
"You will emerge on the other side of this book laughing, crying, and braver." Lorette C. Luzajic, founder and editor of The Ekphrastic Review
A young boy confronts a terrifying family secret. A recent college graduate is surprised by her fairy godmother in the powder room of a fancy nightclub in Manhattan. An exhausted midwife and her talking horse stumble into the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. A crack real estate agent confronts monstrously annoying thrill seekers at her open house. Two scheming ex-lovers meet at a diner; only one will leave. A small child gleefully bends reality to her will.
This cross-genre collection of flash explores the far realms of our most basic instinct. Russell's stories astonish, delight, and repulse, unleashing a multiverse of possibility as her unforgettable characters respond to uncertainty in bedeviling ways.
"You will emerge on the other side of this book laughing, crying, and braver." Lorette C. Luzajic, founder and editor of The Ekphrastic Review
"Carolyn Russell's collection of multi-genre flash gives her readers big surprises in small and smartly crafted morsels, deftly conjuring whole worlds and unforgettable characters in fewer than 1200 words." Connie Johnson Hambley, Award-Winning Author of The Jessica Trilogy
"[Carolyn's] insightful voice is both strange and familiar, finding the humanity and humor in lives real, imagined, and in between." Doug Mathewson & Sally Reno, Editors, Blink-Ink
"Akin to spending time at your favorite art museum. You turn a corner and are greeted by a wall lined with exquisite miniatures, and here, you turn a page and melt into micro-jewels." John McCaffrey, author of Automatically Hip
"Russell's collection of compressed literary art is just that: art. Brush strokes trimming out tantalizing microfiction in tighter spaces... gorgeously imagined and thoughtfully rendered." Keith Hoerner, founding editor of The Dribble Drabble Review
"Worlds recognizable enough to feel familiar, yet filled with the underlying dread and longing inherent in our human condition... combines parable, humor, logic and fairy tale to an entertaining and eerily devastating effect." Andrea Caswell, Senior Fiction Editor, Cleaver Magazine
"These stories are compelling, provocative, and a wholly immersive experience, even in a medium that celebrates brevity... don't just entertain; they make you think." Bob Krasner, 2023 NYPA award winner for Arts Coverage
"Surprising and teeming with wit." Ian M. Rogers, author of MFA Thesis Novel
"The big bad wolf, a jealous bridesmaid, a distraught mother, and a silver bullet wielding realtor... reimagined fairytales, mini horror stories, and heart-breaking slices of life... clever flash fictions from the first word to the last." Joan Wilking, author of the award-winning novella, Mycology
"These deliciously witty flash tales conjure up worlds in a wide range of genres... these sumptuously satisfying stories will haunt you." Martha Engber, author of Bliss Road
"Carolyn weaves a tapestry of captivating tales that push the boundaries of imagination. Brace yourself for a literary adventure that will leave an indelible mark." Shane O'Halloran, founder and editor of Fiction Kitchen Berlin