The good folks at Untreed Reads have issued a killer anthology with top names and new names in crime fiction. The theme is fantastic--every story has to be tied to Megamart. The loserdom that is big box stores (as a former employee of the Target Corporation, I can personally attest to this) is a subject rife with possibilities for writers of dark crime fiction, and the authors bring a wide range of approaches to this concept.
Highlights include Kieran Shea's sniper story One in the Big Box and Patti Abbott's Loss. A writer new to me, Fleur Bradley, has an excellent contribution with Aubergine, a story of some confused and crafty and teenagers. I'm only about halfway through, and am looking forward to checking out work by Steve Weddle, Byron Quertermous, and Stephen D. Rogers, among many more.
And I like that each story is short and to the point, only about two or three pages. I'd love to see more flash anthologies such as this one with a mix of established and up-and-coming writers centered around an engaging theme. (Personally, I think one about public transit would work really well. Contained setting and timeframe. And all kinds of people being forced to interact with each other.)
What's a theme you'd like to see an anthology based around?
Thanks for your kind blog post, Chris. I am thrilled to have a story included in this awesome anthology. I hope you like "Secret Identity," when you get to it!
ReplyDeleteI think you may be on to something ~ a public transit theme would be an interesting one.
i often use song titles for work - i don't know why exactly as it's not always conscious. song titles, then.
ReplyDeleteThere is another making the rounds all set in an airport. That was fun, too. Thanks for the plug, Chris. I think the thematic approach works well with stories this short too.
ReplyDeleteI definitely like the airports idea--for whatever reason, I've been fascinated with airports for a long time.
ReplyDeleteAnd Nigel, I like that song title idea, too. Could get a really diverse collection of work out of that.
thanks for the kind words.
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