The things people say…

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A Slow Return, Book, Comments, Consequences, creative, Gift, humour, Introspection, Psychological, Publication, short stories, Spinning Wheel, stories, Witness, writing

To complement the publication of my most recent collection of stories entitled ‘Consequences’ (details below), I thought I’d share some comments regarding said stories:

‘Probably the greatest book I’ve never read.’

‘Whilst not quite Dostoevsky, Kafka or McEwan, the author certainly uses words.’

‘A real page turner. I couldn’t wait to finish it.’

‘Simply a collection of short stories.’

‘I have just read an outstanding collection of wonderfully crafted short stories. This wasn’t it.’

Consequences. 

Three tales exploring consequences; the consequences of random events, of choices and decisions made and of fate or chance.

A Slow Return sees a man analysing his emotions as he is forced to face up to the consequences of his actions following a random accident.

In The Witness a man’s life unravels before his eyes after he becomes an unwilling witness to an event which may or may not have happened. 

But the collection opens with Spinning Wheel, a story of fate creating a situation in which the boundaries between reality and fantasy become blurred, leading a man into a series of unexpected consequences.

Lulu

Book Depository

AbeBooks

Barnes and Noble

Should you feel inclined to purchase a copy I send you my thanks in advance!

The Smell of Cedar by River Dixon – a quick review

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abuse, Childhood, Control, creative, E-book, fiction, Horror, Psychological, Review, River Dixon, short story, story, The Smell of Cedar, writing

Having just read this book I wanted to share a few thoughts:

The Smell of Cedar is an unsettling and unnerving psychological horror story made all the more believable by its backstory of abuse and control. For me the length is just right, with moments of reflection which help to not only explain the lead character’s past but also move the story along at a good pace.

River’s use of a nonlinear structure is both effective and skillfully employed and his careful use of description allows the reader to create a vivid scene whilst reading the story. At times I was not certain as to whether tense changes worked quite as effectively as they might have, but this is a minor issue and I am being, perhaps,  a little pedantic.

I do think, however, that the actions of the character Melanie, to whom we are introduced early on in the story, and which become clearer as the tale develops, add to the chilling (and all too real) possibility of history repeating itself. 

If you enjoy short, chilling and disturbing stories, then I would certainly recommend reading this.