip in and out of a book this is a lovely way to relax and wind down either with a coffee or before you turn the light off at night. My congratulations to the authors.
Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
View all my reviews on Goodreads
Here’s a bit more about all the authors of Suppose.
Donna Milward and Kathy started out as Facebook friends. They met over lunch in December of 2013, and shortly thereafter Donna wrote The Guardian’s Angel. Amber Hayward lives in the same community as Kathy. Kathy inquired whether one or more of her stories would be appropriate for a Suppose theme. Amber was happy to oblige. Amy is a regular contributor to the weekly contest at IndiesUnlimited.com. Kathy was impressed by her writing and asked her if she’d like to join the group.
The four writers collaborated via Facebook and e-mail for several months before Suppose was published.
Kathy says, “I think we all learned something through the process, and I wouldn’t hesitate to work with these talented authors again.”
Kathy Steinemann has loved writing for as long as she can remember. As a child, she scribbled poems and stories. During the progression of her love affair with words, she won public-speaking and writing awards, and she contributed to her school newspaper. Then every Monday, she walked home instead of taking the bus so that she could deliver her latest column to the community weekly. Her career has taken varying directions, including positions as editor of a small-town paper, computer-network administrator, and webmaster. She has also worked on projects in commercial art and cartooning. Her website: KathySteineman.com.
Donna Milward is an author, wife to Dan, and cat mom to Spartacus Jones and Freya. She is the writer of Thoeba and Aphrodite’s War, as well as her weekly blog at EarthToThoeba.Blogspot.ca. She writes paranormal romance centered around her favorite subjects—angels, demons, reincarnation, and mythology, and is currently at work on her third novel, Chasing Monsters. Her hobbies are gardening, canning, and fishing. Despite these activities, she very much prefers city life.
A. L. Kaplan’s love of books started at an early age and sparked a creative imagination. It wasn’t until late in high school that she began to write down the many stories in her head. She holds an MFA in sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is the secretary of the Maryland Writers Association’s Howard County Chapter. When not writing or indulging in her fascination with wolves, she works as the props manager for a local dinner theatre. To keep up with A. L.’s writing, visit her blog at ALKaplan.Wordpress.com.
Amber Hayward is the author of a trilogy of speculative fiction novels, the Children of the Panther series, released by Edge Press. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in Canadian and international periodicals. From May 1, 2011, she wrote a flash fiction piece each day for a year and posted them on her website, AmberHayward.ca. She is one of the owners of the Black Cat Guest Ranch near Jasper, Alberta, and teaches writing workshops there and in the nearby community of Hinton.
Thank you ladies, it’s been great meeting you all.
A book a day is bliss😍
Welcome to my world: digging, harvesting and other stuff
bestselling author, also known as Victoria Hawthorne
A quest for the magic in life, language, and literature
Tonight I Dream. Tomorrow I Do!
Part of something bigger in a small town garden.
Sayling Away
Gardens, gardeners, and growing ideas
adventures in my gardens
author
Feel the rain, take a book and have a cuppa:-)
Sharing thoughts on the books I read, new authors, favourite authors, classics re-visisted
Damp and in the middle of nowhere
Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.
Ideas from a Suffolk garden
Rosie Amber 