Planks

by S.C. Harrison

A short story.

Utopia gone sour.

They say Blackrock used to be a beautiful place. The mountains shimmered with gold and the lake teemed with fish, until the forefathers boarded it over from shore to shore. It was on these planks one man built his dream: a village free of ailment and neglect.

But then the imprisoned lake turned.

One hundred years later and the Plankers know nothing of beauty, only the ruins of a lunatic's failed ideals and the caustic poison ever-seeping up from below their feet. Murder and corruption gild everyday life under the Blackrock mob, but more frightening than the dangerous walk home is the recent plague of disappearances, and the dozens of mysterious holes punched through the boards to the black depths below...

Welcome to The Planks

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

SC Harrison I SC Harrison was born with a pen in her hand Liar has always loved writing duh? really hates most YA. After diving obsessively into a metric ass-load hundreds of titles, she became disillusioned infuriated disillusioned with the poorly written, unedited, plagiaristic, unoriginal, archetypal PANSY-ASS WEAKLING LITTLE HEROINES AND THEIR DOUCHE BAG BOYFRIENDS pieces of siht bestsellers. And so, after flaming many message boards a stroke of inspiration, she wrote her own.

SC believes in showering twice daily writing incredibly long intelligent stories for teens and young adults who look for serial killers behind their shower curtains more from their novels than a vapid, insipid little one dimensional main character making stupid decisions for absolutely no reason Bella Swan. Her worlds are vivid and consuming, her characters deep and soulful, and the plots thought-provoking and surprising. In each story she hopes to create not only money an indelible atmosphere the reader craves long after the last page, but a new way of looking at hot guys the world. Rich in make-out scenes romance, humor, personal struggle, and the love that binds friends, family, and soulmates anything but "soulmates" soulmates, her stories lead readers into traffic fantasies where worlds collide and reality is questioned broken the enemy all in your head.

Reviews

[D. Winchester · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part about this book is the authors voice, that is vivid without being over written. The worst is that it is so short.

I quibble with some minor details, and some of the elements of plot develoent, but all in all, a solid effort.

[DES Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Planks is, essentially, a series of five short stories, which makes is a pretty brief read. Packed into that, however, is a tremendous amount of depth. It feels like it is much, much longer than it is.

If it was simply the short stories that make up this collection, it would be good. Each story is haunting by itself- the first two feel a bit standard horror-ish, with people meeting grizzly deaths with some drug usage thrown in for good measure. They are haunting, in the way short stories can be, leaving you wondering what lurks on the periphery.

But then she explains it. It's hard to talk about it without giving too much away because, as mentioned, it's short, but the final three stories explain the who-what-when-how-why of it, and damn. Not that it's the greatest reveal in the history of horror literature, but she puts on a clinic in world building.

Not only is Planks believable, it almost feels likely. Those first couple stories allow you to feel The Planks, the dirt and crime and something creepy, but then the final three draw back and allow you to look at it as a whole. For as short as this is, the world constructed and how immersed you are in it is a fantastic achievement.


More here: http://www.nerds-feather.com/2013/06/...

[Scott Whitmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of creepy vignettes with an imaginative setting, Planks by SC Harrison (@SCHAuthor) is a short story that stuck with me long after putting my Kindle down. I read each “chapter” twice before moving on to the next; the second time through to savor the little details.

The setting for most of the action is The Planks, an isolated mountain town built atop a boarded-over lake, a once pristine body of water that has "turned." The town serves as the connection between the vignettes, each of which peels back a few layers of the bigger picture. I'm not sure I can say more without spoiling the enjoyment of future readers.

I greatly enjoyed Planks and recommend it as a quick, interesting read. As an author myself, I must admit to being terribly jealous of Ms. Harrison's imagination and her ability to craft with relatively few words such an atmospheric and spooky setting and series of events.

For more from this author to watch, visit her website.

[Colleen Estep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Planks is a thought provoking and absolutely scary story. The question is.....what happens when a few decide what is best for all?
What happens when you take a beautiful mountain, build a town and strip the mountain of all the gold within? The pristine lake that the town is built around is fouled and turned into something terrifying.
SC Harrison has written a very scary story that answers the what ifs..
thanks MS Harrison and Goodreads for the chance to read this.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so disturbing and horrifying. How a man's dream to help his town escalates to a place filled with despair and death. I don't recommend this book to anyone under 14 because of some foul language and the disturbing passages of the story. I did like the simplicity of the writing and the plot's depth.

[Luis Rodriguez]

this is the second book that i have read by SC. very good writing style that creates great imagery.

[Nathan Shumate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific interrelated accounts forming the story of a bizarre setting. Recommended.