Short Story lovers discussion

I'd like to pick up a thread from a discussion that took place in 2008 and get the conversation about linked collections fired up again. In a nutshell,linked collections contain stories that can stand alone when parceled out and yet, together, have the ability to extend or broaden the reader experience by making connections throughout the book. This is done by character, place, unrelenting themes, style, repeated motifs, etc... I recently read a fantastic example of a linked story collection called "Volt" by Alan Heathcock. This book has gotten great reviews. I can tell you that each story is forward-moving, featuring gritty characters with heart-wrenching woes. But, none of the trauma is gratuitous. Instead, these stories teach us how the underbelly of humanity is humanity. Linked by place, character, and recurring themes, "Volt" represents this business of linking stories.

sounds great. I'm enjoying these collections more than collections of stand alone stories, or novels. I am in the process of writing one, and have another in the planning stages. I'd like to add another Australian writer's book to the list of linked collections worth a look - Tony Birch's Shadowboxing (Scribe Publications)

I'd love to hear more about your collection. I, too am writing one, and I review them for Contrary Magazine as well. I am relatively new to Good Reads. Is there a way to take our conversation out of the main loop so as not to bore folks with our writer banter?

sure, just email at my site - www.paul-mitchell.com.au

what`s wrong with writer banter?

nothing, I suppose, so long as it's short. And linked.

Hilarious. I was trying to be chat-savvy, you know, polite. I'm hoping to improve the image of the US for my Aussie friends.

I didn't want the broader discussion to become all about me, but if people are up for it, I'm game.

And I was just about to congratulate Jodi and Paul for showing the sort of extremely rare restraint one doesn't see enough of on book discussion sites. . . .

You guys are funny. I'm thinking about doing some linked stories for NaNoWriMo in November. It's for fun. Don't know if it will work. But if it turns out to be terrific, you all will get a chance to review it. Ha ha.

Keep us posted!

I think you guys would like HiStory of Santa Monica which is a linked collection of short stories. Also, one of the short stories has been released independently as an e-book on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Shebeen-Excerpt... for only 99 cents. Let me know what you think.

Are you the author?

no, he's not.

I quite liked A Land of Ash, which is kind of spec fiction set in a post-apocalyptic US. Each story is different, with a few autors contributing.

It gave me the idea for writing a themed collection, Cracks in the Ceiling, set in the aftermath of The Great Recession. There is a triplet with common characters, and a duo likewise, out of the total of 11. Samples at www.davecornford.com

Thanks, Dave. I'll look you up.

You can go here...http://contrarymagazine.com/2011/the-... read a review of mine on a wonderful linked collection called 'Volt' by Alan Heathcock.

Two that I really love are Bad Haircut: Stories of the 70's by Tom Perrotta and Mother of Sorrows by Richard McCann. Perrotta's book is very funny and quirky, full of teenage goofiness and good times with a few deeply serious moments sprinkled here and there. The McCann book, on the other hand, is devastatingly sad. It's a gay coming of age story set in the suburbs of Washington, DC in the 60's. The prose is as clean as it gets and just absolutely beautiful.

I didn't really know about linked stories. Sounds cool!

Ulverton by Adam Thorpe is a linked collection of short stories that you may find interesting.Ulverton
Best wishes, Stephen Livingston.

Here is an essay I wrote about linked collections, published at Rigmarole.

http://jpaloni.wordpress.com/

I agree with Brad...Mother of Sorrows by Richard McCann is stunning!