Bite-Sized Stories: A Multi-Genre Flash Fiction Anthology

Flash Flood #1

by George Donnelly (Editor), P.T. Phronk, Adan Ramie

From a creepypasta horror farm to a bullish love tale and from the bloody metal deck of the ESS Arclight to superhero octopus food trucks, you can transform your shortest stolen moments into utter delights with this diverse collection of 33 flash fiction stories.


Commuting to work? Grabbing a quick coffee? Each story tells a complete tale in but a few short minutes with the added promise of a lifelong introduction to new indie writers.


You never know, you might just find your next favorite author.


This collection, the first in the Flash Flood series, is a special selection of master works with a variety of genres and voices guaranteed to keep you engaged. Sign up now (see inside the book) for future flash fiction anthologies themed for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, May the 4th and Independence Day.


Including stories by Phronk, Adan Ramie, George Donnelly, Griffin Carmichael, George Saoulidis, K. D. McAdams, Michael Barbato-Dunn, Tom Germann, Emily Martha Sorensen, Karen Diem, Raquel Lyon, J.T. Williams, Tricia Owens, Lynda Belle, Connie B. Dowell, Brian Manning, JC Kang, Jessie Thomas, Adam Hughes, Jaleta Clegg, Marilyn Vix, J. David Core, Jamie Campbell, Jennifer Lewis and Andrew K. Lawston.

Genres: Anthologies, Fantasy, Ebooks, Short Stories, Flash Fiction

174 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2016

About the author

Former starship redshirt turned rag-clad resistance fighter, George Donnelly is the author of space opera, cyberpunk & post-apocalyptic science fiction series. A single unschooling expat dad, George prefers zombies to aliens but is primed for any meatspace apocalypse minus grey goo.

Reviews

[Bill Redmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only liked this 4 stars worth because 1) There are a variety of genres included in this collection, some I normally read, some I don't, and 2) It was frustrating to me that each story in the collection was over just when felt like it was getting started. However, I'm thinking of recommending it to my wife, the middle school language arts teacher because it seems like a great tool for starting discussions or essays. "What happens next?" "What happened before the story started?" etc.

I will be reading the next book in the series when it comes out.

It's also a great way to get to know a bunch of new authors in a quick read.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of over 30 short stories of various genres, there are several science fiction, fantasy, and horror, as well as a couple of romance and mystery stories. As someone who rarely reads short stories, I found myself enjoying most of the stories in this anthology; I could have done without the horror stories, as that's not my typical genre of choice, but they weren't too scary for someone who doesn't typically read horror.

I did like the shorter length of these stories. Most of them were only a few pages in length, which made them quick reads and had me finishing the entire anthology in a single day. I can't say that I'm going to be seeking out short stories in the future, but my experience with this anthology will have my at least giving other anthologies a try.

[Stan James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was turned onto this collection by one of the contributors, a fellow forum poster and author of a published novel (so one more than me!) This is a free collection and can be found at all major ebook sites. The idea behind it is simple--offer a bunch of very short (3-4 page) stories from a raft of authors to allow the reader to quickly sample their styles. The hope is the reader will enjoy at least some of what they read and seek out more work from the same authors.

It's a good idea and, I think, a successful one. The stories cover a range of genres so there's bound to be something to interest any reader (though romance and literary only have a single entry each) and each story is short enough that there is minimal investment. Even if a story outright stinks (and none in this collection do) it's only a few minutes of reading before you move on.

At the same time it's difficult to pull out highlights because a lot of the stories trade on twist endings, are more sketches than stories, or skip nuance because there's only four freaking pages to say everything. And the horror section in particular is a bit disappointing in being so zombie-heavy. At least it's not wall-to-wall vampires.

But there is a lot of entertaining stuff here and I will indeed be seeking out work by some of the authors.

The collection is free, it's a quick read and it's a handy introduction to a lot of indie authors worthy of your time. Recommended.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some crazy stuff!! Lol

I admit, at first I was confused reading the first several stories in the book. I'm not sure if I was tired or if a better introduction would have explained the abrupt endings of some of these short stories? But I initially felt a bit bewildered, as if a door had been slammed in my face just as I started to get into each of the short pieces. As I settled into reading, which did take a little bit, I started to get it, and then I was hooked. Not only that, but I was feeling a bit devilish and grinning or cackling like a fool when I reached those sometimes odd and jarring endings. I wanted more if each story. I've subscribed to every author in the anthology. I also can't wait to get going on the next book. This was a gem!

[Mystee Pulcine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love anthologies of short stories - it gives you a taste of an author or a genre that can suck you into a wonderful black hole of reading. I like that this book has the works split up by genre. I like that each author gets a blurb after their story to draw you in to read more of their works. I really liked that there was only one story from the romance genre. The only thing I disliked (and this may be personal preference) is that I felt like they front-loaded this book. I was roped in immediately by amazing short stories but then disappointed as they slowly dropped in quality. By the time I was done reading, I was glad it was over.

[Jolyn]

Although I normally review/rate each book that I read I will not be rating anthologies. This will allow me the freedom to just read the stories that are clean (the only ones I am willing to read) in an anthology and skip/ignore the rest. The only way that I will rate an anthology is if all of the authors have verified that the stories included in the anthology are free of sex, swearing and graphic violence.

