Reprise Review: Dark and Disturbed by Morgan Winters

 

Genre: Flash Fiction Collection

Description:

“This collection of 25 flash fiction stories features darkly humorous and sometimes creepy works ranging from a ten-year-old serial killer to talking woodland creatures. Each story includes a written prompt and a full-color photograph, so the reader can see how they were twisted to be dark and disturbed.”

Author:

“The nefarious Morgan Winters is a supervillain who writes dark flash fiction on those days when taking over the world just gets to be kind of a pain.

Morgan Winters is a pseudonym, or a ‘nom de plume’ if you will. You can try to find out more about him on his website or stalk him on Facebook, but you won’t be able to learn much… The best information about Mr. Winters is from his Guest Post on Indies Unlimited. There is also a highly entertaining interview at The Indie View by Mr. Winters.”

Appraisal:

I don’t normally read dark twisted stories or horror. However, I have found that taken in small doses, like these flash fiction pieces, they can be enjoyable. Each story in this collection is vastly different from the one before and stretches your imagination to wondrous limits and then leaves you to ponder the possibilities. I found all of these devilishly delightful, but not overly graphic, or profane.

Morgan Winters has gathered the Flash Fiction prompts and photos from the weekly IndiesUnlimited Flash Fiction Competition and presents them alongside his stories here. He doesn’t enter to win, purposely writing more words than the competition allows. Mr. Winters uses this vehicle to stretch his writing muscles so that one day he will be able to write his own magnum opus to share with the world. He disappeared for a while, but when I noticed he was back at his craft again I decided to pick-up this book to review. Hopefully he will stick around and gift us with more of his fiendishly scandalous words. I am looking forward to seeing more from this author.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

I read Dark and Disturbed on my Kindle Paperwhite, which shows the photos in black, white, and shades of gray. Original review posted May 16, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

No issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Print Length: 83 pages

Review: Tripping the Flash Fantastic by Allison Symes

 

Genre: Short Story Collection/Flash Fiction

Description:

A collection of short, short stories, also known as flash fiction.

Author:

Allison Symes writes short stories, sometimes very short. This is the second collection of flash fiction she’s published.

Appraisal:

For those not familiar with flash fiction, it is extremely short-short stories. While I don’t think there is any official definition, the consensus seems to be that the maximum size is something under 1,000 words. Within the flash fiction universe there are other descriptions used for flash fiction of different sizes, a drabble for example is a story of less than 100 words. The stories in this collection are almost all well short of that 1,000 word limit. (With just short of 60 stories in less than 11,000 words, the average is something shy of 200 words apiece, some only half that.)

I find flash fiction is fun to read, not only for the stories, which in this instance includes a lot that would fall outside my typical genres, but at only a few hundred words, even if a specific story isn’t your thing, it’s over quickly. I also find myself admiring the ability a good story teller has to tell so much in so few words. With a wide range of stories with different flavors like I found here, I suspect any reader will find some they’ll like, some that will convince them that maybe they need to give longer books with certain elements a chance, and others that just won’t appeal. But those that don’t appeal will be over before you know it, so no big deal, right?

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

The author is from the United Kingdom and thus uses spelling conventions and some expressions unique to their flavor (or flavour would be more accurate) of English.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 10-11,000 words

Review: Indies Unlimited 2018 Editors' Choice Flash Fiction Anthology by Various Authors

 

Genre: Flash Fiction/Varied Genres/Short Story Anthology

Description:

“The Indies Unlimited 2018 Flash Fiction Anthology features a year’s worth of winning entries from the IndiesUnlimited.com weekly flash fiction challenge. These stories were hand-picked by judges and editors. This collection contains 57 stories by 32 different authors from around the world, with full color pictures by award-winning photographer K. S. Brooks. From a soul-eating jack-o'lantern to a man's unexplainable shadow, there are a myriad of genres and stories to appeal to every taste.”

