Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld: Reviewed by Jeanne Okay, with a title like that, how could I resist this fabulous collection of cartoons?   I was already familiar with ...

Short Story Wednesday Review: Genre Shotgun: A Collection Of Short Fiction by Terry W. Ervin II

From the massive archive …

 

Genre Shotgun: A Collection Of Short Fiction by Terry W. Ervin II features thirteen previously published tales classified into four categories. Published by Gryphonwood Press, the book continues the author’s word count assault on the reading public with quality storytelling and interesting characters. Like his Flank Hawk series, there are plenty of twists and surprises in these very good tales.

 

The book opens with the “Horror/Suspense” category. There are three stories in this section and they begin with “The Scene Of My Second Murder.” A graveyard in the middle of the night and a long ago death are just two of the many elements in the tale.

 

Scary stories told to young kids at a retreat or camp is a classic idea used in film as well as in books. So classic we all pretty much know how the tale will go before we read one as the names and circumstances are usually the only difference. Author Terry W. Ervin II puts a very different spin on things with “Skull Face Returns” proving there is a grain or more of truth in every story.

 

Scaring kids at camp also plays a major role in the next story titled “The Candy Bar Game.” A Saturday night highlight and tradition at “Camp Mekanayzn” is about to go very wrong for assistant senior patrol leader Rick in ways he never saw coming.

 

“Accelerated Justice” leads off the five stories is the “Science Fiction” category though several could have worked just as well in the preceding category. In the not too distant future it was supposed to be a simple trip back and forth across the border for limo driver Jack Hollister and his passenger. Classic issues still plague mankind and Jack Hollister has few options.

 

A deep space battle might turn the tide for humanity in “Seconds Of Eternity.” Major Parsons knows a thing or two about fighting and will push his Starfury IV to do what absolutely has to be done.

 

He was supposed to go into a peaceful cryogenic sleep in “Tethered In Purgatory” and await advances in medical science that could save his life. Instead, Thomas Mayvin finds himself conscious in some way and only able to observe his own body and those that come near o him. This is not at all what he paid for.

 

A newbie reporter two weeks out from graduation and on his first assignment is sent to Florida in “Vegetable Matters.” The reporter is to interview a Mr. Dennis Sherkle on behalf of the “Weekly Electron Star.” All reporter Marvin Petro knows is that his editor told him the story involved corporate theft and property rights. Petro will soon learn what that really means in this incredibly good tale.

 

Sallie Thurstin and her baby are in real trouble in “The Exchange Box.” That is until Travis Collington shows up with his special box and makes an offer she can’t refuse. 

While the next category is referred to as “Inspirational” a more fitting term would be “Literary.” Despite the idea that the stories are uplifting as implied by the category term and their track record of publication, these primarily depressing tales did not strike this reader that way at all. 

“It Was A Mistake” details a series of mistakes that led up to the ultimate fate. 

“Even Zero Can Add Up To Something” makes a point about the math involved with the number zero. A very short tale that really can’t be described--it just has to be read.

 

It has been a long trip, but worth it in “The Last Meeting” as a man goes home to the church he grew up in long ago.

 

The final two stories of the book are found in the closing category of “Mystery.”

 

The first story features a routine day in second period Geometry until the police got involved in “Drug Dogs.” Mitch is about to have his high school life and more turned upside down and then things will get worse.

 

Modern day archeology and ancient secrets abound in “Fictional History.” Artifacts must be placed in context. A major find could radically change that established context.

 

Terry W. Ervin II is one of those writers who has many talents. Whether it is the excellent Flank Hawk series or the tales here in Genre Shotgun: A Collection Of Short Fiction the read is a good one. This is one of those rare cases where the blurbs from author Earl Staggs and others accurately portray the book. Short stories in a variety of settings populated with interesting characters facing major and minor moments are present here resulting in a very good read.

