Derby Scribes 2011 Anthology

Title: Derby Scribes 2011 Anthology

Authors: Christopher Barker, David Ball, Peter Borg, Neal James, Stuart Hughes, Richard Farren Barber, Victoria Charvill, Conrad Williams, Simon Clark, and Jennifer Brown

Publisher: Stumar Press

Pages: 107

Reviewed by Sabrina

An exciting mix of the fantastic, the wonderful, and the frightening by the talented members of the Derby Scribes writing group. Overall it's a versatile and multi-faceted anthology, blending corners of reality with aspects of the fantastical in a refreshing way.

Containing eleven short stories from Scribes Alison J. Hill, Christopher Barker, David Ball, Jennifer Brown, Peter Borg, Richard Farren Barber, Stuart Hughes and Victoria Charvill, plus guest authors Conrad Williams, Neal James, and Simon Clark.

Also featuring an introduction by Alex Davis and art work by Samantha Enyon. The short stories in this anthology include horror, supernatural, contemporary fantasy, science fiction and humour.

My Thoughts

Derby Scribes 2011 Anthology's stories were clever, humorous and a fun blend to read. Almost every short story had a surprising twist that was completely unexpected. The authors had been able to make me laugh, gasp, and smile in just a few pages.

I sort of expected this anthology to be mostly horror since the summary had noted the horror genre and because a few horror authors, such as Conrad Williams, wrote a short story for this anthology. It's actually more of the supernatural and contemporary genre (plus humor). So fans of those, go read this anthology!

The short stories that stuck out the most for me would have to be Dave's Dinosaur which is about an insane camping trip, along with Stump, a short story about a lucky Guinea Pig and Leaving Jessica, a story that was confusing at first, but great. Some others would be The Wake-up Call and Brylcreem and Pipe Tobacco.

I should really fix the labels...

You could buy the Derby Scribes Anthology at Stumar Press or Amazon.

Watching Grandma Circle the Drain by Allen Smith

Title: Watching Grandma Circle the Drain

Author: Allen Smith

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Pages: 188

Reviewed by: Sabrina

In his latest tour de force, Allen Smith takes on the challenges of life from his own gritty perspective. Everything from surviving on-line dating to enduring his first sigmoidoscopy and advancing age. Watching Grandma Circle the Drain is a collection of Smith's most entertaining work from his previously published columns. In addition to his own experience with struggling to learn Spanish and annihilating the game of golf, he gives the reader an inside look at some of the things they've never wondered about, like managing persistent telemarketers, what it's like to qualify as a sperm donor and some of the most unusual ways to make a living without a college degree. In part two, Smith takes aim at news stories by attacking issues like home schooling, women competing in the Tour de France, dozing air traffic controllers and the first person to marry (and divorce) himself. Watching Grandma Circle the Drain is a bite-sized, entertaining look at the way we complicate our lives. Once you read it, you'll never look at life the same way again.

My Thoughts

After a week of studying, scheduling interviews/giveaways, making PowerPoints, and writing about 5 million reports, I definitely needed this. These stories had made my day. I could relate to some stories such as Instructions 101. I was smiling and laughing the whole way. Allen Smith writes from experiences to headlines, turning it into something outrageously funny and well-written, offering some lessons along the way. It also offers a hilarious view on life. After reading Watching Grandma Circle the Drain, I was no longer stressed as I was I originally was.

To all the kids out there, I suggest you don't read this since it contains some content not suitable for you. Really.