Authors:

“Authors with stories in the anthology include: Dana Adams, Allen Alright, Mary Kay Bonfante, Robert K. Blechman, E. Carr, E.J. Cooke, Rachelle Cory, Alyssa Devine, Bill Engleson, N.T. Franklin, Rutger Galtiarii, Diana Garcia, Judith Garcia, Dusty May Jane, A.L. Kaplan, Pharrel Katz, Dale E. Lehman, T. McGrath, Tamara McLanahan, Kevin P. Michaels, Antonia Overstreet, Mr. Pish, Diane Selby, Lou Silvestri, Jeremy James Smith, Lexi Storm, Stephannie Tallent, Ken Talley, Dana Vacca, Morgan Winters, JB Wocoski, and Ann Zimmerman.”

To learn more please visit the authors’ Amazon Author pages.

Appraisal:

Thirty-two authors from around the world contributed fifty-seven Flash Fiction stories in this 2018 Editors’ Choice Anthology edition. These are the best of the best, the cream of the crop, Flash Fiction submissions in Indies Unlimited weekly challenge.

The genre’s run the gamut from sci-fi, coming of age, paranormal, ghosts, evil spirits, thrillers, psychological games, miscommunications, and women fed up with men… Wanna know which were my favorites? Honestly, it would be hard to choose. I think we all know I love a good paranormal story, so aside from those Mary Kay Bonnfante’s, Sam the Ram made me giggle. I raised two girls so I appreciated the miscommunication. I also have a soft spot for kids so in Dale E. Lehman’s, Forest of Giants I should have seen the end coming. Rutger Galtiarii has a creative story with seven-year-old Max in, Secret of the Cave. Also, in A.L. Kaplan’s, Twin Stacks the kids are a little older and the end made me shiver. Ann Zimmerman’s, Little Dog, Big City was heartwarming and shows the powers of a pet.

All of the stories contained in this edition are great and everyone is bound to find their favorites. There are also twelve Honorable Mentions included. But wait there’s more! The photos, taken by K.S. Brooks, for Prompts without Winners are also included, perhaps they will inspire you to join in the weekly Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge. There are also about sections for the editors, and the authors all with active ToC links.

These Flash Fictions are only two-hundred and fifty words of less, so you can squeeze in a story or two in your busy schedules.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Indies Unlimited 2018 Editors' Choice Flash Fiction Anthology is the 9th book in the Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Anthology series. Best viewed on a full-color eReader to appreciate the photos provided by KS Brooks as writing prompts.

Format/Typo Issues:

None that I noticed.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 10-15,000 words

Review: Beautiful, Complicated Family: Volume 1 by Rosey Lee

Genre: Short Story Collection/Flash Fiction

Description:

“Beautiful, Complicated Family: Volume 1 is a collection of five flash fiction stories exploring the connections that can hold people together or tear them apart. Like most families, the relationships in this uplifting collection consist of intricate elements. Sometimes things get messy, but it’s always beautiful. Read each story in about 5 minutes and get Volume 2 of the collection for free using a link within the book. The stories are perfect for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction novels as well as those who only have time for a quick read.”

Author:

“Rosey Lee is a writer whose work has appeared in Necessary Fiction, Bending Genres, Barren Magazine, Turnpike Magazine, and elsewhere. Her flash fiction has been nominated for the 2019 Best of the Net anthology. A New Orleans native who lives in Atlanta, her writing is influenced by the people, traditions, and food that keep her connected to the South.”

Appraisal:

By most accounts the definition of flash fiction is a fictional short story of 1,000 words or less. Sometimes a lot less. This collection of 5 flash fiction stories average just a touch shy of 1,000 words each.

The challenge of writing good flash fiction is getting adequate character and plot development into a limited number of words. As someone known in some circles for being extremely wordy, this ability in others is something I can appreciate. As the best songwriters can say a ton in few words, so can the best flash fiction writers. Often these words imply a lot and allow the listener or reader to fill in the gaps.

