What do you think?
Rate this book
Spark: A Creative Anthology, Volume 1
A bold revival of the short story format, punctuated with classic and modern poetry forms, Spark: A Creative Anthology features the freshest work from a range of talented writers, from established professionals to newly-emerging authors and poets.
Contributors Introduction by Traci L. Gourdine Cover Art by Aaron John Gregory Illustrations by Paul Pederson Todd Walton, Going After Nathan Margaret Dilloway, Ever Since I ve Seen Your Face Hunter Liguore, Momentary Forgiveness Darrell Lindsey, tanka George Wells, Last Rites j.lewis, surgical mass Linda G Hatton, Becoming Katie Stephens, Faceless Melana Plains, Not a Worry, My Lord Alexis A. Hunter, By the Gun D. Laserbeam, Five Hundred Svetlana Kortchik, Forget Me Not Hannah Weverka, Gingerbread Towns Matt Lancaster, Old Age Brian Reeves, Her Fruitful Shore Valentina Cano, Image of a Treasure, as a Negative Stone Showers, His Smile Fixed in Time Kari Castor, Jael Stands Trial for Murder Diana Fu, Confession Scott Warrender, The Littleness of Susan Brauer John Stocks, Vows Peter Wood, The Fig Tree Kaitlin Branch, One Cog Short of Paradise
Learn more about Volume I contributors and content at http: //SparkAnthology.org.
Contributors Introduction by Traci L. Gourdine Cover Art by Aaron John Gregory Illustrations by Paul Pederson Todd Walton, Going After Nathan Margaret Dilloway, Ever Since I ve Seen Your Face Hunter Liguore, Momentary Forgiveness Darrell Lindsey, tanka George Wells, Last Rites j.lewis, surgical mass Linda G Hatton, Becoming Katie Stephens, Faceless Melana Plains, Not a Worry, My Lord Alexis A. Hunter, By the Gun D. Laserbeam, Five Hundred Svetlana Kortchik, Forget Me Not Hannah Weverka, Gingerbread Towns Matt Lancaster, Old Age Brian Reeves, Her Fruitful Shore Valentina Cano, Image of a Treasure, as a Negative Stone Showers, His Smile Fixed in Time Kari Castor, Jael Stands Trial for Murder Diana Fu, Confession Scott Warrender, The Littleness of Susan Brauer John Stocks, Vows Peter Wood, The Fig Tree Kaitlin Branch, One Cog Short of Paradise
Learn more about Volume I contributors and content at http: //SparkAnthology.org.
- GenresShort Stories
242 pages, Paperback
First published March 22, 2013
1 person is currently reading
25 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 5, 2013
As the editor of this anthology, I absolutely loved compiling this book. Every short story, every poem, every illustration stands on its own to please and delight the reader; as a compilation, it restores my faith in the longevity of the short-story format and the value of poetry in modern literature!
April 23, 2013
I must begin my review with a disclaimer: I am acquainted with some of the writers published in this anthology, as well as the Editor in Chief, through an online critique site. That said, I am approaching this review with the same objectiveness I would treat any other.
First, the cover art is gorgeous, and the illustrations inside are a great match for the stories.
Secondly, I was impressed by the extremely professional end result, especially since this was Brian Lewis' first publication. Any writer considering submitting to future issues of Spark should rest easy knowing that--if accepted--their work will be showcased beautifully, and judging by the quality of stories in this issue, in excellent company.
The anthology opens with 'Five Hundred', by D. Laserbeam, which sets a high standard for what is to follow, and the rest of the anthology lives up to that. 'Last Rites' by George Wells brought a lump to my throat, as did 'Faceless' by Katie Stevens, and Alexis Hunter's 'By the Gun' had me on the edge of my seat. 'Forget Me Not' by Svetlana Kortchik also had me turning page after page, as did 'Gingerbread Towns' by Hannah Weverka. 'Her Fruitful Shore' by Brian Reeves not only brought a lump to my throat, but tears to my eyes and made me angry and sad at the same time. I'm not going to mention every single story, but I thought they were all worthy of their place in the anthology.
As for the poetry, I'm no poet and wouldn't know where to start in reviewing poetry. But I did enjoy reading them all. 'Old Age' by Matt Lancaster and 'Vows' by John Stocks in particular resonated with me.
In all, Spark: A Creative Anthology is an impressive collection of fiction and poetry that I would give four and a half stars for (except Goodreads won't let me). Why not five? Only because there were a couple of stories that didn't quite hook me. They were well written, and would probably captivate someone else, so it's probably just a matter of personal taste, but I'll save my five star rating for the issue that completely bowls me over from beginning to end. I'm sure it will be forthcoming.
First, the cover art is gorgeous, and the illustrations inside are a great match for the stories.
Secondly, I was impressed by the extremely professional end result, especially since this was Brian Lewis' first publication. Any writer considering submitting to future issues of Spark should rest easy knowing that--if accepted--their work will be showcased beautifully, and judging by the quality of stories in this issue, in excellent company.
The anthology opens with 'Five Hundred', by D. Laserbeam, which sets a high standard for what is to follow, and the rest of the anthology lives up to that. 'Last Rites' by George Wells brought a lump to my throat, as did 'Faceless' by Katie Stevens, and Alexis Hunter's 'By the Gun' had me on the edge of my seat. 'Forget Me Not' by Svetlana Kortchik also had me turning page after page, as did 'Gingerbread Towns' by Hannah Weverka. 'Her Fruitful Shore' by Brian Reeves not only brought a lump to my throat, but tears to my eyes and made me angry and sad at the same time. I'm not going to mention every single story, but I thought they were all worthy of their place in the anthology.
As for the poetry, I'm no poet and wouldn't know where to start in reviewing poetry. But I did enjoy reading them all. 'Old Age' by Matt Lancaster and 'Vows' by John Stocks in particular resonated with me.
In all, Spark: A Creative Anthology is an impressive collection of fiction and poetry that I would give four and a half stars for (except Goodreads won't let me). Why not five? Only because there were a couple of stories that didn't quite hook me. They were well written, and would probably captivate someone else, so it's probably just a matter of personal taste, but I'll save my five star rating for the issue that completely bowls me over from beginning to end. I'm sure it will be forthcoming.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews