Saturday, March 30, 2013

Micro Weird Has Landed


As I hoped, I was able to put the finishing touches on my collection called Micro Weird: Tiny Tales of the Strange over spring break. It is now available for both Nook and Kindle, at 99 cents. There are fifteen stories and a postscript about flash fiction. It’s over 10,000 words total but only about 8,000 of that is fiction. There’s also a section telling “about” the stories, which is something I like to do and something I like to read from other authors.

You all know I like variety in my writing. Well, this is the most varied collection I’ve yet put together. There’s some stuff in here that would be considered horror, albeit mild, some SF stuff, some humor, a children’s story, and a number of pieces that are really unclassifiable. I suspect there’s some things that will surprise even those who have read most of my previous work. Most of the pieces in Micro Weird were written in the last couple of years, but a few stories go back decades, including one (revised) that dates from the early 1980s. Only three of the tales have been previously published, and only one in anything some of you may have seen.

Despite the variety in the stories, there are two things that hold the collection together. First, all the stories are short, with the longest being about 1200 words. Most are quite a bit shorter. These days, these lengths are identified as either flash fiction or micro-fiction. Second, all the pieces strive for a twist ending.

The cover photo was taken by Lana outside Meteor Crater a couple of years back. We saw what looked like a giant picture hanging on the wall, and a man leaning “through” the picture smoking a cigarette. The “picture” was actually a rectangular opening in the brick wall. It was rather surreal to see, though. Lana did the blacking out of the figure so he’d be in silhouette, and I did the lettering. I used her “Gimp” program to manipulate things and it seemed far superior to Paint so I’m going to download a free copy of it for myself.

I hope you enjoy Micro Weird. I had a lot of fun writing these tales. If you want, you can pick ‘em up at:



As always, thanks for reading!
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33 comments:

Sidney said...

Looks very cool!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Just downloaded it! Congratulations, Charles.

Charles Gramlich said...

Sidney, thankee.

Alex, thanks, man. Hope you enjoy.

Paul D Brazill said...

Just got it. looking forward to it.

Riot Kitty said...

I can't get the Amazon link to work?

Oscar Case said...

Congrats, Charles, nice going!

Vesper said...

I just bought it, Charles! Congratulations! I love the cover. :-)

Ty said...

Snagged a copy today.

And I've been thinking ... Charles, why don't we grow our beards longer and see if we can talk the A&E folks to give us our own show kind of like "Duck Dynasty." We could be the Book Barons or something, and between writing go out in the woods and shoot at stuff. Or something. ;-)

Deka Black said...

Congrats ;) btw, what's the hardest prt about making a twist ending?

Cloudia said...

You are so productive and creative :-)

the walking man said...

OK I picked it up for 3 reasons.

1) You are very strange

2) The guy smoking the cigarette could have been me in my hat and coat

3)I read the first story (see number 1)

Charles Gramlich said...

Paul, thanks, man!

Riot Kitty, hum, I'll check it out.

Oscar, thanks. I appreciate it.

Vesper, thankee. Lana does some nice photos.

Ty, you know that sounds like a really good idea. I've been thinking a reality show about writers might be just the thing. I'm certainly crotchety enough.

Deka, thinking of a twist that readers won't see coming. The simple twist is picked up too easily by modern audiences.

Cloudia, so it seems sometimes. Not always from my perspective, though. :)

Mark, yeah, that guy did look quite a lot like you. Yes, I am pretty strange. :)

Geraldine said...

Congrats to you! :<)

David Cranmer said...

Will grab in a few, Charles. Looking forward to it.

Charles Gramlich said...

Geraldine, thanks. I appreciate it.

David Cranmer, thankee, man

SzélsőFa said...

congratulations, Charles, and good luck with the sales.
i like flash fiction a lot!
(reading and writing alike)
there was a Hungarian author Örkény István (Orkeny Istvan), whose most famous publication was a collection of flash fictions he called 'one minute proses'. i guess there is a translation available.
if you are still on a reading binge, i do suggest seeking his work. most of the pieces deal with human behaviour, and most of the stories are set in real life events of the mid-20th century.

Charles Gramlich said...

Szelsofa, I'll check it out. definitely sounds interesting!

Unknown said...

Looking forward to reading it.

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Thanks, Charles. I am picking it up today. I particularly look forward to reading your humour and children's stories. And thanks very much for the newsletter too. I was able to open the non-Drive file.

Charles Gramlich said...

Richard, thanks, man.

Prashant, yes, when I went to send it, that drive thing popped up. I didn't understand it but thought it was just part of the new gmail thing and didn't realize it would be a pain. Hope you enjoy Micro Weird.

Golden Eagle said...

Congratulations! It sounds like a great collection.

Jessica Ferguson said...

Congrats on the new book. Just bought it!

BTW, saw in your previous post that your son is in Lafayette. My daughter lives there. Fast paced little city but the traffic is horrific.

Charles Gramlich said...

Golden Eagle, thankee!

Jessie, yes, Lafayette is a very busy city, but quite cute. I really like the ULL campus.

Erik Donald France said...

I'll get on it ~ look forward to it. Also, I must add Days of Beer to the mix.

I would also like to add a 25th hour to each day & set it aside exclusively for reading.

Kudos ~!

Snowbrush said...

Congratulations! Lana sure did a great job on your cover photo.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Will have to get this one for sure.

Charles Gramlich said...

Erik, that 25th hour would be the greatest invention ever!

Snowbrush, she's an awesome photographer!

Patti, thankee!

RK Sterling said...

Oh, cool! I'll be sure to get it. I always enjoy your work, Charles.

RK Sterling said...

Oh, cool! I'll be sure to get it. I always enjoy your work, Charles.

Travis Cody said...

I've been on about a book a week pace for the last year or so. I keep looking for new things, which is why I got back to Goodreads recently. I'm looking forward to trying something different.

Greg said...

congrats! that sounds like a cool collection. short stories definitely hold my attention better than long ones, especially when you don't have a lot of time at once to read.

Charles Gramlich said...

RK Sterling, thankee. I appreciate the kind words!

Travis Cody, yes, I saw you on Goodreads. I enjoy the site. Does give me pretty good information.

Greg, my reading time seems more and more constrained these days.

Riot Kitty said...

So I manned up and just searched on Amazon and bought it. Cheers!