It’s a strange time for the world right now. Dystopian fiction has become reality, and the future has suddenly become a lot more hazy. The very best coping mechanism I’ve ever found is to distract myself with a story. It works for TV, movies, video games, and books; they’re all absolutely valid narrative forms. We need our imaginations to get us through difficult times, and I think that bite-sized chunks of make-believe can sometimes be even more effective than entire novels. They’re like breathing exercises for the mind.
Accordingly, I’m delighted to announce the release of Once Upon A Time, an anthology of flash fiction: standalone tales of 1,000–3,000 words, in genres including science fiction, horror, and the supernatural! You might call them scenes, vignettes, fragments, flash fiction… there are lots of terms to choose from. The important thing is that there are more than fifteen ultra-brief stories to spark the imagination, and provide respite from the world when you need it. The anthology also includes author’s notes on each tale, describing inspiration and background.
There are two volumes in this collection, so be sure to look for the accompanying volume too, which will be out next week!
You can buy a copy:
- On Amazon.com
- On Amazon.co.uk or your local Amazon Kindle store
- On Apple Books
- Or as a standalone ePub file
Volume 1 includes the stories Retirement, Non-Local, The Gift of Time, Awake, The Translator, Ghost Streets, Transport, Faces, The Calendar, Stairs, Squeezed, Decision, One Silver Shilling, Bring Her Back, Inhabited, Heavier, Tribute, and Waiting.
Volume 2 includes the stories Fluent, Stolen Words, Impediment, Passing Through, Return, Shortages, Lights, Paranoia, Influencers, Left Behind, Foreign, Symbol, The Fairness, Obstacles, The Old Gods, The Repository, and Denning’s Walk.
These tales each stand alone, and I encourage you to think of them as a box of chocolates: there are some that you’ll like, and some that you won’t, but not everyone will agree about which ones fall into each category.
Dip in whenever you need to, let your imagination handle the rest — and take care of yourself.