Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

I have available two contrasting short story collections, both available as kindle versions and both priced around £1/$1

~ that's only just over 8p a story!:

Peace and Disquiet Light Bites



Peace and Disquiet 5 *****

A collection of twelve slightly disturbing tales which encompass mortality, mentality, brutality... and reality.
Sleep tight...

Ante Mortem
Lucky Jim
'Til Death Do Us Part
My Name is Not Simon
Silver Lining
Beggars and Choosers
Dear Madeline
Wish You Were Here...
Design
Little Angels
From This Day Forward
Charming Viola

REVIEWS:

5 *****
~Each of these stories has a different slant on life and is never disappointing in its intrigue. From "Till death us do part" with its gentle but inciteful look at growing older with love and care, to the creeping horror of "From this day forward" I was held captive until the end. I look forward with interest to the next set of stories from this writer.she can certainly send shivers up the spine!

5 *****
~Well, I didn't expect such dark tales but that's what you get. Very sinister and sometimes quite gruesome in places but this author writes in such a way that you can't help but turn the page - even if you get a shock in doing so!!
I would recommend giving this book of tales your time - you will be moved in more ways than one!!
Enjoy at your peril!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Peace-and-Dis...

http://www.amazon.com/Peace-and-Disqu...


Light Bites 5*****

A collection of twelve light-hearted, satisfying tales to savour in those precious moments of peace during the day.

Abi's A - Z
Moonlight Malpractice
Cabin Fever
Occupational Therapy
Burning Rubber
One Man's Loss
Diary of Jenny Mitchell, aged 15 years, 7 months
Stealing the Show
Fit Company
The Thirteenth Place
True Colours
Shaken, and Stirred

REVIEWS:

5 *****
~The author writes so well, in such a 'real' way that I found myself immersed in each tale. Her characters are easy to relate to and there is lots of humour that keeps you entertained. I thoroughly enjoyed every story and would definitely recommend it.
Great!

4 ****
~This collection of strories deals with all aspects of life from the re-orientationof a fairy into a goblin in "Occupational therapy" to the delightfully presented ghost story "Thirteenth Place". There is ceratainly something for everyone here with several surprises at the conclusion of some of the stories eg: " Stealing the show" and "Fit Company". For those who enjoy mysteries a very good read.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Bites-e...

http://www.amazon.com/Light-Bites-ebo...

Please click on the links to find out more and to take a peek inside.

You may like to visit my author page where I also have available several children's novels and a collection of humorous poetry for children.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Helen-Laycock...

If you're looking for budget short story collections, I've got two around the £1/$1 range:

Something Nice - 10 Stories is my own collection of my best short stories written between 2000 and 2011. This collects together my published fiction work from a decade of small press magazines, blogs and contest wins.

There's a combination of fantasy, horror, science-fiction, magical realism and generally quirky goings on. My stories are sometimes horrible, sometimes funny and sometimes scary, but hopefully never dull...

It's been well received both on Goodreads, and also on Amazon where the UK site displays eleven 5* reviews. Fewer on the US site though... any keen readers out there?

My post - Something Nice work is starting to get out there as well, and I have a new short story in brand new anthology A Splendid Salmagundi, which is available from Amazon for just £1.03. This diverse collection is a lot of fun, and highly recommended (not that I'm biased at all - 2,500 words out of over 70,000 isn't a huge proportion!).

My collection of short stories, Fifty/Fifty and other stories is available on amazon.

Here is the blurb:

Fifty/Fifty and Other Stories is a collection of eleven outstanding short stories by Northern Irish author Matthew W. McFarland.

In 'Fifty/Fifty', a policeman is called out to an attempted suicide on the iconic Forth Rail Bridge. His previous experience with 'jumpers' has led to one death and one life saved - his current record is fifty/fifty, but all that is about to change.

In 'Defenestration', a man is thrown from the twelfth storey of a building in mysterious circumstances. As he falls towards almost certain death, he contemplates his fate, killer whales, flying cats, and the untapped potential of the human mind.

In 'The Burning Bar', a man enters a burning building to rescue the love of his life, and becomes trapped, as the whole place collapses around him. Will he manage to escape before it is too late?

'What Have You Done?' deals with the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland, as a civil servant comes face to face with an ex-terrorist, leading him to discover how the previous generation coped with living through the worst of the Troubles.

These, and seven other stories, touching on sport, fatherhood, arachnophobia, faith, and cannibalism, make up an exciting collection of short fiction which will leave readers wanting more.

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

OK, so it's £2, but the reviews are pretty decent...

For Peace and Disquiet, another sparkling 5* review:

Each story is unique and well crafted. Such dark tales indeed which are a contrast to the Author's usual genre of children's books, which serves to illustrate her versatility when it comes to writing. The first tale, "Ante Mortem," is intriguing and is crafted with figurative, poetic language which flows beautifully. This is the work of an accomplished writer, one with true knowledge of the craft and it was a pleasure to read.

"Til Death Do Us Part," is a poignant, emotive short story with a very sad twist in the tale. I almost felt as if the words themselves were drawing me in and binding me to each and every syllable.
All in all, Helen Laycock has a great collection of short stories that are well written and enjoyable.

Mine is now down to £1.28

Just an update on Fifty/Fifty and other stories:

My book has 14 reviews, averaging 4.5 stars on amazon.co.uk, and it's 99p.
On amazon .com there are 13 reviews, averaging 4 stars and it's 99c.

Matthew wrote: "Just an update on Fifty/Fifty and other stories:

My book has 14 reviews, averaging 4.5 stars on amazon.co.uk, and it's 99p.
On amazon .com there are 13 reviews, averaging 4 stars and it's 99c."

