Simon Wood

Posts Tagged: anthology

It’s my birthday today…but I have a gift for you with the release of my short story collection, FAST CRIMES.

I made my professional bones writing short fiction, and fairly short crime fiction at that. When I started out, there were plenty of markets looking for stories only a few pages long. The stories featured in this collection saw publication in Woman’s World, the side of a coffee can and in a Vegas soft porn magazine, just to name a few.

The jacket copy goes like this:

“Crime happens in a moment and so do the stories in the Fast Crimes collection. These short mysteries start in the moment and build to a climax in a snap. Murders are plotted and carried out. Heists are planned and foiled. Investigators hunt and apprehend criminals. And it all happens in a handful of pages. It’s a smash and grab experience…so strap in.”

The book is available on Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, Barnes & Noble. Links are here.

So if you’re looking to get me a birthday gift, then I’d love it if you picked up a copy. I hope you enjoy the stories. They’re something you can fit in with a cup of coffee.

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I’ve got something fast and dirty for you in the guise of a short story collection, FAST CRIMES.

I made my professional bones writing short fiction, and fairly short fiction at that. When I started out, there were plenty of markets looking for stories only a few pages long. The stories featured in this collection saw publication in Woman’s World, the side of a coffee can and in a Vegas soft porn magazine, just to name a few.

The jacket copy goes like this:

“Crime happens in a moment and so do the stories in the Fast Crimes collection. These short mysteries start in the moment and build to a climax in a snap. Murders are plotted and carried out. Heists are planned and foiled. Investigators hunt and apprehend criminals. And it all happens in a handful of pages.

It’s a smash and grab experience…so strap in.”

The book comes out on April 14th…my birthday. You can preorder it here.

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Hello, neighbors. You’re all invited to the Golden Elm Lane Block Party!

Welcome to Golden Elm Lane. It’s just like any other small-town street…or is it?

Horrible things happen on Golden Elm Lane…vile, monstrous, evil things. Serial killers, ghosts, and monsters of all kinds hide behind the walls lining Golden Elm Lane. Each house tells a story…a horrifying story.

And now, for the first time ever, fourteen masters of horror will give you a bloody tour of Golden Elm Lane and bring it to full, terrifying life.

The collection features my story UNTIL IT HURTS, which is about a homeless man who comes to Golden Elm Lane for a job. With an introduction by the legendary creator of Jason Voorhees and the Friday the 13th franchise, Victor Miller, you’ll find it difficult to turn down an invitation to attend our…CHOPPING BLOCK PARTY.  You can pick it up here: The Publisher & Amazon.

Categories: new book shelf life

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thrillerI have a real soft spot anthology TV shows. Shows like The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Tales of the Unexpected to name a few. There’s something exciting about an anthology show. The stories aren’t confined to a set of characters, locale or theme. They can go anywhere, exploring any possibility. I think anthology shows are responsible for my love of short stories. They’re the perfect medium for experimentation with ideas and style.

Anthology shows aren’t popular these days which is a shame but I want to shine a light on a few shows that helped formed the humble writer before you and which you’re unlikely to recognize.

THRILLER (1973-76): A wonderful series put together by the great TV writer Brian Clemens. The show’s broad title gave the breadth to features any story that could be classified as a thriller, so they ranged from cooks and swindlers to supernatural horror.

ARMCHAIR THRILLER (1978-81): This show featured half hour suspense stories. It’s very memorable to me as it had very creepy opening credits and it came on after the news (past my bedtime) and I had to beg to stay up to see it.

murderMURDER IN MIND (2001-03): Anthony Horowitz’s wonderful show centering on the dark side of the ordinary person. A real gem of a show.

NIGHT GALLERY (1969-73): Rod Serling’s follow-up effort to THE TWILIGHT ZONE and while NIGHT GALLERY could be considered THE TWILIGHT ZONE-Lite, there were some stand out episodes amongst the painting inspired stories.

Naturally with all anthology shows, not every episode is gold and the shows have aged and production values could be better but the stories themselves in most cases have something, so I recommend you do a little YouTubing and see for yourself.

For myself, all I can say is catching up with these shows reinforces my love of short stories and you should expect more story anthologies from me in the future.

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I have contributed a story to the Piercing the Darkness anthology.  It’s an anthology of horror stories and all the proceeds go towards the Child Literacy Initiative. The book has an all-star cast featuring stories by Gary A. Braunbeck, Christopher Golden, Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Maberry, F. Paul Wilson to name just a few.
 
As you can see, the book has cracking cover art which nails the mood and illustrates the cause.
The proceeds are going to a good cause, so I hope you’ll pick up a copy or three.  You can get yours today from:

PUBLISHER
B&N
SMASHWORDS
 AMAZON

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