“Unholy Cow” by John H. Carroll. (Free)
The story contains some enjoyable deadpan humor and repartee among three evil friends who corrupt a little girl. The author doesn’t follow the usually short story format, resulting in an ending without a twist or conclusion.
“Dumb White Husband vs. Halloween” by Benjamin Wallace (.99)
Another title for this piece could have been “National Lampoon’s Halloween Adventure.” It’s a good tale worth reading with a nice twist at the end—more than worth the price.
Something Spooky This Way Comes ($2.99)
Halloween Short Story Anthology 2010
This volume contains nine tales by nine authors. Most are romance stories, and I have to admit most of them used Halloween as a prop. That’s not to say that the stories were not worthwhile reading, but if you’re looking for spooky tales, this volume won’t provide satisfaction. Most of the writers write well, but the quality varies. Changing tenses seems common in romance stories (as opposed to mystery), and a few of these stories I faulted for that reason. Perhaps, since I’m a mystery reader and writer, that aspect won’t bother romance fans. For me, the following stories were notable:
- “The UnHaunted House” by Lozi Hart-A short tale, even if the ending was expected, that was well written and executed.
- “Masked Souls” by Tonya Kappes-A well written love story, again using a Halloween party as backdrop, but it contained a nice taste of revenge that wasn’t too sweet.
- “Fireside” by J. W. Keleher-A short short-story well written and executed with a surprise ending. Bravo!
- “A Piece of her Soul” by Magdalena Scott-Another romance story, using Halloween marginally, but the ending contained a good twist. There is a change of POV at the very end that is bothersome. I understood the reason, but I also felt that the author could have handled this need without breaking POV.
- “Finders Seekers” by Jennifer Johnson-This was an unusual and well written tale set at the time of Halloween and, unlike the other tales, utilized the holiday to provide an emotional basis for one of the character’s feelings and thoughts—well done.
I don’t know of author L. S. Pierce, but she sure can write a good short story. The tale has its twists and an ending that was totally unexpected. Good show!
Elaine, thanks for the list. I'm in the process of checking out the many ways of writing an interesting short story. There are writers who think a twist at the end is a gimmick to hide the lack of content in what went before. I don't believe that's always true but then, what is?
ReplyDeleteOh no! A gimmick--no--a twist is a classic ending to a story. It doesn't have to be a twist ending, but when the writer sets up a twist, it's always a nice surprise!
ReplyDeleteWriting a straight story without withholding anything is fine. But, if the writer gives clues that could end in different scenarios, but ends with the unexpected one, it isn't a cheat or a gimmick, it's genius!
Just proves people will complain about anything--even when a story has consistancy and strength--a surprise ending? Maybe they're just mad because they didn't see it coming. Ha!
Thanks for the list.
ReplyDeleteThanks Warren, are your shorts at Smashwords.com?
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking EB,
ReplyDeleteMy short stories will be published by Untreed Reads, but Im not sure when.
Are they going to e-publish them or is it exclusively a print version? If it isn't e-published, will you get them up on Amazon or Smashwords yourself? If not, why? Sorry, I'm a bit of a bugger tonight! :)
ReplyDelete