 

 

Material supplied by the author quite some time ago in exchange for my objective review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013, 2015, 2022

Lesa's Book Critiques: Beach Read by Emily Henry

Lesa's Book Critiques: Beach Read by Emily Henry

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury

The Education of a Pulp Writer: A Book List

The Education of a Pulp Writer: A Book List: I’ve been asked to recommend a list of books. Tall order. This list could change next week or even later today. But these fifteen have had...

Deep Vellum opening bookstore in Deep Ellum (DFW.COM)

Deep Vellum opening bookstore in Deep Ellum (DFW.COM)

Monday With Kaye: "The Fates Will Find Their Way" by Hannah Pittard (Reviewed by Kaye George)

Monday brings another in a too rapidly dwindling supply of reviews from Kaye George. Apparently that whole writing books thing she does hurts review production. Who would have thought? Anyway, for now she is still here making Mondays a little bit better…

The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard

This is the most unusual book I’ve read in awhile, being in first person plural with lots of verb tenses that would be awkward for many writers. Not for Pittard, though. The story pursues the mystery of the elusive and enigmatic Nora through what-ifs, maybes and might have beens. Possible pasts are explored and

discarded, though some are held onto by the group of boys as they progress through high school into adulthood.

It starts as an angst-ridden drama of newly hormonal teenagers. When one of their group, Nora, goes missing, the group considers alternate scenarios to explain to themselves, collectively, what happened to her. It’s an elitist bunch of boys who permit one “public schooler” into their midst, but only on the outskirts. In spite of this, we come to appreciate them and sympathize with their difficulties. Nora disappears on Halloween, and subsequent Halloweens are never again normal events for them. One of their female classmates is raped by a big brother of another classmate and they are tenderly protective of her. Nora’s younger sister, Sissy, is perhaps the mostly profoundly affected by her sister’s disappearance and unresolved fate. The boys close solicitous ranks around her, too, as much as they can.

The reader watches in fascination as the boys mature and become the men that their teenage years laid foundations for. And, always running through their lives, even as they marry and have children, are the questions surrounding Nora. The fantasies they form are fed by sightings over the years that may or may not have really been Nora. They create alternate lives she might have, would probably have or could have led.

There are some hilarious scenes, but most are serious and give the reader plenty of fodder for speculation and thought.

I hope you’ll enjoy this book as much as I did. In spite of the unusual literary style, it’s readable, even flowing and my interest never ever flagged.

Reviewed by Kaye George, Author of A Patchwork of Stories, for Suspense Magazine

Review: "Concrete Angel" by Patti Abbott

Christine was twelve years old when her mom, Eve Moran, shot her current boyfriend, Jerry Santini, dead in their apartment. It wasn’t long afterwards before Christine once again took care of her mom by claiming to have killed Jerry Santini. After all, cleaning up after her mom was a job Christine had really gotten really good at by then thanks to the fact she had lots of practice over the years.

Told in flashbacks of various lengths through the book, Concrete Angel by Patti Abbott details eighteen years of Christine’s life. From 1964 to approximately1982 in various locations in the Philadelphia area Christine dealt with a life of quiet family chaos. While the book opens with the shooting that in some ways did change things in other ways it was a minor blip on a long and wide ranging continuum of the family dysfunction.

Such issues are frequent topics of the author’s shorter fiction. While multiple crimes are present in the book, the psychological relationships are the heart of Concrete Angel. Hence the labeling of the book as “domestic suspense” in this age of making everything fit a nice neat designation. Makes sense if you also believe that Faulkner is domestic suspense as there is definitely a tone of Faulkner throughout the read. Granted the book is set in the Northeast but the characters could have easily come out of the Deep South. Right down to the neat freak bigoted Grandmother who is all about appearances over everything and anyone else.

The relationship between Christine and her mother takes precedence for a variety of reasons, but there are other familial relationships at work here that don’t always have Christine’s best interests at heart. The aforementioned Grandmother an obvious case in point, but there are others just as guilty. This is not one of those families you wish to be born into if your goal is a safe and nurturing environment. A mighty good book that defies easy labeling, Concrete Angel is a complex read that pulls you in deep and will haunt you long after the read is finished. 