I found these five stories to be excellent reads. As implied in the title, each story is looking at the relationships between people, as in a family. Each of them resonated with me, not only being a good story I could relate to, but doing an excellent job in helping the reader to quickly know what was needed about the characters. Even with stories this short the author found a chance to surprise me, setting me up to expect the story to go one way and having the plot take an unexpected (at least to me) twist that made perfect sense once it had happened. A good, short (well duh) read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 4-5,000 words

Reprise Review: Lessons IV: The Dead Carnival and Other Morbid Drabbles by Michael Crane

Genre: Horror/Flash Fiction

Description:

This is the newest collection of Crane’s series of drabbles, which are flash fiction stories of exactly 100 words. This volume focuses on stories from the carnival. Also included are bonus drabbles and other flash fiction from seven of Crane’s indie author peers: Daniel Pyle, M.P. McDonald, M.S. Verish, J.L. Bryan, Robert J. Duperre, Daniel Arenson, and Jason Letts.

Author:

Michael Crane is a graduate in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago, his hometown school. In addition to the first three Lessons volumes, Crane has a short story collection, In Decline, and a novelette, A Gnome Problem, available for your Kindle. He has also been featured in many short story anthologies. On rare occasions, Crane will post on his blog.

Appraisal:

Can I make this one-hundred words, like each drabble in this collection? We’ll see. While I wish Crane would apply his demented mind to something longer (a novel, or More Declined, my title for the follow-up to his short story collection with tales of normal people, down on their luck), his fans keep saying “more drabbles.” I see them as bite-size stories. Crane’s typically end with a demented twist. Find out what being a “mark” means and why a blowup doll is a bad date. Pyle’s bonus story shows why you shouldn’t mess with the short guy. Yup, one-hundred words.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Added for Reprise Review: Lessons IV by Michael Crane was the winner in the Short Story Collections and Anthologies for B&P 2013 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran April 24, 2012

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 4-5,000 words

Review: Life Seemed Good, But.... A Collection of Short Quirky Stories by Richard Bell

Genre: Short Story Collection/Flash Fiction

Description:

“A collection of very short, humorous-sad stories with unpredictable endings. Dedicated to all those who supported someone suffering with cancer or any serious illness.”

Author:

A native of Chicago, Richard Bell is a former sailor for the Navy and bass player in rock bands. This is his first book.

Appraisal:

This collection of short stories is exactly as advertised. Short stories with a mix of sad and humorous aspects. Most, if not all, could be called “Flash Fiction,” which is generally defined as short stories under 1,000 words long. Quirky (as described in the subtitle) is another excellent word to describe these stories. The only downside I found is that with such short stories, touching on many similar things, can feel too repetitive. Short reading sessions, reading just a few stories at a time, will prevent that.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Review: Rain Check by Levi Andrew Noe

Genre: Short Story Collection/Flash Fiction

Description:

Just shy of 60 short stories, most of them falling under the category of flash fiction (short, short stories).

Author:

Levi Andrew Noe is a native of Denver, a frequent traveler, and a yoga teacher. Noe combined two of his interests, story-telling and yoga, to come up with the Tall Tales Yoga program he founded.

For more, visit Noe's website.

Appraisal:

The stories in this collection are arranged into three sections. The first, “On Time and Place,” is followed by “On Relations” and “On Mind, Body, Heart and Soul.” Most (maybe all, depending on your working definition) of these stories fall under the category of flash fiction – short, short stories, sometimes only a hundred words. In theory it could be even less although I believe these stories were all about that length or longer.

Flash fiction often requires more of the reader, making them fill in the gaps with their imaginings. For example, the words “For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn” have been attributed (probably incorrectly) to Hemingway, as the legend goes it was his response to a challenge to write the shortest story possible. That story requires you to fill in some gaps, but has everything you might expect in a story including one or more characters (we could imply a baby and someone, possibly a parent selling the shoes), some conflict (why were the shoes never worn?), and a setting implied. There is a plot, even if largely implied as well as a theme (maybe something about the fickleness of life). Google “elements of a story” and you'll find numerous places listing these five elements and an explanation of each.

