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Off Beat: Nine Spins on Song
Inspired by favorite songs, nine fantasy and science fiction authors spin tales of adventure, intrigue, mystery, and horror.
A boy follows his girlfriend's suicide note to its disturbing conclusion.
A man must pass on an ancient curse of immortality before his time finally runs out.
Two lost beings fight for life, for each other, and to find a way home.
A serial killer from the future, banished to present day, must control her homicidal urges in order to survive.
A thief and a sex worker find their paths unexpectedly entwined in ways that threaten both of their lives.
For a caged girl, one hand gives, but the other takes away all she's ever known.
To gain their freedom, quarreling townsfolk must find a way to cross a bottomless ravine.
A man interrupts a monster at work and is determined to entertain the creature long enough to stay alive.
When his father's ghost appears, a businessman is forced to reflect on his life.
A boy follows his girlfriend's suicide note to its disturbing conclusion.
A man must pass on an ancient curse of immortality before his time finally runs out.
Two lost beings fight for life, for each other, and to find a way home.
A serial killer from the future, banished to present day, must control her homicidal urges in order to survive.
A thief and a sex worker find their paths unexpectedly entwined in ways that threaten both of their lives.
For a caged girl, one hand gives, but the other takes away all she's ever known.
To gain their freedom, quarreling townsfolk must find a way to cross a bottomless ravine.
A man interrupts a monster at work and is determined to entertain the creature long enough to stay alive.
When his father's ghost appears, a businessman is forced to reflect on his life.
448 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2017
1 person is currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
A.G. Henley
21 books441 followersA.G. Henley is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and fantasy books and stories, including the Love & Pets adult romantic comedy series. The first book in her young adult Brilliant Darkness series, THE SCOURGE, was a Library Journal Self-e Selection and a Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist. She’s also a clinical psychologist, but she promises not to analyze you... much.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 16, 2017
Impressive! Good quality stories, average 3.5
I did not fully know what to expect when I started reading this collection of short stories. But there are some fantastic stories! They are well written and intriguing. And there are a lot of surprising twists. Every story involves death in one way or another. It was a very interesting read! I liked it and I have definitely discovered some new authors! The average star rating is 3.5 but some of the stories rise high above that!
I will give my star rating per story:
1 A.G. Henley Basil & Jade - 4 stars
A suicide note; this story starts out a bit depressing, just a bit negative, because you think you know where the story will go. But it gets very suspenseful and you start to really feel for the main character. It’s a trip through their love story and you really get into it. It has a surprising ending which I only guessed 2 pages from the end. It is heavy and impressive and it stayed with me for a good while! Wow!
2 Corinne O’Flynn One Final Death - 5 stars
This story starts out really interesting. Now I know that’s a word that people use when they want to avoid saying something negative, but I mean it in a good way. Intriguing. Intense. Surprising. Amazing! This is definitely a writer I want to read more from!
3 Wendy Terrien Light - 3 stars
I didn’t like the senseless violence. I did like Clara. But I didn’t really know with this story. It didn’t grab me the way the first two stories did. But I liked it all the same and it’s definitely well written.
4 Sue Duff A Mistake - 3 stars
Immediately you have a lot of questions. But all in good time! Again, very intriguing. I liked it! Well written and entertaining.
5 Kristi Helvig The Boy Who Wasn’t There - 2 stars
Here I guessed the ‘secret’ pretty quick so for me there was no surprise element. This story takes place in Amsterdam and I have lived there for years, so that was nice. But that’s why I know that there is no way that you would need SOME BILLS for 2 stroopwafels. You’d need some COINS. And Gunter is not a Dutch name. And no modern Dutch girl is called Greta anymore; that is a very old-fashioned name. But those are just minor details. The story was not more than OK for me because I figured out the ‘secret’ so soon.
6 Rebecca Taylor Kitty - 3 stars
The story started out with me thinking: “OK, this could be interesting. This is a fascinating starting point!” I liked this one, no, I actually LOVED this story, right until the end. Didn’t like that. It was too open.
7 Shawn McGuire Escaping the Veil - 5 stars
Intriguing. Now I know that is a word I’ve used often in this review, but it best describes what I thought. I loved this story and I will be buying more of her books!
