Silhouettes - A Short Story Collection Review

A collection of short horror stories by Roland Yeomens that will make you look over your shoulder, and avoid the darkness. 

Cover for Silhouettes Stories, Roland Yeomans

Silhouettes in the Key of Scream


The theme is revenge, and the different ways it can manifest itself in the minds of those who now reside on the 'other' side. Be warned that you should never underestimate the strength or the depth of revenge. . . Following is a list of the short stories in this collection and a snippet about them.

The Dead Have No Say

A tale set in Hollywood, and served with the movie industry's flair for style and drama. An undead actress has a score to settle with her past coworkers. She sets the stage to
unveil her plan. 


The Town That Hated God


A seraphim, Darael, is sent by the Vatican to settle a problem in a town lost to evil. He confronts the dangers in his own way. Although Darael's history is known, his powers are not. 


Dead Not Yet

When a ghost from your past comes back to visit - do you welcome them or run the other way? Running might be the wise choice, especially if the ghost is a sultry red-haired female.


Murder As A Kindness

Sometimes a 'past' interrupted comes around again, like a second-hand second chance. You may get what you want, but not the 'way' you would have chosen. . .


A Shore Never Reached

This tale goes to the past in memory of loved ones, those who were taken from their son. A harsh decision must be made so fewer will suffer.


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Do you ever think of revenge or do you just let it go and try to learn from it ? Do you like collections of stories?

Please leave a comment so I know you were here, and I'll respond. If you like Roland's novels, you might want to read this collection. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Roland Yeomans was born in Detroit, Michigan. But his last memories of that city are hub-caps and kneecaps since, at the age of seven, he followed the free food when his parents moved to Lafayette, Louisiana. The hitch-hiking after their speeding car from state to state was a real adventure. Once in Louisiana, Roland learned strange new ways of pronouncing David and Richard when they were last names. And it was not a pleasant sight when he pronounced Comeaux for the first time.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in English Education and a Master’s degree in Psychology.  He has been a teacher, counsellor, book store owner, and even a pirate since he once worked at a tax preparation firm.

So far he has written thirty-four books.  You can find Roland at his web page: www.rolandyeomans.blogspot.com  or at his private table in Meilori’s.  The web page is safer to visit.  But if you insist on visiting Meilori’s, bring a friend who runs slower than you. 

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Images in this post property of Roland Yeomans. Photo of Roland's cat, Midnight, courtesy of the cat.

Midnight. A helpful friend of the author.

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Note: I was going to post this review in part on Amazon Reviews, after I purchased and read it, but the controller, Amazon, blocked me from doing that as I had not spent a specific amount on books ordered from them in the previous 12 months. This is not customer friendly, IMO.

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P = POE, Edgar Allan - Author, A-Z Blog Challenge 2016

He peers out from under shadowed eyes with no hint of mirth on his face.
"My name," he says, "is Edgar Allan Poe."

Edgar Allen Poe, 1848-PD*

P = Poe, Edgar Allan, Author
Theme = Authors, AtoZ

He was born Edgar Poe in Boston on January 19, 1809, the second child of two actors.His grandfather had emigrated from Cavan, Ireland in.1750. Edgar had two siblings, an elder brother and a younger sister. Edgar may have been named after a character in the Shakespeare play, King Lear, that the parents were performing in 1809. Edgar's life changed when his father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died a year later from TB (tuberculosis). Poe was taken into the home of John Allan, a successful Scottish merchant  who served as his foster family and added Allan to his name. He was never formally adopted into the family, but he used the name Edgar Allan Poe.

Poe's writing reflects his literary theories, which he presented in hi critiques and in essays such as The Poetic Principle. He disliked didacticism and allegory*, though he believed that meaning in literature should be an 'undercurrent beneath the surface'. 

Poe also write satires, humour tales and hoaxes, a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to appear as truth. He was primarily known as a literary critic. He was called 'the most discriminating, philosophical, and fearless critic upon imaginative works in America'. His caustic reviews were often directed at Boston's acclaimed poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Poe's fiction made him one of the first American authors of the 19th century to become more popular in Europe than in the US. He was particularly respected in France, due in part to early translations by Charles Baudelaire.  Poe's early detective fiction featuring C. Auguste Dupin laid the groundwork for future detectives in literature. 

