Review: Dreams both real and strange an anthology by K.W. McCabe
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 9, 2012
Dreams both real and strange an anthology by K.W. McCabe[...][...]K.W. McCabe is a Californian transplant to Minnesota. She lives there with her family where she tries very hard to stay warm in all the snow. She has loved fairy tales, Sci-fi, and fantasy all her life, and has been writing stories and poems of that nature since she could first spell. She has worked, in the past, as a library assistant, a baby sitter, a counseling hotline intern, and as a case manager. She maintains that art and writing can only be done when inspired, and inspiration comes from a sufficient amount of laziness. Currently, she is working on a teen dragon romance novel, The Dragon's Call.Check out her blog to get more information on how to read it for free.Contact her at:[...]Cursive Via SmashwordsKindle info : http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Both-Strange-Anthologies-ebook/dp/B0068YY3EG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid;=1328790513&sr;=8-1Dreams both real and strangeChoicesA very short thought provoking story about a choice between paying your dues as per agreed or being forced to pay.  I loved the open ending and found the characters interesting.  I want to know, in which way the reaper will pay for his leniency.RebirthedWow, it's beautifully written.  Truthfully I think the moral of the story was lost on me.  But I loved the words and I hope that that was the intent.  It is named rebirth after all and a birth is always beautiful.The LakeYour deeds become your destiny, are you sure you can live with your choices.  I loved the dark and twisted turn this story had towards the end.  It sure begs the question - does any deed ever go unrewarded?MourningThis story reminded me a lot of the song by Cat Stevens, Cats in a Cradle, again the question of choices comes to the fore.WraithA sister bereaved, a mother wanting to safeguard her child against a monster created as a punishment for his choices. However, what if the choices of the just turn full cycle in reaction to the deeds of the injust, what then about the mother trying to save her child?I read a paragraph about Steven King once where he said that a short story or a Novella is the perfect one night read!  It allows you to start and end with a story in one night.  Then the other evening JH Glaze asked me whether I liked his short stories because he is writing just enough to get the reader to fill in the rest.I never really liked short stories or novella's before, I felt cheated, but I am starting to learn to love this form of writing.  I am allowed to decide for myself what it means to me, and how my previous experiences will influence my take on one story or another.I really enjoyed this anthology.  It seemed at first as if it was a set of random short stories set in an anthology with the only common denominator the author.  But it was with joy and surprise that I realized as I read through the stories how each one had a central point of choice to it.  Also how each choice was shown as a possibility that could have existed, if only ...  I really enjoyed this anthology and am looking forward to reading more from this author.  I might not go near a lake again -EVER - but then hey! We all need to make choices don't we......I give this an easy five stars.  Everybody will love it as long as they love horror and short stories.Oh and by the by, if you live near a lake?  Well, I would recommend you keep your children out of the water.