All of the above is background to understand my one complaint with the collection, or at least a portion of it. (Yeah, I know, I need to learn to use less words, too.) My problem is that some of the stories in the first section (“On Time and Place”) didn't feel like there was a story there. I'm a fan of travel memoirs and in many instances the “stories” I'm talking about seem like a snippet from something like that. These have an evocative setting, a character in whoever is describing it, but I couldn't see the story. The note I made after several of these were the stories “were all spice, with no meat.”

I only had that issue in the first of the three sections and not even with all the stories in that section. Although I liked some stories better than others I found the stories much more compelling as I got deeper into the collection. All the elements were there or I did a better job at filling in the gaps, I'm not sure which.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Review: 100 by 100 by M. L. Kennedy

Genre: Flash Fiction/Short Story Collection

Description:

“100 by 100 is a collection of 100 stories that are each 100 words long. Mathematically, that makes each worth 1/10 of a picture. Some of these 0.1 pictures are scary, some are funny, some are funny and scary, while others are just odd.”

Author:

“M.L. Kennedy was born in Buffalo, New York, land of chicken wings, kimmelweck rolls, and Super Bowl disappointment. Currently he lives in Chicago, land of thick pizza, Italian Beef and rebuilding years. 100 by 100 is his third book, following his debut novella The Mosquito Song and his short story collection Thanksgiving for Werewolves and Other Monstrous Tales.

No, he doesn’t think that was a silly thing to call a book.

(Yes he does.)”

Appraisal:

In the book description as well as in the introduction to this collection author M.L. Kennedy riffs off the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” to explain that each of these 100 word stories are one tenth of a picture. It's a clever comparison because it helps drive home how difficult it is to tell a good and complete story in so few words. Yet Kennedy does it again and again. Whole pictures even.

For those who haven't read much flash fiction (extremely short stories, usually no more than a few hundred words) especially the shortest of these (100 word stories, often referred to as drabbles) you'll find that the best short fiction authors can paint a whole picture with just a few words. Like a good songwriter, the best flash fiction authors can say a lot with few words, often by letting the reader fill in the gaps without realizing that's happening, to end up with the complete picture.

A few of Kennedy's stories had me scratching my head, not sure of the point. But most of them were just the opposite, getting a laugh or a knowing nod of the head. Many times he even managed to set me up by going one way and then deftly adding a twist at the end that I never saw coming, making a good story even better. If you're a flash fiction fan or interested in giving it a try this collection is a good choice.

Buy now from:    Amazon US    Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 10-11,000 words

Dark and Disturbed by Morgan Winters

Genre: Flash Fiction Collection

Description:

“This collection of 25 flash fiction stories features darkly humorous and sometimes creepy works ranging from a ten-year-old serial killer to talking woodland creatures. Each story includes a written prompt and a full-color photograph, so the reader can see how they were twisted to be dark and disturbed.”

Author:

“The nefarious Morgan Winters is a supervillain who writes dark flash fiction on those days when taking over the world just gets to be kind of a pain.”

Morgan Winters is a pseudonym, or a "nom de plume" if you will. You can try to find out more about him on his website or stalk him on Facebook, but you won’t be able to learn much… The best information about Mr. Winters is from his Guest Post on IndiesUnlimited. There is also a highly entertaining interview at TheIndieView by Mr. Winters.

Appraisal:

I don’t normally read dark twisted stories or horror. However, I have found that taken in small doses, like these flash fiction pieces, they can be enjoyable. Each story in this collection is vastly different from the one before and stretches your imagination to wondrous limits and then leaves you to ponder the possibilities. I found all of these devilishly delightful, but not overly graphic, or profane.

