Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Jeremy de Quidt - The Wrong Train - Book Review Published by David Fickling

It’s late. Dark. A boy rushes to catch a train, leaping aboard just before it pulls away. Suddenly he realises that it’s the wrong train. He’s annoyed, of course, but not scared.

. . . Yet.

He gets off at the next station, but the platform’s empty, and it doesn’t look like any station he’s seen before. But he’s still not scared.

. . . Yet.

Then a stranger arrives - someone with stories to help pass the time. Only these aren’t any old stories. These are nightmares, and they come with a price to pay.

. . . Scared yet?

You will be.

I'm not a great fan of short stories as I love the journey that you take with a longer read. I like to feel, smell and touch the characters. For me, all of this takes time to build up; the devil is in the detail and to me it's very important in a story. It leaves a really pleasant feeling in my brain which I cannot describe. Maybe I will find a magical book one day with endless pages that keep on turning and being produced each time that I breathe - that would be really cool!

I do, however, love the idea of connecting short stories to a central theme. A platform, pardon the pun, that you can come back to which pulls the narrative together like a steam train and makes a connection. It's a story within a story, shall we say. In this book it's the mystery around an old man on a railway station platform, who is in the middle of nowhere with his scruffy, grey dog called Toby. There is a very spooky side to the old man; it might be the way he looks at the reader without ever really looking at you. He will definitely get inside your head and play with your mind as he starts to wickedly weave his stories that might not just be stories....

You are subtly pulled along in powerful vice-like grip the more that you read this book. The short stories are very dark and have a naive mischievous quality about them. They are very surreal nightmares that giggle through your brain, but they will also suddenly set you on edge and make your spine tingle. At the half way point of the book, there is a short story entitled Babysitting which is fantastic to read. It is immersive, chilling, cleverly written and really enjoyable to read. It will certainly put you on edge and make sure that you never get on the wrong train at night time or get off at the wrong station. 

At the end of the book, there is a real a sting in the tale that you really will love. I will say no more as there are no spoilers to be found here. I love the idea that readers might try to read this book in a similar situation. If not, then maybe you need to try it as this is something that I would have liked to have done. A dark night, in an isolated spot will certainly ramp up the chill factor. However, if you can't do that and IF YOU DARE then read it under the bedcovers by torch light, regardless of age, that should still do it. 

When you do get to read this book, you will also have the privilege of seeing the illustrations. There is one for each story header that has been produced by the talented Dave Shelton. I have not seen these myself, but I am looking forward to seeing them in the finished copy. This is a cracking read; top entertainment and an up and coming Halloween treat... 

Published by : David Fickling Books

ISBN: 978-1910200810

Format: Hardback

Available : 01 September 2016 - Pre-order now

Price : £10.99

UNDER MY HAT edited by Jonathan Strahen - (Tips for writing short stories post) From Hot Key Books.

                                                       

Publishing date: 4 October 2012 - Hot Key Books - Something for Halloween perhaps?

25% Spider Silk, 25% Eye of Newt, 25% SnakeVenom,25% BlackMoss

Eighteen spellbinding tales from top fantasy authors, brewed together for the witching hour

A stellar cast of acclaimed fantasy writers weave spellbinding tales that bring the world of witches to life. Boasting over 70 awards between them, including a Newbery Medal, five Hugo Awards and a Carnegie Medal, the authors delve into the realms of magic to explore all things witchy...

From familiars that talk, to covens that offer dark secrets to explore, these are tales to tickle the hair on the back of your neck and send shivers down your spine.

Be truly spooked by these stunning stories by Diana Peterfreund, Frances Hardinge, Garth Nix, Holly Black, Charles de Lint, Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman, Ellen Klages, Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, Patricia A. McKillip, Tim Pratt, M. Rickert, Isobelle Carmody, Jane Yolen, Jim Butcher, Peter S. Beagle and Margo Lanagan.

By Jonathan Strahen

Five Writing Tips, or How to Write a Great Short Story by Someone Who Never Has.

So you want to write a short story? A great one? When I was first asked to provide a list of tips on how to write a terrific short story I drew a blank. I’ve not written a short story since high school, so I’m no expert. I’ve not even thought about writing a short story. But then I realised that, like you, I read. I read a lot. And what I mostly read is short fiction. So, it’s possible I might have picked up an idea or two.

• Write

This might seem obvious, but no one has ever finished a short story without sitting down and actually writing.  I have a folder full of stops and starts on a handful of short stories and novels, but none of them are finished. So, do that. Write. Write every day and finish what you start. 

• Re-write

I know you think you’re finished when you write “The End” at the end of your newly minted short story. You probably are. But it’s possible, just possible, that there’s still a little bit of work left to do. Put it in a drawer for a week, and come back to it fresh. Suddenly you’ll see, if you’re at all like me when I write anything, all sorts of problems with it. You might also let a trusted reader see it. Get their feedback, try to listen to it with an open mind, and be willing to re-write.

• Read

The only way to learn how to write a great short story is to read great short stories. Read them a lot and think about them. Try to work out how they work and why. Pick a writer whose work you love and see how their stories work. If you love witch stories, try the work of Roald Dahl or Diana Wynne Jones, and see if you can unpick their stories. They knew what they were doing.  

