Monday, December 13, 2010

Wicked Short Stories

Lately I've been reading collections of paranormal or fantasy-ish short stories - either written by a single author or anthologies. I'm working on a few short works myself and there's nothing better than reading samples within your genre to help your writing. You see what's been done, what is possible and what you may attempt to accomplish with your work.


Anyway, here are a few of the titles I've been digging into, in case you're looking for some short sensational tales. If you have any others to recommend - please comment on this post.


The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire



- edited by Trisha Telep. Authors include: Libba Bray, Melissa de la Cruz, Kelley Armstrong, Cecil Castellucci (love that there are several Canadians!) and more.






Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link


- this author is wonderfully odd, taking tales down roads I never would have expected. "The Wrong Grave" is my favourite.




Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor


- illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo - amazing real world meets the fantastical tales with gothic/graphic novel-ish illos.




Blood Roses by Francesca Lia Block


- short reads that will haunt you. Seriously.






Love is Hell

- authors include: Melissa Marr, Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier and more. There are several other titles in this stories from "Hell" series which is partially a fundraiser: Vacations From Hell, Prom Nights From Hell, Kisses From Hell. "A portion of the proceeds will be donated to College Summit".




Zombies vs. Unicorns

- compiled by Holy Black and Justine Larbalestier. Authors include: Maureen Johnson, Garth Nix, Cassandra Clare, Carrie Ryan and more. After reading about the Zombies vs. Unicorn blog debate started by Black and Larbalestier, I'd heard about this book - however...lol....I thought it was going to be the actual arguments for and against from these two authors and didn't bother to investigate further. When I saw it at a bookstore and flipped through, realizing it was a collection of short stories with authors writing to support their "team" (zombie or unicorn)...I had to read it.

3 comments:

Stina said...

Wow, I'd only hear of Proms from Hell.

I'm not a fan of short stories. I prefer novels. Not sure why. I guess it's because I get to spend more time with the characters. Maybe that's why I love series, too. :)

Tami Klockau said...

Great list, Tracy!

Tracy Belsher said...

Hey guys - yup, there are lots out there and I'll keep hunting them down. I've always had a thing for flash fiction / short stories - it's amazing how attached you can get to characters in a few pages.

Unexpected endings keep me coming back for more. Authors seem to be willing to end short stories in ways they'd never end a novel. ;)