Another 10 or So

My short story reading has been pretty scattered this year from Western to Fantasy and a huge dip into what's called Country or Rural Noir. All of which was to study how other writers work in those genres and because I was attempting to write that kind of fiction myself. If you're going to learn, you might as well learn from those published in the genres you choose to write in.

That said, I found that narrowing down my list to ten was nearly impossible this year as there was so much great writing to found both in print and online. Chris Rhatigan asked me for five must reads that were published on his blog, Death by Killing and which I've re-posted here. Below that you'll find ten more that I enjoyed for a variety of reasons, stories that I hope you'll enjoy also.

1. "Melanie" by Edward A Grainger
This was one of those stories that just pulled at the heartstrings and had you cheering for the hero at the end.
http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com/2011/01/wild-west-emonday-melanie.html

2. "6/8" by Trey R. Barker
With this story, it was the writing that stuck with me, the pure beauty and poetry of Mr. Barker's words.
http://www.shotgunhoney.net/2011/06/68-by-trey-r-barker.html

3. "Veronica" by Doree Weller
From beginning to end this story did nothing that I expected it to.
http://www.spinetinglermag.com/2011/09/26/fiction-veronica-by-doree-weller/

4. "Why are Mommy and Daddy Fighting?" by Eric Beetner
With this story, Eric puts you into the mind of a young boy and you feel yourself sitting beside him in the dark, holding your breath.
http://theflashfictionoffensive.blogspot.com/2011/10/why-are-mommy-daddy-fighting-by-eric.html

5. "The Uncleared" by Thomas Pluck
You don't expect a happy ending when you start reading this story, but the ending still slaps you in the face and leaves you reeling.
http://a-twist-of-noir.blogspot.com/2011/09/interlude-stories-thomas-pluck.html

And in no particular order the other 10 or so:

For the same reason that I loved Trey Barker's "6/8". I knew some men were poets at heart but Trey's story and the next two really tap into lovely poetry that make a story sing.

1. "My Beautiful, Brash, Beastly Belfast" by Seamus Scanlon
http://www.gemini-magazine.com/scanlonbelfast.html

2. "Anger Burns" by Gary Carter
http://www.friedchickenandcoffee.com/2011/03/09/anger-burns-by-gary-carter

3. Patti Abbott is a writer who can rip the heart out of your chest with her storytelling and "Father's Day" was the one that did it for me this year. http://www.spinetinglermag.com/2011/06/14/fiction-fathers-day-by-patricia-abbott/

4. This next story was one of the Derringer winners for 2011. It was originally published in 2010 in the anthology "Thuglit Presents: Blood, Guts and Whiskey". It's a story that blends one of a man's proudest moments with a gut wrenching act of revenge. The story is "Care of the Circumcised Penis" by Sean Doolittle. There's no link for the story but you can check out Sean's website here http://seandoolittle.com/

5. Another favorite this year was Chris Rhatigan's story "In the Hard Nowhere" published in Beat to a Pulp. Unfortunately BTaP's archives are down but if you drop over to Grift magazine you'll find another excellent example of Chris' work, "What is Your Emergency?" http://tirbd.com/grift/?p=341

6. Jodi MacArthur is probably best known for her darker stories but "The Girl Who Was Chased by an Abominable Snowman with a Machete" makes me laugh just thinking about it. What a great joyous ride of a story! http://www.10flashmagazine.com/10flash-fantasy/the-girl-who-was-chased-by-an-abominable-snowman-with-a-machete

7. Another fun story I read this year was "Romo Samson and the Grandmother Spider" by Chris La Tray and published in Pulp Modern (Autumn 2011 issue) This story wasn't fun in the laugh out loud way of Jodi's story but more in the nature of an Indiana Jones romp. You can find a link to the issue here http://pulp-modern.blogspot.com/

And then there was the country/rural noir stories.

8. In 2010 I picked up a copy of "Town Smokes" by Pinckney Benedict and pretty much inhaled this anthology, so I was pleased to discover another of Mr. Benedict's stories online. "Pig Helmet and the Wall of Life" just takes hold and doesn't let go until the blistering end. http://www.fiftytwostories.com/?p=1258

9. The entire collection of "The Outlaw Album" by Daniel Woodrell is a lesson in how to put your reader into a setting without sacrificing the storytelling. All of the stories are gems but my favorite was "Returning the River". If you haven't read this collection yet, please do, you won't be sorry.

10. Joe R. Lansdale was my discovered author this year. Like Woodrell he gives you place without forsaking the story. Last week I mentioned "Torn Away" http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/new/new-fiction/torn-away/ But there was one other story of his that I read this year that's really stuck. If you want to learn how to put a twist ending on a story, this is the lesson plan. "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road". http://www.thehorrorzine.com/Fiction/Oct2011/Lansdale/Lansdale.html

Well, that's just a small sampling of the great stories you can find out there, both in print and online. Happy reading, everyone!!