A great clutch of reviews, Matthew.

Congratulations!

thanks, it took a lot of time spent emailing bloggers and the like, along with a few giveaways. Such a nice surprise that they're all so positive!

Also, sorry for hijacking your thread!

It's not my thread!

I'm all for sharing :)

Anyway, well done again.

Ten short stories for £0.77 ($0.99). 4 reviews on UK, 6 on USA Amazon, all 4/5 stars.


All honest reviews welcome.

This latest 5* review for Peace and Disquiet says it all:

'As soon as I began to read these twelve stories, I was left open mouthed at the sinister realism and very brave and powerful writing. "Dear Madeline" and "From This Day Forward" in particular are two of the very best stories of this kind I have ever read, each one deeply exploring a haunting and disturbing subject which is only too real in today's society.

In every one of the stories however, Helen Laycock writes with a deep understanding of her characters and situations, in such a way that draws you into them as if you were actually there, hearing the words, feeling the emotions, the fear, the pain, the joys and sadnesses, the very "peace and disquiet" spoken of in the collection's title.

Helen Laycock has not only written an outstanding collection of short stories, but each one is a masterpiece that could only have been created by the master story teller that she undoubtedly is.'

Praise indeed!

Peace and Disquiet seems to be on a roll at the moment.

Here's the latest 5* review:

'Great short stories that send you through a host of emotions. Till death brought tears to my eyes.
Superb.. Well worth the price.'

I released a collection of 12 stories last week I, Tomorrow? and Other Stories

There's a bit of a mixture, some sci-fi, a couple of romantic tragedies, a Greek tragedy and a few other things.

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/I-Tomo...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Tomorrow-Ot...

Good luck with it, Robert!

Helen wrote: "Good luck with it, Robert!"

Thanks! How are yours doing?

One freebie: Around the World in 80 Pages and one for $1.59: Through the Opera Glass. Both on Smashwords here: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...

No huge sales to shout about, Robert, but the reviews have given me a huge boost.

Hope you get lots of interest in your collection!

A collection of twelve slightly disturbing tales which encompass mortality, mentality, brutality… and reality.


‘the work of an accomplished writer, one with true knowledge of the craft’

‘an outstanding collection of short stories’

‘I was left open mouthed at the sinister realism and very brave and powerful writing’

‘two of the very best stories of this kind I have ever read’

‘I almost felt as if the words themselves were drawing me in and binding me to each and every syllable’

‘Helen Laycock writes with a deep understanding of her characters’

‘intriguing and is crafted with figurative, poetic language which flows beautifully’

‘each one is a masterpiece that could only have been created by the master story teller that she undoubtedly is’

‘Great short stories that send you through a host of emotions’

‘Each story is unique and well crafted’

‘a great collection of short stories that are well written and enjoyable’

‘Well worth the price’

‘I was held captive until the end’

‘she can certainly send shivers up the spine!’

‘this author writes in such a way that you can't help but turn the page’

`The author writes so well, in such a 'real' way that I found myself immersed in each tale.'

`Her characters are easy to relate to and there is lots of humour that keeps you entertained.'

`I thoroughly enjoyed every story and would definitely recommend it.'

`There is certainly something for everyone here.'

`A very good read.'

Not exactly a short story collection, but today, one of my 100-word pieces features on Day 5 of the CafeLit Advent Calendar. It will be the fourth piece of mine published there to date.There is a steadfast rule that the pieces must be 100 words exactly.

If you'd like to have a look, here's the link:

http://www.cafelit.co.uk/Dec52013Dead...

There are three other 100-worders of mine on the site:

http://www.cafelit.co.uk/100WorderCol...

http://www.cafelit.co.uk/100WorderBar...

http://www.cafelit.co.uk/100WorderDis...

Perhaps that will give you a short, sharp flavour about my writing...

I am thrilled to be one of the runners up in the Words With Jam Bigger Short Story, announced yesterday. This is one of eleven wins/shortlistings for short story writing (I have fifteen for poetry, too).


Here are two very different 5* short story collections of mine, both priced at £1.02/$1.68:


Peace and Disquiet Light Bites

What's In My Shorts?

San, the Amphibian: An amphibian acquires a servant from a planet with the unlikely name of Earth.
The Qrim Barbarian: A barbarian chieftain vows revenge on the haughty princess who scorned him.
A Boy and a Dog: A boy with a dog and an AK47
Useful Ways to Use Zombies: How would you use zombies?
Tales From the Black Sea: A new leader tries to not send the old people to the snow.
Rogue World: Is this an extinction event?
New Friends: A coed comes under the protection/domination of her classmates.

And more

Whoever would believe that such dark thoughts are being turned into short stories behind the door of a typically-suburban English house? If you saw the author, Helen Laycock, a diminutive, smiley former primary school teacher, you would surely believe her incapable of producing anything other than whimsical tales – she does that too – but Peace and Disquiet is a collection of ‘disturbing tales which encompass mortality, mentality, brutality … and reality.’

Helen has had around thirty wins and shortlistings in writing competitions, successes including Words With Jam, The Ryedale Book Festival, Writing Magazine, Writers’ News, Writers’ Forum, Flash500, Thynks Publications, Erewash Writers and various online contests, and she has had work published in several anthologies as well as online.

Described as ‘an accomplished writer, one with true knowledge of the craft’, Helen Laycock has managed to bring tears to the eyes of readers, left them ‘open mouthed at the sinister realism’ and has been dubbed a ‘master story teller’ with the gift of not only drawing in the reader, but holding them ‘captive’.

Peace and Disquiet is now available in a paperback (£3.99) or a kindle (£1.02) edition from Amazon.