Empty Hearts

by Mark Finn

A young woman alone in the big city, a mobster looking to make a fresh start, an old monster hunter with one last job to do, a magical grocery store where love grows like tomatoes on a vine...

These are just some of the people and places you'll meet in Empty Hearts, a new collection of stories by Mark Finn.

Set in and around the magic-steeped city of San Cibola, the characters come to life in Finn's deft prose with humor, warmth, and compassion. Even the unlikeable people have strange and fascinating stories that make them compelling.

The stories in Empty Hearts all turn on the theme of love, passion, and desire. Whether it's a misguided crook's tributes to an underworld organization, a passionate academic's pet theory, or a child's love of Christmas, the characters and stories in Empty Hearts ultimately reflect ourselves with humor, horror, and a dash of magic.

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 11, 2014

About the author

Mark Finn is an author, an editor, and a pop culture critic. He is a nationally-recognized authority on Robert E. Howard and has written extensively about the Texas author. His work has appeared in publications for the Robert E. Howard Foundation Press, Dark Horse Comics, Boom! Comics, The Cimmerian, REH: Two-Gun Raconteur, The Howard Review, Wildside Press, Centipede Press, The University of Texas press, Greenwood Press, Scarecrow Press, The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies and elsewhere. Finn has presented several papers about Howard to the PCA/ACA National conference, the AWC, and he continues to lecture and perform readings regularly.

Finn also writes comics and novels, as well as articles, essays, reviews, short stories and role playing games for Playboy.com, RevolutionSF.com, Dark Horse Comics, DC/Vertigo Comics, Monkeybrain Books, Sky Warrior Books, F.A.C.T. Publications, Tachyon Press, Modiphius Press, and others. Finn’s fiction can be found in Ray Guns Over Texas, Road Trip, Tails From the Pack, Empty Hearts, Heroika: Dragon Eaters, Barbarian Crowns, Asian Pulp, and Fight Card: The Adventures of Sailor Tom Sharkey, and elsewhere.

He is a managing editor for Skelos Press, and he podcasts for The Gentlemen Nerds. When he is not waxing eloquent about popular culture, he writes comics and fiction, dabbles in magic, and produces and performs community theater. He lives in North Texas atop an old movie theater with far too many books and an affable pit bull named Sonya.

Reviews

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains a bunch of urban fantasies, almost all of them taking place against the beautifully realised fictional town of San Cibola.
Following the 'Introduction: Where in the World is San Cibola", there are~
1. One Last Job: A washed-out monster-hunter has to undertake a rather personal job.
2. You're Solid, Right?: A criminal under Witness Protection tries to start again.
3. Eviction Notice: Even love can't allow certain occupancies.
4. Afterlife: What happened to Robert E Howard AFTER he pulled the trigger?
5. Fourteen Vignettes About Love at Sanchez's Grocery: Love Actually!
6. Which House: The Stepford Wives back with a vengeance.
7. I'm An Animal: A break from San Cibola, with some odd happenings.
The stories were light, lucid, and enjoyable.
Recommended.

[Melyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very entertaining read. The stories all have interesting twists, and zoom by quickly but stick in your mind too.

I think my favorite is "Fourteen Vignettes About Love At Sanchez's Grocery". They're all just people with everyday quirks and everyday problems living everyday lives, but when you put it all together, they touch you in a surprisingly deep way.

Well written, good book. Highly recommend.

[Adrian Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of short stories dealing with the subject of love in all its many guises. Each story focuses on a character and their romantic motivations and tribulations. A great read!

[Janice Schange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waiting for Amazon to get it here!!

[R. Sue Oleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! As always, Mark Finn is witty & clever...definitely delivers the goods!