One of the most famous short stories is probably “The Telltale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe. I can still remember the scratchiness in the throat of my high school English teacher’s voice as she read it out loud to our class. Chills and sweat ensued as we each felt in our own hearts the guilt the main character was hiding.
I also remember catching a version of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson on television when I was way too young to understand what I was seeing. It horrified me. I still haven’t been able to watch or read that story again.
A writer’s ability to create those emotions in such few words (most short stories are merely 1,000 to 30,000 words) is amazing. When every word counts, there is no room for extras when describing characters, setting or plots.
“Hurricane Blues and Other Stories” is a collection of short stories by Marcia Calhoun Forecki which are bound by intriguing characters in complex situations. Each of the stories will entertain readers and keep the pages turning to see what happens next. Here are a few summaries of her short titles to peak your interest:
In the title story, “Hurricane Blues,” meet a Louisiana blues piano player who protects her home-alone son by averting hurricanes with a whiskey shot glass and a mother’s love.
In “The Reader,” a dreamy bookworm stumbles into manhood.
In “Soul Most In Need,” the friendship of two southern widows is the one truth at a tent revival.
“Nahualli” presents a sharp-tongued Mexican recluse and her shape-shifting lover.
Meet a good-hearted deacon doing reconnaissance on a philandering preacher from a classic car in “T-Bird Recon.”
You can read reviews of “Hurricane Blues and Other Stories” here on Goodreads and here on Amazon.
Marcia Calhoun Forecki’s full-length novel (co-authored with Gerald Schnitzer) about a lethal pandemic that sweeps through the Southwest is called “Blood of the White Bear.”
— All books by BQB and WriteLife Publishing are available on Amazon.com or can be ordered through your favorite local bookstore. —
