Baby Shoes: 100 Stories by 100 Authors

by Joe R. Lansdale, Linda Needham, Walter Jon Williams

100 Stories. 100 Authors. Under 1,000 words. No Holds Barred. This book started with a call for authors worldwide and ended with a collection of short-but-stirring pieces of fiction from all genres and every corner of the human literary imagination. Spend a minute each in one hundred minds, with tales running from noir detective, to holiday heartwarmer, to serial killer thrill, to flights of fantasy and erotica. "Baby Shoes" gets its name from what's arguably the most famed piece of flash fiction ever penned, and follows that tradition to celebrate great writing in one of its most efficient forms. Featured authors: Joe R. Lansdale, Linda Needham and Walter Jon Williams Senior authors: April Aasheim, April J. Moore, Dan Repperger, Dani J. Caile, Danika Dinsmore, Eddy Webb, Jack B. Rochester, Jason Brick, William Hertling Contributing authors: A.A. Blakey, Adam Thomas Gottfried, Amanda Whitbeck, Amy Beth Outland, Arlan Andrews Sr., Bam Leslie, Barry Koplen, Bert Edens, C.A. Verstraete, C.M. Crockford, Caitlin Park, Carrie Uffindell, Charles Loomis, Christian Fink Jensen, Christina Dudley, Cody May, Crystal Yoner, Cynthia Lang, Dan Marshall, David M. Covenant, David Mundt, Debby Dodds, Derek Knutsen, E.A. Roper, E.L. Johnson, Erika Gimbel, Erika Rybczyk, Ethan Noone, Gerri Leen, Greg Henry, Gregg Edwards Townsley, Ian Christy, Jane Nagler, Jeb Brack, Jenny Cokeley, Jess Kapp, Jim Pahz, John Deal, John James, Julie M. Rodriguez, Karen B. Call, Katherine Valdez, Kathryn Cowan Shepherd, Kyle Owens, Larry Oldham, Laura Scott, Lawrence W. Paz, Lisa Nordin, M. Earl Smith, M.D. Pitman, M.S. Lambert, Macy Mixdorf, Maggie Grinnell, Maria Clark, Mark R. O'Neill, Mark Rusin, Marquita West, Maya Silver, Mindy Windholz, Miranda Carter, Monroe Truss, N.L. Bowley, Nancy Townsley, Nathan Hystad, Nick Briggs, Own Palmioti, Pat Marum, Patrick Garratt, Peter Boadry, Phil Cummings, Rhonnie Fordham, Robert Eversmann, Ron Chaterjee, Rose LeMort, S.M. Chandler, Sandra Valmana, Scott Crowder, Seth Bradley, Sharon Rezac Andersen, Shelley Widhalm, Thomas Palestrini, Tiaan Lubbe, Trinity N. Herr, Tyler Denning, Vinnie Penn, Wes Choc, Zephyra Burt

296 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2015

About the author

Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over forty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in more than two dozen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Ho-Tep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror," and he adapted his short story "Christmas with the Dead" to film hisownself. The film adaptation of his novel Cold in July was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Sundance Channel has adapted his Hap & Leonard novels for television.

He is currently co-producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Reviews

[K.J. McPike · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, I have only read one of the short stories in this collection entitled "The Apocalypse According to Dogs" by Marquita West. It was very short—only a couple pages—but I was thoroughly impressed with it, both for its creativity and the fact that it packed such a punch in so few words. As the title implies, it is told from the perspective of a dog noting a major decline in the number of humans around and the implications of that decline. I found it to be a really neat angle to take perspective-wise, and the story left me with a sort of haunted feeling that made it unforgettable. I really look forward to reading the rest of the collection!

[Wes Choc · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many stories ...so many plots ...so much imagination! Amazing variety ...all captivating.

[John Boyda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truthfully, I only read half of this book. Every story was well written. They ran a gamut of subjects. Some were complete unto themselves. Others seemed as if they were the first chapter or an introduction to a longer tale and left me with a sense of dissatisfaction. Others just left me perplexed. So I’m leaving off to more predictable climes. Recommended, but read at your own peril.