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said, "Each of Poe's detective stories is a root from which a whole literature has developed." Poe breathed life into the detective story. The 'Mystery Writers of America' named their awards the 'Edgars'. Some of his work also influenced science fiction, in particular Jules Verne, who wrote a sequal to Poe's novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. H. G. Wells, another science fiction author, said the novel indicated what an intelligent mind could imagine about the south polar region in Poe's time.

The historical Edgar Allan Poe has appeared as a fictionalized character, often representing the 'mad genius' type and exploiting Poe's personal struggles. This may have occurred because Poe wasn't well understood or his elusiveness encourages fictional depictions of his abilities. In other words, he stirred the imaginations of other writers.

On October 3, 1849, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, 'in great distress and in need of immediate assistance', according to the man who found him, He was taken to a hospital, Washington Medical College where he died on Sunday, October 7, 1849 at 5 am. Poe never was coherent enough to explain his dire condition, nor how he came to be wearing clothes that were not his own.

Newspapers reported Poe's death as a 'congestion of the brain' or 'cerebral inflammation' which at the time were common euphemisms for death from disreputable causes such as alcoholism.  The actual cause remains a mystery. Speculation has included: delirium tremens, heart disease, epilepsy, syphilis, meningeal inflammation, cholera, or rabies.  Almost anything that could be fabricated was. Fitting then, perhaps, that a mystery and horror writer's death should be mysterious as well. . .There is also speculation on exactly where Poe's remains are buried.

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* Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art. Allegory is the use of literary devices or as rhetorical devices that convey hidden meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, and/or events.

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One of my favourite stories when I first began reading Poe, was The Tell-Tale Heart, a short story by Poe first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who tries to convince the reader of his sanity, while describing a murder he committed. . . and as he talks, he hears the noises of the beating heart. . . I also liked The Masque of the Red Death and the poem, Annabel Lee.

Edgar Allan Poe, c. 1849, Credit*-PD

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Are you a fan of Edgar Allan Poe's writing? Do you have a favourite or a story that made an impact on you when you first read it?

Please leave a comment to let me know you were here and I'll respond. Thanks for dropping by!

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A to Z Challenge - 2016

It's April again and time for the 2016 Blogging from A to Z challenge  This is my 4th year participating in the challenge! (Previous A to Z  posts at the top of my blog page tabs are: Art A-Z, French Faves, Paris, Etc. 

Thanks to originator Lee (Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out), and the co-hosts and co-host teams who make the challenge run smoothly. See the list of participants, and other important information at the A to Z Blog site.  The basic idea is to blog every day in April except Sundays (26 days). On April 1st, you begin with the letter A, April 2 is the letter B, and so on. Posts can be random or use a theme.

Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2016 - Badge

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/a-z-challenge-sign-up-list-2016.html A to Z Blog List

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References:

Wiki on Edgar Allan Poe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe 

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Edgar Allan Poe, Daguerreotype c.1849
This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or less.  You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States.

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A Coyote Cal Weird Western - Milo James Fowler

El Diablo de Paseo Grande

Sometimes, you don't want to know. . .

El Diablo, cover prop. of Milo James Fowler

At the beginning of the story, Coyote Cal is on the road with his sidekick Yap, a psychic, Donna, and a guide, Manuel.  Coyote has been hired to track down something that's killing the livestock.  It's killing them for a purpose.  A trap is set.

What would you do if you heard strange noises just over the hill, late at night in the middle of an unfamiliar rural place?  Walk towards the noise, or run the other way?


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To celebrate Milo's two hundredth blog post AND a month chock-full of Creepy Freebies, Milo is offering "El Diablo" for free on Amazon from Sunday the 21st of October through the 25th.  Don't miss it!  Be sure to check out Milo's Blog for other special treats this Halloween.  There's still time before the 31st.

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Do you know Milo J. Fowler and his blog, In Media Res?  If not, you need to visit his blog and see some of his work.  It's a showcase of the weird stories that seem perfectly appropriate this time of year. 

Please share in the comments if you know Milo or if you've read this weird tale.  Thanks for stopping by.

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