Morgan Winters has gathered the Flash Fiction prompts and photos from the weekly Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Competition and presents them alongside his stories here. He doesn’t enter to win, purposely writing more words than the competition allows. Mr. Winters uses this vehicle to stretch his writing muscles so that one day he will be able to write his own magnum opus to share with the world. He disappeared for a while, but when I noticed he was back at his craft again I decided to pick-up this book to review. Hopefully he will stick around and gift us with more of his fiendishly scandalous words. I am looking forward to seeing more from this author.

Buy now from:     Kindle US          Kindle UK

FYI:

I read Dark and Disturbed on my Kindle Paperwhite, which shows the photos in black, white, and shades of gray.

Format/Typo Issues:

No issues.

Print Length: 83 pages

Rating: ***** Five stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

In the Name of Love: Stories about Revenge, Redemption, and Rebirth / Laurie Boris

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Short Story Collection/Flash Fiction Collection

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Availability

Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

The author of six novels, Laurie Boris is a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader as well as a regular contributor to Indies Unlimited. Her book Sliding Past Vertical was the winner in the Contemporary Fiction category of BigAl’s Books and Pals 2014 Readers’ Choice Awards. Laurie lives with her husband in upstate New York.

For more, visit Laurie’s website.

Description:

“A lonely neighbor tries to melt a widow’s reluctant heart. Bullying brothers threaten to spoil a young girl’s Halloween. Left at the altar once, a woman takes a gamble on a second chance. These are just a few in a collection of thirty short and shorter stories about growing up, growing older, moving out, moving on, revenge, redemption, and love in all its shades of bittersweet pain and joy.”

Appraisal:

I sometimes find reviewing short story collections problematic. With thirty stories ranging from a couple hundred to a couple thousand words, mentioning each is going to take way too many of my own words. Whatever theme might loosely tie all of these together is handled in the subtitle and book description. That leaves me with overall impressions of what is a diverse collection, and hitting on a few high points.

Overall the stories are solid, good reads. While the underlying themes are serious, some have an amusing twist. One example is the story called Outside the Box about a woman trying to get her fiance to spread his wings. He does, but it might not have worked out as well as she thought. I found many of the shorter, flash fiction pieces finished open-ended, which has the effect of lengthening the piece as the reader ponders where the characters might have gone from there. My favorite of the collection was Adam the Explorer. While the impact wouldn't be the same for those who haven't read Boris' “Trager Family Secrets” series, those who have will recognize two characters from that series in a pivotal point from their boyhood.

FYI:

Some adult language and situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Odd and Odder / K.S. Brooks and Newton Love

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Satire/Flash Fiction/Poetry/Short Story Anthology

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Availability

Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

K.S. Brooks is an award winning photographer and the author of children's books, thrillers, romantic suspense, and satire. Brooks is also the co-administrator of the go-to site for indie authors, IndiesUnlimited.

An artist, author, scientist, composer, and non-relative of Newt Gingrich, Newt Love is “the most famous person you've never heard of.” Love's story can't be boiled down to just a paragraph. For more than you could possibly want to know (including his dad's life story), check out the more-than-complete biography on his website. (Those who think they know something about practical jokes need to read the story of Otto Mation, buried in the middle of that bio, and bow down in respect.)

Description:

“Odd & Odder: A Collection of Sensuality, Suspense & Satire" brings together the creative, off-beat minds of published authors K. S. Brooks and Newton Love. From short stories befitting The Twilight Zone, to lustful verses of poetry, to thought-provoking flash prose: Odd & Odder is consistently fresh, sometimes outlandish, and truly entertaining.”

Appraisal:

In a collection where an ode to the author's stalker doesn't seem strange or out of place, Odd and Odder seems like a reasonable title. The challenge is deciding which parts of the collection are just odd and limiting those in the odder pile. (After all, they can't all be odder, can they?)

That the authors got me to read poetry (something I normally steer clear of, unless you call it a song lyric, in which case I'm all over it), was an achievement not many have done. However, my favorite pieces were the longer satirical short stories, Dark Alley and Park Placed (one from each of the authors). Although I have to admit, that ode to the stalker has an appeal I can't quite figure out. How odd.