Concrete Angel

Patti Abbott

http://pattinase.blogspot.com/

Polis Books

http://www.polisbooks.com/

June 2015

ISBN-13: 978-1940610382

Paperback (also available in audio and e-book formats)

320 Pages

$14.95

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Via Lesa's Book Critiques-- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

FFB Review: "Genre Shotgun: A Collection Of Short Fiction" by Terry W. Ervin II

Normally I would not pick a book so recently published for Friday’s Forgotten Books. But, after getting mentioned the other day as part of a review for the audio version, I thought I would go ahead and again run my review of Genre Shotgun: A Collection Of Short Fiction by Terry W. Ervin II. You should read this as well as his excellent Flank Hawk series. You should also check out the rest of the FFB list which this week is being handled by Evan Lewis. You should be reading his blog too. I would suggest some more “you shoulds” but I have exceeded my quota for the day so go forth and enjoy…

Genre Shotgun: A Collection Of Short Fiction features thirteen previously published tales classified into four categories. Published by Gryphonwood Press last year the book continues the author’s word count assault on the reading public with quality storytelling and interesting characters. Like his Flank Hawk series, there are plenty of twists and surprises in these very good tales.

The book opens with the “Horror/Suspense” category. There are three stories in this section and they begin with “The Scene Of My Second Murder.” A graveyard in the middle of the night and a long ago death are just two of the many elements in the tale.

Scary stories told to young kids at a retreat or camp is a classic idea used in film as well as in books. So classic we all pretty much know how the tale will go before we read one as the names and circumstances are usually the only difference. Author Terry W. Ervin II puts a very different spin on things with “Skull Face Returns” proving there is a grain or more of truth in every story.

Scaring kids at camp also plays a major role in the next story titled “The Candy Bar Game.” A Saturday night highlight and tradition at “Camp Mekanayzn” is about to go very wrong for assistant senior patrol leader Rick in ways he never saw coming.

“Accelerated Justice” leads off the five stories is the “Science Fiction” category though several could have worked just as well in the preceding category. In the not too distant future it was supposed to be a simple trip back and forth across the border for limo driver Jack Hollister and his passenger. Classic issues still plague mankind and Jack Hollister has few options.

A deep space battle might turn the tide for humanity in “Seconds Of Eternity.” Major Parsons knows a thing or two about fighting and will push his Starfury IV to do what absolutely has to be done.

He was supposed to go into a peaceful cryogenic sleep in “Tethered In Purgatory” and await advances in medical science that could save his life. Instead, Thomas Mayvin finds himself conscious in some way and only able to observe his own body and those that come near o him. This is not at all what he paid for.

A newbie reporter two weeks out from graduation and on his first assignment is sent to Florida in “Vegetable Matters.” The reporter is to interview a Mr. Dennis Sherkle on behalf of the “Weekly Electron Star.” All reporter Marvin Petro knows is that his editor told him the story involved corporate theft and property rights. Petro will soon learn what that really means in this incredibly good tale.

Sallie Thurstin and her baby are in real trouble in “The Exchange Box.” That is until Travis Collington shows up with his special box and makes an offer she can’t refuse.

While the next category is referred to as “Inspirational” a more fitting term would be “Literary.” Despite the idea that the stories are uplifting as implied by the category term and their track record of publication, these primarily depressing tales did not strike this reader that way at all.

“It Was A Mistake” details a series of mistakes that led up to the ultimate fate.

“Even Zero Can Add Up To Something” makes a point about the math involved with the number zero. A very short tale that really can’t be described--it just has to be read.

It has been a long trip, but worth it in “The Last Meeting” as a man goes home to the church he grew up in long ago.

The final two stories of the book are found in the closing category of “Mystery.” The first story features a routine day in second period Geometry until the police got involved in “Drug Dogs.” Mitch is about to have his high school life and more turned upside down and then things will get worse.

Modern day archeology and ancient secrets abound in “Fictional History.” Artifacts must be placed in context. A major find could radically change that established context.

