Thursday, May 21, 2015

Where Micro Weird Came From

I thought I might occasionally try a new feature here on the blog wherein I talk about the genesis of certain projects. Today’s choice is Micro Weird:Tiny Tales of the Strange. Back at the end of 2012, I was working on the third piece in my Fiction Techniques series, “The Twist Ending.” As part of the research for that work, I both read and wrote a number of flash fiction pieces with twist endings, and I went back and analyzed all the twist ending stories I’d written in the past. A lot of things became clear during that period.

FictionTechniques #3: The Twist Ending, was published in January of 2013, and I’d already started to consider publishing a collection of the twist ending pieces I’d written. Turns out I had quite a few of them lying around that had not been collected, and over the next couple of months I wrote several more.

In March 2013, I published these under the title Micro Weird: Tiny Tales of the Strange. Micro Weird is the most eclectic collection I’ve ever produced. It contains horror stories, science fiction tales, humor, and even some mainstream pieces. The common denominator that ties the stories together is the “twist ending.” If you like twist-ending tales, Micro Weird might be just the collection for you. It’s only 99 cents.

Here’s the Table of Contents for the collection:
AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART
EYE SPY
SEASON OF RUST
HIGH IQ
GIVING UP THE GHOST
PAST PERFECT
LOVE STORIES
THAT CAT IS ON DRUGS, MAN
INSPIRATION
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE
FAR BEYOND HOME
THOUGHT FLOW
THE TEETH OF THE WIND
FOREVER, OUT OF LOVE

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14 comments:

Cloudia said...

Intriguing, Charles. thanks





( '>
/))
//""

ALOHA from Honolulu,
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=

Riot Kitty said...

I enjoyed Micro Weird!

Charles Gramlich said...

Cloudia, no prob.

Riot Kitty, and I very much appreciated your review!

Angie said...

Sounds like a fun collection. I've never been able to sit down and write a short-short. I've done it a couple of times, but as with humor, I can't do it on demand. :P I admire folks who can, though.

Angie

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Looks good, Charles. Picking it up right away.

sage said...

I do like twist endings and you seem to have mastered the technique!

BernardL said...

Micro Weird was a great collection.

Charles Gramlich said...

Angie, I'd pretty much always rather write short stories than novels. you can do so many different things with them.

Prashant, hope you enjoy. There is some really weird stuff in there.

Sage, I always loved those old Twilight zone type endings.

Bernard, thanks, man, and I appreciate you reviewing it.

Oscar Case said...

The twist ending, sounds interesting.

Charles Gramlich said...

Oscar, I love 'em

Unknown said...

A passion for twist endings? O'Henry would be proud of you! Bravo! (After all, life is always full of surprises, isn't it? And the unpredictability of stories should mirror that surprising reality.)

Charles Gramlich said...

R.T., I didn't discover O. Henry until college but I did make up for lost time then.

jodi said...

Charles-some very interesting titles. You continue to amaze me!

Charles Gramlich said...

Jodi, I love a good title.