FYI:

Some adult language and situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Conversations with Pop: the musings of an average guy / Michael D. Brooks

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Flash Fiction/Contemporary Fiction/Humor

Approximate word count: 10-15,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Michael D. Brooks writes both fiction and nonfiction. His stories and articles have appeared in Avenue, Bewildering Stories, The Cynic Online Magazine, Lightning Flash Magazine, and Associates: the Electronic Library Support Staff Journal (to name a few).”

Description:

“Conversations with Pop is a series of flash fiction stories between a father and his son as they discuss Pop's unique take on life while he imparts some of his ‘wisdom’ to his son on everything from reading, driving, social networking, technology, and the way things used to be.”

Appraisal:

You wouldn’t go too far wrong thinking of Conversations with Pop as a shorter version of Sh*t My Dad Says minus the profanity (unless you consider ‘smartass’ profane). It’s made up of short flash fiction conversations (most in the 500-1,000 word range) between an adult family man and Pop, his dad. Buried among Pop’s unorthodox, irreverent, and at times old-fashioned outlook on life are nuggets of wisdom and some ideas to make you view the world from a different perspective. Plus, it’s a short, fun read.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Lessons IV: The Dead Carnival and Other Morbid Drabbles / Michael Crane

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Horror/Flash Fiction

Approximate word count: 4-5,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Michael Crane is a graduate in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago, his hometown school. In addition to the first three Lessons volumes, Crane has a short story collection, In Decline, and a novelette, A Gnome Problem, available for your Kindle. He has also been featured in many short story anthologies. On rare occasions, Crane will post on his blog. 

Description:

This is the newest collection of Crane’s series of drabbles, which are flash fiction stories of exactly 100 words. This volume focuses on stories from the carnival. Also included are bonus drabbles and other flash fiction from seven of Crane’s indie author peers: Daniel Pyle, M.P. McDonald, M.S. Verish, J.L. Bryan, Robert J. Duperre, Daniel Arenson, and Jason Letts.

Appraisal:

Can I make this one-hundred words, like each drabble in this collection? We’ll see. While I wish Crane would apply his demented mind to something longer (a novel, or More Declined, my title for the follow-up to his short story collection with tales of normal people, down on their luck), his fans keep saying “more drabbles.” I see them as bite-size stories. Crane’s typically end with a demented twist. Find out what being a “mark” means and why a blowup doll is a bad date. Pyle’s bonus story shows why you shouldn’t mess with the short guy. Yup, one-hundred words.

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five stars

Lessons III: Demonic Dolls and Other Morbid Drabbles / Michael Crane

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Flash Fiction/Horror

Approximate word count: 3,500-4,000 words

Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Michael Crane is a graduate in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago, his hometown school. Crane has an addiction to Red Bull and a pet chinchilla that is reputed to be bloodthirsty. In addition to the first two Lessons volumes, Crane has a short story collection, In Decline, and a novelette, A Gnome Problem, available for your Kindle. He has also been featured in many short story anthologies. On rare occasions, Crane will post on his blog.

Description:

In his newest collection of drabbles, flash fiction pieces of exactly 100 words, Crane’s theme is playtime, with deranged toys figuring in many of the stories.

Appraisal:

In this volume, Crane continues his popular series of drabbles – most horror, many darkly comedic. Telling a story in one-hundred words, start to finish, is story writing at its most extreme. Crane gives us thirty, each well done – spare of prose, simple of plot, yet complete. Who’d have guessed toys were so evil? Perfect to read when you have a spare minute, and no more.

As a bonus, a flash fiction piece from each of five Indie author peers is included. Daniel Arenson, Imogen Rose, Jason Anderson, Sean Sweeney, and David Dalglish each contributed.

Yes, this review is one-hundred words.

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four stars