Terry W. Ervin II is one of those writers who has many talents. Whether it is the excellent Flank Hawk  series or the tales here in Genre Shotgun: A Collection Of Short Fiction the read is a good one. This is one of those rare cases where the blurbs from author Earl Staggs and others accurately portray the book. Short stories in a variety of settings populated with interesting characters facing major and minor moments are present here resulting in a very good read.

Genre Shotgun: A Collection Of Short Fiction

Terry W. Ervin II

http://www.ervin-author.com/

http://uparoundthecorner.blogspot.com/

Gryphonwood Press

http://www.grphonwoodpress.com

November 2012

ISBN#978-0-9837655-7-8

Paperback (also available as an e-book and audio)

226 Pages

$9.99

Material supplied by the author quite some time ago in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013, 2015

The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers Press Release-- Hammett Prize Nominees

The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers is pleased to announce nominees for their annual HAMMETT PRIZE for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing by a US or Canadian author. The nominees are as follows:


Wayfaring Stranger: A Novel, by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster)
Smoke River, by Krista Foss (McClelland & Stewart)
Gangsterland: A Novel, by Tod Goldberg (Counterpoint)
Mr. Mercedes: A Novel, by Stephen King (Scribner)
Goodhouse: A Novel, by Peyton Marshall (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

A reading committee of IACW/NA members selected the nominees, based on recommendations from other members and the publishing community. The committee was headed by Del Staecker and included Maria Hudgins, Heidi Noroozy, Howard Owen, and Allen Wyler.

The winner will be chosen by three distinguished outside judges: Morris Dickstein, author of Why Not Say What Happened: A Sentimental Education; Daniel Simon, Editor-in Chief of World Literature Today; and Frank Wilson, former Books Editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and blogger at Booksinq.

The organization will name the HAMMETT PRIZE winner, during the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association’s (NAIBA) Fall Conference, in Somerset, New Jersey, October 2-4. The winner will receive a bronze trophy, designed by sculptor Peter Boiger.

Lliterary Authors and Self Publishing

Back in the day (late 80s to early 90s) when I was working for Bookstop and later Barnes and Noble "literary" and "mainstream" were not remotely the same thing. Umberto Eco and Gabriel Garcia Marquez were considered literary. Romance author Sandra Brown  had decided she did not write romance anymore and vehemently demanded to be shelved in "general fiction" because she wrote novels that were "mainstream." Obviously those authors and those books were not remotely the same thing.

(I did have one store manager at Barnes and Noble order me to put both Brown and Marquez on the same endcap for Valentines Day as they both had "flowery covers.")

Supposedly things are different now and mainstream and literary are the same thing these days. That factors into "Genre lines: Why literary writers won’t self-publish."  Interesting piece here by Chris Meadows.

Sample Sunday---- A Literary Tale from “Mind Slices: A Collection of New and Previously Published Stories”

This week I thought I would share with you a small sample of one of the literary stories from my MIND SLICES short story collection. Contrary to what some folks have argued on various lists in recent weeks, a literary story does have a beginning, middle, and an end. At least mine do. If you like what you see of this one, there are fifteen more tales in the book ……

Obsession

She crumpled the paper. The bill went into the back pocket of her torn black jeans as she stared angrily at the house. Mr. Wonderful was occasionally visible through the curtains that twitched in the breeze through the open window. Mark was doing his number in there for the millionth time and the bills still didn’t get paid. Now the power company had decided it was time for them to get paid or the lights and everything would go off. 

Midnight to eight at the plant six nights a week, waitressing the seventh and all this too. Lately, all Janet felt was anger toward everyone and everything in sight. Her head pounded. She was so sick of living this way. Her eyes tracked back across the dusty, dead lawn, back toward the paint-peeled house. A piece of broken gutter lay in the half-dead bushes where it had fallen about a month ago.  Loose shingles flapped, threatening to escape as their brethren had.  There was a plan to fix them, but that hadn’t happened either. The city had even been out yesterday, citing them for one thing, then another. Can’t offend the neighbors in the fancy-pantsy suburbs.

