Twenty-Four Short Stories
by Michael Ross
GENRE: Anthology
BLURB:
Why
can time consumed reliving memories provide enough motivation to
carry on? Why keep a diary if you don’t want people to read it? Why
let prejudice cloud your judgement? Why do the most simple of smells
bring memories back to life? Why is it possible to believe the
impossible? What does it feel like to take another person's life?
Will the good deeds we do come back to us in different forms?
These
are of some of the questions posed in this imaginative collection of
short stories involving, amongst others; a private detective with
super powers, a loveable car salesman, a dour public health
inspector, a vicar’s daughter with a dark secret, a sculptor with a
destructive obsession, a young man with a passion for language, a
reluctant public executioner, two sisters whose petty disputes hide
something deeper, a job hunter with an unusual skill.
There are
so many diverse characters and in this intriguing and imaginative
collection of stories everyone has a tale to tell.
A collection
of stories that will surely leave its mark on the reader.
Excerpt:
From my window, I spot my fellow students grouped in excited conversation, circling around, probing each other with thoughts and words, questions and answers. After two years, we know each other well. I know they all wish they could play the violin as well as me, and in my turn, I wish I could be as happy as them. I wind down by running through scales for twenty minutes, and then I hear the old grandfather clock in the hall strike eleven—my other life beckons.
In Chinatown, it is easy to find a restaurant where you can spend £100 a head on a meal. At my parent’s place, six people can eat like kings for less money.
The walk from the rehearsal rooms takes the best part of an hour. I cast aside my musical mantle as I walk, so that by the time I reach Uncle Wong’s, I am prepared for my twice-weekly four-hour shift. This is the only payment my father and mother have ever asked of me. It is nothing.
Two years ago, my parents ushered me into the tiny lounge area above their restaurant, and wordlessly, my mother passed me my gift. My eyes moved to my father and then back to my mother. I could not speak. It was beautiful. Feeling its dark ebony grain, I turned it tentatively through my fingers, tilting, and twisting—gazing, unsure of my breath.
“Baba. Mamma. It’s beautiful, but you cannot afford it.”
“Shush, my son.” The look on my mother’s face said that my joy was all they required.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Born and raised in Bristol, England. I spent my adult life in business, the majority of that time marketing cars. I eventually owned the largest Saab specialist in the world, before a divorce put an end to that part of my life.
This led me to leave Bristol to live halfway up a mountain in the Welsh Valleys; start a part-time six year English Literature course at Bristol University, and attend creative writing classes in Cardiff. My interest in English literature flourished and I have since won several prizes for my short stories. My first book, 'Twenty Short Stories - Settling a score," reached No 1 in the Short Stories Best Sellers and is still available, as is "Twenty-One (more) Short Stories,” and “Another Twenty-Two Short Stories.”
Also available are the first 5***** crime thrillers in the Tanner and Pin-up series:
Hand over Fist
Hand in Glove
Plus a 5***** light hearted rom-com "Chasing What's Already Gone.”
I still live very happily halfway up that mountain in the Welsh Valleys with my wonderful partner, Mari, and our two rescue dogs, Wavy and Wenna.
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Email
The book will be free.
2 comments:
Hello Avid Reader
Many thanks for hosting today.
Best wishes
Michael Ross
Happy Friday! Thanks for sharing :)
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