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Flash in the Attic 2: 44 Very Short Stories
Featuring 44 flash fictions under 1,000 words from new and established writers. In this volume, you'll find stories about the complexities of love and the nuances of marriage, stories about strange worlds and impossible places, stories about slippery identities and shifting alliances, stories both political and personal. There also happens to be a surprising number of stories about crimes of one kind or another. And then there are those that, above all, make the normal seem strange or the strange seem normal. Every story is a world unto itself. a must-read for anyone who loves flash fiction, and and an essential companion for writers who want to pen their own flash fictions.
A follow-up to Flash in the Attic: 33 Very Short Stories.
A follow-up to Flash in the Attic: 33 Very Short Stories.
138 pages, Paperback
Published June 30, 2016
11 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Richmond
32 books1,091 followersThank you for stopping by! To read my serial novella, sign up for my newsletter at michellerichmond.substack.com
I also share books I love & glimpses into my writing life on TikTok: @michellerichmondwriter.
I grew up in Alabama and have lived in California for 20 years, with a two-year stint in Paris. My 2017 literary thriller, the Sunday Times bestseller THE MARRIAGE PACT, examines marriage under the extreme pressure of constant monitoring from a powerful organization called The Pact. The Pact promises to help couples have a happy, lasting marriage...but the punishments for breaking the rules are severe. THE MARRIAGE PACT is available in 31 languages.
My latest novel, THE WONDER TEST, a suburban suspense novel set in Silicon Valley (Grove Atlantic in, 2021) was an Amazon Best Book of July. In a starred review, Booklist called THE WONDER TEST "a gripping blend of danger and sharp social commentary on high-stakes education, the 1%, and suburban tropes." The first in a series, THE WONDER TEST introduces a tough and spirited new protagonist, FBI agent Lina Connerly, and her teenaged son Rory.
To get updates, exclusive previews, free audio short stories, and (coming soon) serialized fiction, sign up for my newsletter at michellerichmond.substack.com.
You can also read my true stories of living in Paris, traveling, and writing at wanderingwriter.substack.com
My previous books include the New York Times bestseller THE YEAR of FOG, GOLDEN STATE, HUM: STORIES, NO ONE YOU KNOW, DREAM OF THE BLUE ROOM, and THE GIRL IN THE FALL-AWAY DRESS (stories).
I like to write about ordinary people in crisis: a kidnapping (The Year of Fog), a hostage situation (Golden State), a decades-old murder that became a true crime sensation (No One You Know). My novels are often set in San Francisco and the Bay Area, where I've made my home, but my books also take inspiration from many of the places I've lived and traveled. My story collection HUM (2014) features Americans caught up in espionage, surveillance, and all manner of marital crimes.
If you love discovering new books, or if you've enjoyed any of my books, I'd love to send you my author newsletter! It includes notes on what I'm reading, and dispatches from the writing life. You can sign up for the newsletter at http://michellerichmond.com.
Back story: I knew I wanted to be a writer for almost as long as I can remember, way back when I was a kid growing up in Alabama. I used to write skits to perform for my parents with my two sisters. After graduating from a huge public school in downtown Mobile, I studied journalism and creative writing at the University of Alabama, then worked in advertising, as well as in restaurants and a tanning salon (!) for a few years before enrolling in an MFA program in creative writing. I bounced around the South for a while and lived in New York City for a couple of years, with a brief work stint in Beijing, before settling in Northern California in 1999. I've been writing here in the fog ever since.
My first book, The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress was a short story collection that I wrote during my years waitressing and doing other odd jobs in Knoxville and Atlanta. My first novel, Dream of the Blue Room, was inspired by my time in Beijing. My second novel, The Year of Fog, gathered many rejections before being acquired by a young editor at Bantam. The Year of Fog was a life-changing book in that in allowed me to connect with readers in ways I'd never quite imagined, and it gave me the freedom to pursue writing full time. Writing is my dream job. It's a job I do alone in a quiet room, but because it allows me to connect with readers, it never feels lonely.
