“Returning favourites like Tracy Fabre, Doug Westberg, Barbary Chappel, Patricia Gilliam… as well as Twisted Shorties newcomers… mystery author Aaron Paul Lazar… have all joined in on the festive fandango,” writes author A. F. Stewart in her introduction to this fine collection of short fiction and poetry. The Gather.com site may have suffered a wounding glitch, but its authors are going strong, and this second Twisted Shorties collection is testament to the hard work and dedication of the editors, wranglers of writers, artists and more. Me, I’m one of the authors, yes, but I wouldn’t be had I not received such timely and generous reminders from Wrangler-in-Chief, Pam Brittain. I’m delighted to be part of such a fun collection, and I offer my thanks to all.
At 497 pages (on my kobo), this is a weighty book. But the reading’s easy, with content organized by author’s names, and again by category. It’s perfectly fitted to the electronic form, easy to dip into, easy to follow and browse through, and thoroughly enjoyable to open at any time of day. With romance, fantasy and science fiction, children’s stories, humor, horror and more, all set into fiction, essays, snippets and poetry, I’d love this even if I wasn’t a part of it.
Learn the secret of Helena’s second birthday in Pat Moore’s beautifully evocative A Holiday Somewhere in the World. Join Elsie Duggan in the remembered rapture of The Dance. Startle as Len Maxwell turns an awards night on its head, meet the world’s strangest unknown mythological creatures, buy a Stardrive from R. C. Larlham, beware the Jabberwock, enjoy Ms Lee P.’s Busy Bee, and see a different vision of Happy Never After… I could list all my favorites, but, did I say, there are 497 pages, and all of them fun, intriguing, odd, enticing, enthralling, entertaining.
I guess authors shouldn’t really review works they’re included in, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully edited, enticingly constructed collection, well designed with the e-reader in mind, and ridiculously excellent value for money.
Disclosure: I’ve already disclosed it: I’m one of the authors, but I’m reviewing the other 490+ pages, not mine, so I think it’s okay.
(review of free book)