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500 Seconds: The First One Hundred 5 Second Novels
Everybody loves a story, but who has the time?
You do.
500 Seconds is one hundred "5 Second Novels" -- one hundred complete "micro-novels" of flash fiction that can take as little as five seconds to read. 500 Seconds is a riveting collection that will take you in moments from the strangest corners of the human experience, to the farthest reaches of the universe, and to everywhere in between.
Some of the tales you will find inside:
#050 - "The Echoes" -- something had been lurking in his blind spot for six years, and now it decides to get personal.
#073 - "The Venusian" -- the Russian witness of a KGB-shuttered Academy of Science press conference 37 years before gives a reporter a story he won't forget.
#079 - "Flying" -- a young girl's uncle discovers that touring Hoover Dam can be murder.
500 Seconds includes 97 more tales, is packed with photo illustrations, and features an afterword by the author, "Writing the 5 Second Novel," a special inside look at what it takes to bring these micro-novels to life.
"Daniel Brenton's miniature tales are clever, fascinating, and tastefully dark -- like tiny episodes of the Twilight Zone."
-- Dr. David Darling, scientist, musician, and author of Equations of Eternity.
You do.
500 Seconds is one hundred "5 Second Novels" -- one hundred complete "micro-novels" of flash fiction that can take as little as five seconds to read. 500 Seconds is a riveting collection that will take you in moments from the strangest corners of the human experience, to the farthest reaches of the universe, and to everywhere in between.
Some of the tales you will find inside:
#050 - "The Echoes" -- something had been lurking in his blind spot for six years, and now it decides to get personal.
#073 - "The Venusian" -- the Russian witness of a KGB-shuttered Academy of Science press conference 37 years before gives a reporter a story he won't forget.
#079 - "Flying" -- a young girl's uncle discovers that touring Hoover Dam can be murder.
500 Seconds includes 97 more tales, is packed with photo illustrations, and features an afterword by the author, "Writing the 5 Second Novel," a special inside look at what it takes to bring these micro-novels to life.
"Daniel Brenton's miniature tales are clever, fascinating, and tastefully dark -- like tiny episodes of the Twilight Zone."
-- Dr. David Darling, scientist, musician, and author of Equations of Eternity.
188 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 5, 2015
2 people are currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Brenton
2 books2 followers"Bio?" Snore. Let's do a "twenty questions" kind of introduction.
Name: Daniel L. Brenton.
Age: Let's just say I was born in the last century. (The latter half, at least.)
Place of Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada. I like this city. If it weren't for the drivers I'd love this city.
Marital Status: (You know, that's not one of those questions you're legally able to ask in a job interview.) Married. My first, her last. (All right, my last, too.)
Children: (You're not supposed to ask that one either.)
Originally From: Indiana. About 50 years south of Fort Wayne.
Hobbies: HA HA Ha ha.
Employer: I'm a writer, dammit. Next question.
Prefer Cats or Dogs: Cats, yes. I'm a writer, so I'm supposed to have a cat. I don't have one at the moment, but I'm sure that will change eventually.
Since You're a Writer, Are You Alcoholic? That's the tradition, isn't it? No, I hardly ever drink, period. It's not a moral issue, it's just that drinking makes me stupid. I don't enjoy being stupid.
Questions I decided not to answer:
Sexual Orientation: (What did you want, a date or something? See "Marital Status" above.)
Interests: I think listing everything would be kind of boring, to both you and me. So what are you interested in?
Race: Can't you tell from the picture? Actually, I have a tiny bit of American Indian blood on my mother's side, from the Miami tribe, which used to dwell in the northeastern area of what is now Indiana. I have no idea why the name wound up attached to Florida. (Seriously. I have a bit of an epicanthic fold in my eyelids to prove it.) Otherwise, I think I'm basically a White Anglo-Saxon Mutt.
I think that pretty much says it.
Thank you.
Name: Daniel L. Brenton.
Age: Let's just say I was born in the last century. (The latter half, at least.)
Place of Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada. I like this city. If it weren't for the drivers I'd love this city.
Marital Status: (You know, that's not one of those questions you're legally able to ask in a job interview.) Married. My first, her last. (All right, my last, too.)
Children: (You're not supposed to ask that one either.)
Originally From: Indiana. About 50 years south of Fort Wayne.
Hobbies: HA HA Ha ha.
Employer: I'm a writer, dammit. Next question.
Prefer Cats or Dogs: Cats, yes. I'm a writer, so I'm supposed to have a cat. I don't have one at the moment, but I'm sure that will change eventually.
Since You're a Writer, Are You Alcoholic? That's the tradition, isn't it? No, I hardly ever drink, period. It's not a moral issue, it's just that drinking makes me stupid. I don't enjoy being stupid.
Questions I decided not to answer:
Sexual Orientation: (What did you want, a date or something? See "Marital Status" above.)
Interests: I think listing everything would be kind of boring, to both you and me. So what are you interested in?
Race: Can't you tell from the picture? Actually, I have a tiny bit of American Indian blood on my mother's side, from the Miami tribe, which used to dwell in the northeastern area of what is now Indiana. I have no idea why the name wound up attached to Florida. (Seriously. I have a bit of an epicanthic fold in my eyelids to prove it.) Otherwise, I think I'm basically a White Anglo-Saxon Mutt.
I think that pretty much says it.
Thank you.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 25, 2018
Brenton spins 100 stories in a tiny space. This is flash fiction--short stories, often no more than 200 words, in which you find out enough of the story to reach your own conclusion. The stories cover a wide range of material--from science fiction to murder to slice-of-life (you'll be glad it's not YOUR life) in a tightly edited presentation.
I found myself wanting to take some of these stories and create a different ending or more of a middle. Isn't that exactly what good writing is? Inviting people to enjoy and then wonder what might have happened if . . . ?
A fast read, and well worth it.
I found myself wanting to take some of these stories and create a different ending or more of a middle. Isn't that exactly what good writing is? Inviting people to enjoy and then wonder what might have happened if . . . ?
A fast read, and well worth it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review