"First Light," a collection of short fiction, has something for every reader. There is comedy, mystery, high adventure, family drama, and plenty of Edgar Allan Poe style creepiness. There's even a Christmas story. A number of our authors have been published before; for others, this is their first (but not last) time in print. Titles "Voices" and "The Coldest Day" by Alan Amrhine; "And to Think We Used to Hop on Trains" by Amy Bock; "Flesh and Blood," by Sharon Broomall; "Howl," by T.L. Emery; "The Seven Gates of Hell," by Charles Godfrey; "The Briefcase," by Keith Hoskins; "The House," by Bob Knapp; "The Siren," by Joe Long; "The Doomed Life of Billy Cavanaugh," by Paul Sekulich; "Somebody's Gotta Do It," by Mark Lee Taylor; "The Bride" and "Parker Wiley and the Amazons" by Chris Vaughan; and "The Miracle," by Robert Broomall.We think “First Light” will appeal to even the most discriminating short-story fan.
I highly recommend this collection of short stories. The authors cover a variety of genres and writing styles. The story that sticks out most to me is “And to think we used to hop on trains,” by Amy Bock. She delivers a wonderful story with a surprise ending. Another favorite story is “The doomed life,” which does a good job in depicting a character with an overactive imagination. Another clever, dark story is “Seven gates of hell” which is a great read for a dark, spooky night. The story “Cold night” also made me think, and raises question s about the unreliable narrator. This group of local authors did a wonderful job. Even though this collection does not have a unifying theme, these stories still mesh well together, creating one good, cohesive work.