• Keep it short

We are talking about writing short stories after all, so keep it short. You probably only want a single plot line (the story) and a single point of view character (the person whose eyes we’re seeing the story though). Longer stories, novellas and short novels, can sometimes have subplots and more than one point of view character, but basically you only need one.

• Make your story work

I don’t mean make it great. Of course you’re going to do that. What I mean is make your words count. Everything you write in a short story should do more than one thing. Setting builds character, voice advances plot, and so on. Look very carefully at each scene in your story. You won’t have many of them – this is short after all – so make sure each scene does more than one thing. Each scene should build setting, develop character and move the story forward.  Avoid scenes that only do one thing. You want to avoid your story being dull (which it was never going to be, but you know what I mean) and making sure your scenes are doing the heavy lifting helps.

If you’ve already written a great short story you probably know all of this stuff, and possibly far more. If you’re just starting out, though, it might help. And if you are starting out keep going. You’ll probably write some stinkers. You’ll possibly write some stories that are almost exactly like stories written by people whose work you love. That’s fine. That’s what you should be doing. You have to write through that so you can get to the stories that only you can tell, the ones that are definitely going to be great. And when you do, send them to me. I love great short stories.  – Jonathan Strahan

Thanks for Hot Key books for sending this over.

https://www.hotkeybooks.com/

Kazu Kibuishi - Explorer: The Mystery Boxes - Review

                                

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (March 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141970009X
• 
  

Like the lesson of Schrödinger’s Cat, what exists within a box is possibilities—when opened, we all have to face the reality of that decision. The tales in this anthology—which add up to a kind of Twilight Zone for younger readers—offer characters who encounter the mystery boxes of the title, with no unification beyond their geometry and their role as catalysts to unexpected narrative turns. Gathering multiple creators to work within that concept, editorial dynamo Kibuishi (the author of the Amulet series) creates a mixture of laughs and creeps, with some philosophy thrown in, as well as the kind of graphical triumphs expected from Kibuishi’s previous Flight collections. Outstanding among the contributions are the spooky tale of a sinister doppelgänger invading a girl’s life by up-and-coming comics star Emily Carroll; Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier’s comedy of wizarding errors and online bidding wars; and Rad Seachrist’s romp involving a teenage girl, an introduction to the basics of Shintoism, and a manic butter thief driving a grandma to the brink. All the stories offer top-notch storytelling while providing readers with something more to think about without being overbearing in their intellect.

Book Plug#3 - Chris Van Allsburg - The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

                      

For more than twenty-five years, the illustrations in the extraordinary Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg have intrigued and entertained readers of all ages. Thousands of children have been inspired to weave their own stories to go with these enigmatic pictures. Now we've asked some of our very best storytellers to spin the tales. Enter The Chronicles of Harris Burdick to gather this incredible compendium of stories: mysterious, funny, creepy, poignant, these are tales you won't soon forget.

This inspired collection of short stories features many remarkable, best-selling authors in the worlds of both adult and children's literature: Sherman Alexie, M. T. Anderson, Kate DiCamillo, Cory Doctorow, Jules Feiffer, Stephen King, Tabitha King, Lois Lowry, Gregory Maguire, Walter Dean Myers, Linda Sue Park, Louis Sachar, Jon Scieszka, Lemony Snicket, and Chris Van Allsburg 

himself.

For more details:
http://www.hmhbooks.com/features/harrisburdick/

R.L Stine - Nightmare Hour - Time for Terror - Book Review

                                       

• Pages - 160
• Publisher -  HarperCollins 
• Date - 1999
• Age -  10+

At the age of nine, R.L Stine just wanted to write, and write he did. This author is a writing machine and is known within the literary world as the Steven King of Children's Literature. He is the best selling children's author of all time and has, in the process, sold over 400 million books. In my opinion, he's not as famous as he should be within the UK. Even though most people may have heard of the "Goosebumps" series, which sold in over 40 countries, and contained 25 books in the series. From here, he then went on to write "Give Yourself Goosebumps" and many more chilling stories.

Nightmare Hour consists of ten short stories of the most delicious nature. The author has a natural ability like no other writer. He can weave a tale that will leave you spell bound. These spine-tingling encounters will send a shiver down your spine, no matter what age you are. The author will take you to the dark depths of his genius mind and leave you there. He evokes such a bag of mix feelings that you won't be able to shake them off.

The first story is entitled Pumpkinhead which sets the mood for the following other stories.
The sun went down as I continued my search. The air grew cold. I stopped when I heard a soft thudding sound. I watched as a pumpkin came rolling towards me. It rolled over wilted vines, over the flat, dark field-and stopped at my feet. I stared at it. What had made it roll?
As you start to read, the story gently leads you down the garden path before thumping you on the head; leaving your heartbeat to quicken as the story unfolds.

My favourite story from this collection is entitled "Alien Candy". It is highly original and provokes a feeling of shock, leaving you to run around the room screaming. But as Walter calls his first meeting to order, he begins to wonder if he's made a big mistake. Maybe he should have checked the last minutes of the last Alien Club meeting.


In the next coming months I will be reading many more Stine books on the strength of his short stories.  I will be starting with the "Fear Street Saga" and hopefully, will get into double figures by the end of the year!