Hey there, Goners, Dave here.
Have you ever been carried away by a great short story?
Short stories have always served as an escape for me. When I was bullied in middle school, a loser with few friends in high school, and working the midnight shift for years at a gas station, short stories offered an escape from crushing reality.
They took me away to other worlds.
But more importantly, they inspired me to create my own escapes. They inspired me to write.
Whether I was reading Stephen King’s short stories, Robert McCammon’s Blue World, Alfred Hitchcock collections, O’Henry tales, or old sci-fi anthologies that my grandmother had given me, short stories held an immediate magic that even surpassed full length books.
These short stories showed me that there was more out there than my own little world. Yes, a lot of what they showed me was made up, but it didn’t matter. These worlds and the people within them helped a lonely boy get through some rough times.
When Sean and I started Dark Crossings, they served as a break between our epic serials. And in just two years, we’ve written 18 of these little journeys into the unknown.
Dark Crossings: The Collection includes 18 short stories written between 2011-2103. At more than 186,000 words, this is our largest book yet.
Part homage to our favorite writers and TV shows like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and even some of our 80s inspiration, Tales from the Darkside, and part experimentation, these stories have become reader favorites over the course of the past two years.
While most of our email is about one of our serials, some of our most personal email involves these short stories. We often hear from readers who have connected to them in some way, or want to know if we’ll write more about some of the characters.
While short stories don’t sell as well, I’m not surprised that readers make such a deep connection with them.
We’re not just writing about vampires, out of control tech, bullied children, zombies, people forced into inescapable situations, love gone wrong, mental illness, and things that go bump in the night, we’re also writing about themes like love, sorrow, guilt, fate, and hope against the odds — universal themes that all readers relate to.
As a writer, it’s these connections that mean the most to us. It’s the thing I was dreaming of back in my painful school days — that someday someone would find escape through my words. Or, in this case, mine and Sean’s.
Now, that dream has come true. So, thank you, Dear Goner, for making it happen.
If you’ve not yet read these stories, we hope you’ll enjoy this journey into Dark Crossings.
Dark Crossings: The Collection (all 18 stories)
AMAZON US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FLYSBFQ/
AMAZON UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FLYSBFQ/
KOBO: link coming soon
What books have served as your escape? Share your favorites below.
