By A surprisingly light enjoyable book: a collection of easy to read short stories with good variety.
Dana Diehl has developed an accomplished assortment of short stories. These I imagine, must be difficult to write as they need to capture the reader quickly, keep the pace and interest going until the closure, which she achieved.
The first story – ‘We Know More’ caught my interest straight away. Young love but with a future of tragedy for this couple. I liked how it did not give away the ending but left the reader using their own imagination for possible outcomes.
Another tale I particularly enjoyed was ‘Closer‘ where a mother and daughter, Laurel escape to Scotland. They stay with her mother’s male friend but Laurel struggles to leave America and her connections to her father behind. Dana really captured the true essence of a windy squally Scotland. What was particularly skilled though, was the finale, where you the reader, were also hanging on the rocks, just like Laurel!
Although this is a short book, Diehl’s imagination is staggering, and she is a very competent and accomplished writer. The stories are so diverse and some, very peculiar but I enjoyed that. The odd one or 2 were just a little too short, that it took me a couple of reads to follow the initial thread, maybe they just need expanding a little more. I was entertained by her style of writing, clear and concise but still offering the reader vivid images of the adventure.
I look forward to what Dana Diehl produces next; she may have just converted me to reading more short stories!
You can purchase a copy of ‘Our Dreams Might Align‘ from Splice here.
Dana Diehl
Dana Diehl earned her BA in Creative Writing from Susquehanna University. She received her MFA in Creative Writing at Arizona State University.
Dana has served as editor-in-chief of Hayden’s Ferry Review and The Susquehanna Review. She is a Blog Interviewer for The Collagist. She has taught Composition, Creative Writing, and Humanities at Arizona State University, Florence Prison, the National University of Singapore, and BASIS Tucson Central.
Her honors and awards include a Completion Fellowship from Arizona State University, as well as Piper Enrichment Grants to attend the Port Townshend Writers Conference and the Rutgers Camden Summer Writers’ Conference. In 2014, she received a Piper Global Fellowship to teach Creative Writing at the National University of Singapore. She has been awarded a Glendon & Kathryn Swarthout Prize in Fiction.
Reviewed by Amanda Brightman
The SHALLOW CREEK Short Story Competition
Mallum Colt, proprietor of Colt’s Curiosity Shop, invites authors to explore the sinister shadows and crooked streets of his once splendid town of Shallow Creek.
Guests are gifted a Shallow Creek visitor pack consisting of a map of Shallow Creek, a character profile, a specific location, and an item of interest.
These items shall act as a source of inspiration as Mallum Colt guides his guests through Shallow Creek and reveals the secrets and stories of a town bereft of sleep.
For more information and full terms and conditions click here…
Twenty-four short stories, exclusive afterwords, interviews, artwork, and more.
From Trumpocalypse to Brexit Britain, brick by brick the walls are closing in. But don’t despair. Bulldoze the borders. Conquer freedom, not fear. EXIT EARTH explores all life – past, present, or future – on, or off – this beautiful, yet fragile, world of ours. Final embraces beneath a sky of flames. Tears of joy aboard a sinking ship. Laughter in a lonely land. Dystopian or utopian, realist or fantasy, horror or sci-fi, EXIT EARTH is yours to conquer.
EXIT EARTH includes the short stories of all fourteen finalists of the STORGY EXIT EARTH Short Story Competition, as judged by critically acclaimed author Diane Cook (Man vs. Nature) and additional stories by award winning authors M R Cary (The Girl With All The Gifts), Toby Litt (Corpsing), James Miller (Lost Boys), Courttia Newland (A Book of Blues), and David James Poissant (The Heaven of Animals), and exclusive artwork by Amie Dearlove, HarlotVonCharlotte, CrapPanther, and cover design by Rob Pearce.
Visit the STORGY SHOP here…
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