I also share books I love & glimpses into my writing life on TikTok: @michellerichmondwriter.
I grew up in Alabama and have lived in California for 20 years, with a two-year stint in Paris. My 2017 literary thriller, the Sunday Times bestseller THE MARRIAGE PACT, examines marriage under the extreme pressure of constant monitoring from a powerful organization called The Pact. The Pact promises to help couples have a happy, lasting marriage...but the punishments for breaking the rules are severe. THE MARRIAGE PACT is available in 31 languages.
My latest novel, THE WONDER TEST, a suburban suspense novel set in Silicon Valley (Grove Atlantic in, 2021) was an Amazon Best Book of July. In a starred review, Booklist called THE WONDER TEST "a gripping blend of danger and sharp social commentary on high-stakes education, the 1%, and suburban tropes." The first in a series, THE WONDER TEST introduces a tough and spirited new protagonist, FBI agent Lina Connerly, and her teenaged son Rory.
To get updates, exclusive previews, free audio short stories, and (coming soon) serialized fiction, sign up for my newsletter at michellerichmond.substack.com.
You can also read my true stories of living in Paris, traveling, and writing at wanderingwriter.substack.com
My previous books include the New York Times bestseller THE YEAR of FOG, GOLDEN STATE, HUM: STORIES, NO ONE YOU KNOW, DREAM OF THE BLUE ROOM, and THE GIRL IN THE FALL-AWAY DRESS (stories).
I like to write about ordinary people in crisis: a kidnapping (The Year of Fog), a hostage situation (Golden State), a decades-old murder that became a true crime sensation (No One You Know). My novels are often set in San Francisco and the Bay Area, where I've made my home, but my books also take inspiration from many of the places I've lived and traveled. My story collection HUM (2014) features Americans caught up in espionage, surveillance, and all manner of marital crimes.
If you love discovering new books, or if you've enjoyed any of my books, I'd love to send you my author newsletter! It includes notes on what I'm reading, and dispatches from the writing life. You can sign up for the newsletter at http://michellerichmond.com.
Back story: I knew I wanted to be a writer for almost as long as I can remember, way back when I was a kid growing up in Alabama. I used to write skits to perform for my parents with my two sisters. After graduating from a huge public school in downtown Mobile, I studied journalism and creative writing at the University of Alabama, then worked in advertising, as well as in restaurants and a tanning salon (!) for a few years before enrolling in an MFA program in creative writing. I bounced around the South for a while and lived in New York City for a couple of years, with a brief work stint in Beijing, before settling in Northern California in 1999. I've been writing here in the fog ever since.
My first book, The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress was a short story collection that I wrote during my years waitressing and doing other odd jobs in Knoxville and Atlanta. My first novel, Dream of the Blue Room, was inspired by my time in Beijing. My second novel, The Year of Fog, gathered many rejections before being acquired by a young editor at Bantam. The Year of Fog was a life-changing book in that in allowed me to connect with readers in ways I'd never quite imagined, and it gave me the freedom to pursue writing full time. Writing is my dream job. It's a job I do alone in a quiet room, but because it allows me to connect with readers, it never feels lonely.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 24, 2021
This collection of 44 very short stories by as many authors (if I’m not mistaken) started slowly but kept me reading. It’s all flash fiction, stories only 1,000 words long, if not much less, so if you don’t like one, you’ll be done with it in two or three pages anyway.
My initial impression was that too many of the stories were trying to be too literary, too subtle, too ambiguous, too meaningful. But that faded as I kept reading. They are widely varied in style and subject, and I enjoyed most of them.
I read this book for research too, because I also write short stories, including some flash fiction. It’s a fun challenge, besides being a useful exercise for a writer of longer fiction.
My initial impression was that too many of the stories were trying to be too literary, too subtle, too ambiguous, too meaningful. But that faded as I kept reading. They are widely varied in style and subject, and I enjoyed most of them.
I read this book for research too, because I also write short stories, including some flash fiction. It’s a fun challenge, besides being a useful exercise for a writer of longer fiction.
Displaying 1 of 1 review