When I find an author I love to read, I will follow their writing from their first release to their latest. I recently reviewed Paul Beckman's most recent collection of short stories, Kiss Kiss, and it had me laughing out loud.

​His earlier collection of short stories, Peek, is also well worth the read.  It's funny and dark, literary and absurd, full of vignettes as well as touching flash fiction stories.  It's full of the taboo and what people tend not to say - not out loud, at least.

For a full review of the book, check it out here at Bewildering Stories.  While the stories are probably not for the faint of heart or readers who find themselves easily offended, it's a great read for the rest of us.  I'd definitely recommend it!

I had the pleasure recently to return to the work of Gary Beck.  I've read a number of his collections of poetry, and I was happy to dive into his recently released book of short stories, Now I Accuse.

The stories in this collection contain the same breadth of theme and tone as his poetry, and also a wide variety of topics and characters.  The descriptions arelovely and often heartbreaking, with a few lighter, humorous stories thrown in to balance out the tone.

For a full review of the book, including a detailed look at some of my favorite stories from the collection, please feel free to visit the latest issue of Bewildering Stories and read my review here.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I recently read Paul Beckman’s flash fiction collection Kiss Kiss. Many of his stories are written in a literary style, although most of them also contain comedic elements, with one or two chuckle-out-loud moments of humor. Very serious problems are at the heart of almost every story, and it’s interesting how Mr. Beckman can turn these situations on their head.

Flash fiction has always been one of my favorite forms to write, and the difficulty in creating effective flash stories is that so much has to be left out to meet that word count goal. It’s what’s not said, more than what is. And Paul Beckman is a master at making silence speak loudly.

For a full review of Kiss Kiss, check it out here at Bewildering Stories. I hope you enjoy reading it!

One of my greatest joys about being a book reviewer is finding writers who are new to me.  John Reinhart is a poet whose work is fun and funny, in addition to being serious and thoughtful.  His writing mixes the speculative genre with literary, humor with pathos.

I read Mr. Reinhart's latest collection of poetry, broken bottle of time, and enjoyed it immensely.  The full review of it was published today at Bewildering Stories, and you can read it here, along with some excerpts from Mr. Reinhart's work..

I hope you enjoy reading broken bottle of time as much as I did!

Although I always try to pay special attention to the writing of local authors, my love of Kristan Higgins' work predates my move to Connecticut.  I don't remember exactly when I started reading her books, though.  How long has she been writing?

Needless to say, I am very familiar with her work - if having read all of her books constitutes familiarity.  She writes down-to-earth characters who are easy for the reader to relate to.  They are often working men and women, friendly and silly and completely human.  Her settings are so detailed that it feels like you could walk down the street.  And the voice/comedy of the situations are often cringeworthy good.

In Your Dreams is no exception - it's a great book with great characters  If you'd like to know more about it, please check out my full review here at Bewildering Stories.  Enjoy!

It's summer, and to me that means summer reads.  I want something light and fun and fluffy, gosh darn it.  I live near a beach, so I'm going to pick up a few beach books.

Enter The Model Man by Genie Davis.  This book really hit the spot.  It's got thrills, it's got mystery, it's got love and a lot of silliness.  Although marketed as a romance (and there's plenty of romance), it also has a strong whodunit element to the story.  It reminded me strongly of one of my favorite writers, Janet Evanovich, but not in a derivative way.

So if you're looking for a fun read to prop up your piña colada, this might be a good choice.  I'm happy to go look up some of her other books, too - after all, summer's not over yet!  For a full review of the book, check it out here at Bewildering Stories.  Enjoy!

Ever since I ran out of Terry Pratchett books, I've been looking for a new humor writer with that particular twisted look at life that can make me laugh.  I found it in Christopher Moore's The Stupidest Angel.  I love Christmas, but sometimes it can have a little too much saccharine gooeyness, especially near the end.  This book is the proverbial cold, soft slap of anti-reality that will make you see the holidays in a whole new light.

The full review of the book can be read at Bewildering Stories magazine, located over here.  I'm always thrilled to discover a new humor writer with a number of publications.  I can't wait to get my hands on more of Moore's books!

There are some books that are hard to put down, and Piece of Mind, by Michelle Adelman, is on that list for me. Written in a conversational style, the prose is simple, yet filled with touches of humor. If I can't go to sleep because I have to turn the page and find out what happens next, I'd call the book a success.

I've written a full review at Bewildering Stories.  I hope you pick up the book and enjoy it as much as I did!

My kitchen renovation is in full swing right now, which means that I've been pretty inactive on my website - however, I've still managed to squeeze in reading a book or two.  One I read recently was Too Many Cooks by Dana Bate, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  In tone, her writing reminds me of one of my favorite romance authors, Kristan Higgins.  I've written a full review for Bewildering Stories magazine, which you can read here.  I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I did!