Review: Cringing short reads
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 1, 2012
I'm not normally a short story reader, and typically stick to novels, but I enjoyed this grouping of stories.  Between blood, guts and moments that had me cringing, if you're looking for "bite-size" reads, this is it.  Two authors collaborated on this collection of shorts - Betty Dravis and Barbara Watkins.Dravis is a talented woman and author whom I admire.  I had read her novella STAR STRUCK and was touched by the fact despite this woman's successes in life, she is down to earth.  She has a beautiful way with prose.Although familiar with Watkins on networking sites, I hadn't sampled any of her work previously.  Watkins is a horror writer, through and through.  Her novels, from my understanding, take on a paranormal element - a genre which I personally do not read.  I am pleased to say I'm glad I had the opportunity to be introduced to her writing style in this collection.  I would be remiss, however, not to state that due to my personal views on the paranormal, I didn't read "SPIRITS OF A JESTER" included in this collection, for fear it contained spiritistic elements.Now onto the "meat":Included from Betty Dravis:THE COLLECTOR provides a creepy insight into the Italian mafia, and there's an interesting twist with this short!  Love how life portrays "art" in this piece.HEAVY METAL  - There's a reason you should listen to your mama.V.O. - This puts a whole new twist on the "fountain of youth" and had me shivering!Included from Barbara Watkins:HIGHWAY TO HELL - Watkins' voice pulled me in.  And what a creepy read!  You'll keep turning the pages to figure out this mystery.SPIRITS OF A JESTER - I cannot offer comment on this short as I didn't read it for reasons stated aboveDEADLY ADDICTIONS - How far would you go if the man you loved was cheating on you?