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Literary praise for Tales for my dog: “Wonderful stories: remind me of shorter versions of Aesop’s Fables or the Persian stories of Mullah Azrudin.” Editor of a long-established UK literary journal
“Really worth reading.” Peter Finch, UK poet, author, critic
“..highly original.. [The] writing is extraordinary.. I was staggered by some of the lines…” Philippa Donovan, founder of SmartQuill.
The BookViral Review: Genre – Literary Short Stories
The form of the short story is so extensive and diverse that they more often than not miss their intended mark but Heidenstam has it down to a fine art. Through perfectly pitched dialogue and delicately measured details, he quickly draws you in with the sureness of his literary voice. Clearly demonstrating a gift for character, satire and social nuance he takes snapshots of life and explores them from unique and wide-ranging perspectives. Ranging in tone from hauntingly beautiful to dark and foreboding. Making The Omelette, for example, begins warm and congenial but in the closing sentence, you realise you just read something dark and cruel. Lighter stories include The Lost Master which sees a dog put up posters for the master he has lost but a common theme running through Heidenstam’s narratives is the ways in which people often fail to connect.
Short-form fiction prose can often feel devoid of life but Heidenstam brings a refreshing and emotionally charged sense of immediacy to his words which is wholly original and unerringly authentic. Tales for my dog: 80 microfictions from humour to horror is recommended without reservation.
Rose Gibbon’s husband has been missing for two years. Devastated, she sells her home. The next day, local authorities investigate an abandoned car at the intersection of Westland Avenue and Hemenway Street in Boston. All the blood recedes from her face; she knows it’s her husband’s car!
Weeks after no one acceptable has answered Rory’s ads for a female roommate in Irvine, California, a professional woman from London offers to pay six months’ rent upfront. The term is shorter than Rory had hoped for but better than nothing. And she seems friendly.
The fact is that few authors really master the art of suspense and those who do are the ones who come to understand its underpinning psychology.
Are we desensitising our young people with the graphic offerings of modern media? And going even further, do the conclusions of ‘Bandura and the Bobo doll’ still hold true in the modern era?
Let me let you into a secret. You are unlikely to become a rich writer. And before you start waving Harry Potter and Game of Thrones under my nose, please scroll back to the word ‘unlikely’.
The imaginary worlds and characters of fantasy fiction continue to enthral readers around the world.
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