mandag den 14. februar 2011

F is for Flash Fiction

Thank you, Kerrie, for hosting the weekly Crime Fiction Alphabet.

Flash is glimpses of angst, paranoia, dark humour - anything that lurks beneath the suburban facade.
I have read the second half of Cathryn Grant´s collection, "Flash Fiction for the Cocktail Hour", and again I will share a couple of quotations with you.

Get the collection for free - for a few days. 

Sitting with the Dead
The narrator, an old woman, meets her grandson´s fiancé, but is less than thrilled.

"She wore a dress with thin straps over her creamy white shoulders. Each time she reached for her wine glass, the strap on the left slid down her arm. The side of her breast popped out like the egg white emerges from a crack in a boiling egg - a silken bubble."


Besides, young Clara is a medium, conducting séances for money. A despicable practice as the dead should be left alone. No spoilers, but this particular story is among my favourites.

Out of Options.

Ah, black garbage sacks! I wonder what is in them in real life, but we all know what to expect when we come across them in crime fiction, don´t we?
Karla the caretaker doesn´t like dead bodies, but when she sees something sticking out of one of those black sacks in a dumpster, it seems she has no choice. Lovely (dark) twist.

Reverberation.
A sinister story about fireworks, but as always full of fine little observations about human beings and their priorities, "The carbonation sizzled against his teeth, probably rotting them away while he stood here doing nothing but wanting to kill someone." 

Latest news: see the winners of Cathryn´s give-away 

19 kommentarer:

Elizabeth Spann Craig sagde ...

I love the term "suburban Noir!" I'll have to check this out. Thanks, Dorte!

Dorte H sagde ...

Elizabeth: you should download it immediately if you want it. Cathryn had actually raised the price to 99 cents but lowered it again when she saw I had posted about her ´free collection´.

Anonym sagde ...

Dorte - What a wonderful idea for the letter "F!" These stories sound darkly delicious, too :-). This shorter fiction is getting more and more popular with writers and is also, I think, gaining a lot of fans.

Dorte H sagde ...

Margot: what I hope is - of course - that flash fiction will catch on as entertainment for the commuter.

Felicity Grace Terry sagde ...

suburban Noir! - what a wonderful term.

I love the idea of a story about fireworks - surely it must be pretty explosive.

Dorte H sagde ...

Tracy: I also like titles that tell you what kind of stories to expect, including the fireworks - but no spoilers ;)

Unknown sagde ...

Cool book and what's cooler is that it's free!

Felicity Grace Terry sagde ...

Off topic I know but I just wanted to thank you for letting me know about my win, I'm so pleased.

Dorte H sagde ...

Clarissa: that´s right. Free samples - and if you like them, her cool novel is not expensive either.

Tracy: congratulations! I am happy that ´one of mine´ won a book.

Kelly sagde ...

I think I'll download this. Thanks to you I have a Smashwords account.
:)

How exciting to check out the winners and see Tracy's name there!! Yay!!

Joanne Ganley sagde ...

Yes, thanks to you I also have a Smashwords account. :D

I've just downloaded it!

Dorte H sagde ...

Kelly: I am glad I can also offer some free temptations. And it was great to see that Tracy had won one of Cathryn´s books.

Joanne: I hope you´ll have some smashing experiences with Smashwords :D

Kerrie sagde ...

Thanks for teh tip Dorte. and thanks for this entry in this week's CFA

Dorte H sagde ...

Kerrie: my pleasure!

pattinase (abbott) sagde ...

There is nothing more noir than the suburbs-read THE VIRGIN SUICIDES for proof.

Cathryn Grant sagde ...

Thanks, Dorte for featuring my flash fiction! I really appreciate it.

And thanks everyone for your comments.

I also think flash is perfect for us when we feel pressed for time but still want to indulge our insatiable desire for stories.

Dorte H sagde ...

Patti: I know all sorts of things are going on in those shady suburbs.

Cathryn: usually I prefer novels, but this crazy month I´ll have to resort to flash & short stories. So it´s good there are some great ones out there.

Natasha sagde ...

I love flash fiction. If there are flash fiction collections out there, that incentivises me to get an e-book reader.

Dorte H sagde ...

Rayna: I think they are coming. E-books is probably the best way to publish flash fiction as they are well-suited for pendlers.

I am sure you can find some collections via Smashwords, and I have heard that Amazon are planning a section of short fiction.