Saturday, January 22, 2011

A Short Story Review

My internet buddy and fellow writer, Draven Ames, has written a great short story that was recently published at SNM Horror Magazine.  The story is so good, it was named "Story of the Month."

"Nothingness" is the sad story of a couple, John and Jennifer, who recently lost their little girl.  While cleaning out his deceased father's attic, Jennifer finds a story in a shoebox that reminds her of their daughter Carrie.  Jennifer is already heartbroken and emotionally shaky after Cassie's death, and the story just makes her worse.

After a short but unpleasant phone conversation with his brother, John realizes that Jennifer has disappeared inside the house.  As he searches throughout the many rooms, he doesn't notice that house is darkening and changing dramatically.  He finally finds Jennifer standing on the ledge outside the attic.  What follows is both sad and terrifying.

In "Nothingness," Draven Ames has created a reality that is both scary and beautiful.  His personification of the Nothingness that John encounters is creepy and menacing.  I loved the imagery evoked throughout the story, and characters' emotions were very well-written.

"Nothingness" will only be up at SNM Horror Magazine until January 30th, so hurry over and check it out.  It's a great story and Draven is a great writer.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Sheri,

Thank you so much for the review. This is far better than I ever hoped to receive. The thing I like so much about your review is that you don't give anything away, but you still hook the reader. You will make an excellent agent someday.

You do reviews all the time and it shows. I contacted Sheri because she writes some great flash fiction pieces. She used to do some reviews over at #Supportthelittleguy too. If you haven't read a few, you should check out the work they've done.

This story was rejected the first time through too. The whole thing, other than the last 500 words or so, got scrapped. I ended up writing a whole new story in the end.

Thank you again Sheri,

Draven Ames
http://dravenames.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

Hey, there's an award for you over on my blog. Hope you'll accept!

Summer Ross said...

Hi there, I'm over from Draven's blog. I'm a new follower and I'm very glad to meet you. I'm a college student working on my BA in English, but I try to get around to every ones blog at least once a week. Looking forward to getting to know you better.

Unknown said...

Summer doesn't lie. She stops by and comments all the time, which in turn has had me reading her blog. Once you go check it out, you end up staying and coming back. Right now she even has posted up some of her write in progress. It is pretty entertaining. I don't know the whole story, but the part she showed had someone gain the upper hand on an abusive man. It was a strong start and a promising storyline.

Again, thank you for the read Summer.

Anonymous said...

I'm following links today to meet people. I came over from Draven Ames's blog. I read on his post your story Watch Your Step. Very good! I'm now going to read HIS story via the link you put here.

And glad I met you both today!
Ann Best, Author

Sheri said...

Thanks so much for the compliments, Draven! I haven't gotten too much feedback yet on my reviews, so this meant a lot.

Thanks for follow me, Summer! I'll be sure to follow you as well.

Ann, I'm so glad you liked the story. Thank you, and I'll follow you, too.