Through the open window, the noise of the clacking computer keys drifted across the yard to her. Why he had to have the computer make a noise like an old style typewriter she didn’t know. He had been wonderful in the beginning. What had been so cute way back when was now annoying. There he sat, in all his beer-belly glory, poking along at yet another story. With only one sale in twenty years of trying, and that one was years ago, you would have thought he’d have figured out the situation. Instead, she was left to be sole provider and parent as he sent his dreams out on paper. The years passed, the stories and projects came back quicker than they went out, but he kept trying. If he had spent half that energy and time getting a job that actually paid money, they could have been rich.

Instead, they were waiting for Lottery Liberation Day…..

Containing stories in various genres, the 16 tales are available for $2.99 at the following sites….

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009OIV346 

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/243655

Barnes and Noble’s NOOK  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mind-slices-kevin-tipple/1113576100?ean=2940044983076

Kevin

Reviewing: "Galveston--A Novel" by Nic Pizzolatto

When I was a kid growing up, Glen Campbell was very popular and a favorite of my parents. So, I heard a lot of his stuff either around the house or in the International Harvester Travelall while we towed a trailer from our home in North Texas to various points around the West. “Lineman For The County” was a good one as was”Amarillo By Morning.” We traveled a lot every summer so while I had seen Amarillo from the back seat of the “Travelall” many times it was never in the morning. Usually it was late afternoon with black and green storm clouds and tornado warnings o n the car radio.

We never did go down to the Texas Gulf Coast as my parents had absolute zero interest. I had always meant to take the wife and later the kids down sometime on a trip to see the Alamo, and other sites but we never did get that done. Any traveling I do these days other than to the doctors and testing places is via my mind through reading. As such, when my wife picked up Galveston: A Novel from the library and brought it home for me, all I could think of was another famous song of Glenn Cambell’s titled “Galveston.” I hadn’t thought f that one in years and yet it played in my head as a constant backdrop to Nic Pizzolatto’s strong debut novel of the same name. Fitting his background as a proflic and accomplished short story writer in both literary and mystery venues, the novel is of two parts both of which could easily be read as rather long short stories.

Roy Cady goes by the name of “Big Country” and he is in real trouble – not just because of the junk in his lungs that his doctor just informed him is going to kill him pretty soon. Stopping smoking now isn’t going to save his life. Neither is the fact that the woman he loved, Carmen, is now making time with Stan, a bar owner. A bar owner who does a lot of shady stuff and employs Roy and several other folks as a crew to do various nefarious things for him. He has never fit in with this crew and recent events have not helped Roy.

Stan wants Roy and another guy, Angelo, to go visit a guy by the name of Frank Stenkiewicz and get him to do what needs to be done. His final instruction is for Frank and Angelo to not take their guns. Something Stan has never said before and that instruction as well as the way he is being talked to and Carmen’s behavior and other factors cause Roy to figure it for a set up. It is and before long Roy is on the run from New Orleans to Galveston with passengers that he can’t seem to get rid of for a variety of reasons. 1987 is not the best of time for Roy.

2008 is not much better though Roy is still alive. An old man walking his dog on a Texas beach should not be of interest to anyone. However, it doesn’t take Roy long to notice the ominous skies of the gulf predicting the coming hurricane or the man conducting surveillance on him. Old debts are finally coming due for many including Roy and this time he is not running from man or nature.

While crime is at its core, Galveston: A Novel is more of a literary character study of several characters. As such the focus is primarily on motivations and not so much action oriented as many books in the crime and mystery genre are. Therefore, those looking for lots of action may be disappointed as this novel is more about how one choice led to another choice which led to another ultimately delivering a fate twenty plus years in the making. A good novel that certainly isn’t run of the mill, author Nic Pizzollatto combines mystery and literary elements into a tale that is noirish and enthralling.

Galveston-A Novel

Nic Pizzolatto

http://www.nicpizzolatto.com

Scribner (Simon & Schuster)

http://wwwsimonandschuster.com

June 2010

ISBN# 978-1-4391-6664-2

Hardback

260 Pages

$25.00

Material supplied by the good folks on the Plano, Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2010