I will sometimes still make notes about the stories as you can see below:

"I Shouldn't Have Eaten the Space Crab" by Phronk - skipped story due to the swearing/bad language
"The Price" by Adan Ramie - wish I had skipped it by the time I was done reading; felt yucky after reading it as it was about a person trapped in prostitution and the hopelessness of never being able to get out or break the cycle (and probably not even for her children)
"Raven 9" by George Donnelly - Not sure what happened in this story. I never figured out who the characters actually were.
"A Report to the Commissioner" by Griffin Carmichael - a crew's mission encounters delay after delay resulting in all of the officers going through gender shifts so there are no longer officers available to lead the mission; not exactly sure what the point of the story is - why can't officers lead a mission because they now have families or are in the family way?
"No Rest for the Reannotated" by George Saoulidis - Weird but some people will like it. Bringing smart people back to life to brainstorm and solve some big problem. No foul language; lots of big science words.
"Shutdown Triggers" by K. D. McAdams- interesting story about a "person" who relies on technology to function/live almost shutting down.
"Slamming on the Brakes" by Michael Barbato-Dunn- Finally! A story that I like! Teenager abducted by aliens just before he turns 16 and just before he gets his learner's permit. Instead he learns to drive/fly in an alien space ship. Read the story for the full details and see if you like it too.
"Problem solving" by Tom Germann - I don't understand the motive behind the crime in this story. Not sure what I am missing but definitely missing some key detail.
"Doubleplusunhate" by George Donnelly - The "newspeak" was a little hard to understand but once I figured it out the story was good.
"The Silent Princess" by Emily Martha Sorensen- humorous twist on "The Princess and the Frog" fairy tale.
"Octopus" by Karen Diem - a little bit of foul language; I like the sassy superhero Zita though.
"A Question of Blood" by Raquel Lyon - paranormal sex (maybe he is a vampire?) - another one I wish I had not read but it was so short (3 pages) that the deed was done before I realized what was happening
"A Father's Mercy" by J.T. Williams - a father and daughter elf - don't like this story, not a happy ending
"Dark Dealings" by Tricia Owens - the bartering of a trading card. Does it contain black magic or not? Story made me smile even though it contained a little bit of swearing.
"Death or Eternity" by Lynda Belle - vampire sex
"Blood of Harrodarr" by J.T. Williams - swearing and dying in the little bit I read; skipping the rest; not an author for me based on the two stories in this collection
"Hair of the Dog" by Connie B. Dowell - Dog-owner sees an amazing site on his corgie-cam and rushes home to find ...
"Surge" by Brian Manning - Will employee be able to save company VP from the bad guys? Liked this short good guy/bad guys battle story
"The Weeds Within the Rulership" by Emily Martha Sorensen - in this story each flower means something and there is a little courtship going on plus learning about magic and how to use (or not use it since it is illegal for most people to use it in this world)
"The First Dragon Charmer" by JC Kang - a young woman goes to try and charm a dragon
"Murder in the Neighborhood" by Jamie Campbell - was someone murdered or not?
I did not read the stories in the Horror or the Romance categories.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with any anthology, some entries are better than others. This anthology started with the three genres of fiction I like the least - Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. More than 80% of the book was stories in genres I just simply don't "get" and don't enjoy. A few of these stories were sorta understandable and somewhat enjoyable in that I could see they were well-written. A very few were poorly written, including grammatical errors as well as vague plots. I semi-enjoyed Slamming of the Brakes and Problem Solving.

At almost 86% of the book, my preferred genres finally were presented: Romance, Mystery, and Literary. There were only 2 Romance and one each in the other two categories. I did get a couple of ideas for writing short stories, so time spent was not all wasted.

[JRS · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is exactly what it says it is - very short stories. Each one is only a few pages long. Due to the very abbreviated length, there is no character development or world building. TBH, it's not a bad read, but I wouldn't be eagerly awaiting a new edition. That said, many of the authors are indies, and I'm always happy to support them. I'm not sure if any stories are part of a larger set of works/worlds created by the authors, but it, given the tone of many of the stories, it wouldn't surprise me if they were.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of stories that are each only a few pages long, which is a difficult format to tell a story well. While most of this collection was subpar, there were several stories in the scifi and horror sections that were quite good. The two mystery stories featured were fantastic; I wish that section has been much longer. Overall, not an awful collection for a free kindle book that is able to be read in short sections over time.

[Leslie Wiederspan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Some stories were good, others were average. There was one that I skipped through, but I don't remember the name of it. Still, not an awful read. I like anthologies like this so I can come across new authors that I normally wouldn't.

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay read.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many indie stories.

The stories are quick reads of course, suitable for the thinking seat. The one I enjoyed the most was the George Donnelly take on George Orwell 's 1984.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a 2.75 🌟 read rounded ⬆️ to 3 🌟.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful entertaining listening 🎶🔰

Thirty-three will written fantasy Sci-Fi horror romance adventure thriller short stories by twenty+ authors about the unusual and fun in a book. I would highly recommend this novella to readers looking for a quick fun read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of eye damage and health issues. 2022 😮⏰

[Bonnie Dale Keck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Think it's permafree, but found it either through one of my free book sites or by looking through what J.T. Williams had to offer in his stories. No idea what date originally reviewed on amazon because the bloody review didn't take. Noticed it was missing review when went to check some books reviewed a while back some time late november.

[Tricia]

Jaleta Clegg - Aunt Ruby's Jam Cake: ok read
George Donnelly - Raven 9: This was a good read
Tom Germann - Problem Solving: Good interesting story
George Donnelly - Doubleplusunhate: Weird read.

George Donnelly - Echoes in the Ether: OK read