8 Calypso Kane A Walk, A Talk, A Death, A Life - 2.5 stars
It starts out really gross. In this story, I think that the language used is a bit grandiloquent here and there. The story was different and I do appreciate that! I did guess what was gonna happen a bit sooner than I think I was supposed to.
9 R.B. Wood Thanksgiving in the Park - 4 stars
Another good quality story. The main character is a man with a lot of regrets. I really liked this story! A good ending to a good collection.
I did not fully know what to expect when I started reading this collection of short stories. But there are some fantastic stories! They are well written and intriguing. And there are a lot of surprising twists. Every story involves death in one way or another. It was a very interesting read! I liked it and I have definitely discovered some new authors! The average star rating is 3.5 but some of the stories rise high above that!
I will give my star rating per story:
1 A.G. Henley Basil & Jade - 4 stars
A suicide note; this story starts out a bit depressing, just a bit negative, because you think you know where the story will go. But it gets very suspenseful and you start to really feel for the main character. It’s a trip through their love story and you really get into it. It has a surprising ending which I only guessed 2 pages from the end. It is heavy and impressive and it stayed with me for a good while! Wow!
2 Corinne O’Flynn One Final Death - 5 stars
This story starts out really interesting. Now I know that’s a word that people use when they want to avoid saying something negative, but I mean it in a good way. Intriguing. Intense. Surprising. Amazing! This is definitely a writer I want to read more from!
3 Wendy Terrien Light - 3 stars
I didn’t like the senseless violence. I did like Clara. But I didn’t really know with this story. It didn’t grab me the way the first two stories did. But I liked it all the same and it’s definitely well written.
4 Sue Duff A Mistake - 3 stars
Immediately you have a lot of questions. But all in good time! Again, very intriguing. I liked it! Well written and entertaining.
5 Kristi Helvig The Boy Who Wasn’t There - 2 stars
Here I guessed the ‘secret’ pretty quick so for me there was no surprise element. This story takes place in Amsterdam and I have lived there for years, so that was nice. But that’s why I know that there is no way that you would need SOME BILLS for 2 stroopwafels. You’d need some COINS. And Gunter is not a Dutch name. And no modern Dutch girl is called Greta anymore; that is a very old-fashioned name. But those are just minor details. The story was not more than OK for me because I figured out the ‘secret’ so soon.
6 Rebecca Taylor Kitty - 3 stars
The story started out with me thinking: “OK, this could be interesting. This is a fascinating starting point!” I liked this one, no, I actually LOVED this story, right until the end. Didn’t like that. It was too open.
7 Shawn McGuire Escaping the Veil - 5 stars
Intriguing. Now I know that is a word I’ve used often in this review, but it best describes what I thought. I loved this story and I will be buying more of her books!
8 Calypso Kane A Walk, A Talk, A Death, A Life - 2.5 stars
It starts out really gross. In this story, I think that the language used is a bit grandiloquent here and there. The story was different and I do appreciate that! I did guess what was gonna happen a bit sooner than I think I was supposed to.
9 R.B. Wood Thanksgiving in the Park - 4 stars
Another good quality story. The main character is a man with a lot of regrets. I really liked this story! A good ending to a good collection.
May 5, 2017
Kindle Unlimited but actually got this from one of the writer's for answering a question. In 1 sentence, if you wrote a short story inspired by a song, what song would it be and what would the story involve? My answer was Genesis' Your Own Special Way, time travel. See, I can be brief, sometimes lol.
This is an anthology type collection; there are different writers and different topics and stories and takes on things. Does my rating mean I luved every single one and/or in the same way or amount? Of course not. Does the freebie nature make my review rating better? Nope, not all all, just my mood a little. Did enjoy reading different takes on the stories as certain songs made the writer{s} think about stories in certain ways, even though some of the songs had never heard of, but no matter, because in ripping off and changing shakespeare quote, the play's the thing.
This is an anthology type collection; there are different writers and different topics and stories and takes on things. Does my rating mean I luved every single one and/or in the same way or amount? Of course not. Does the freebie nature make my review rating better? Nope, not all all, just my mood a little. Did enjoy reading different takes on the stories as certain songs made the writer{s} think about stories in certain ways, even though some of the songs had never heard of, but no matter, because in ripping off and changing shakespeare quote, the play's the thing.
July 8, 2020
A wonderful collection of 9 short stories inspired by a song the author has picked to turn into a story. I really enjoyed these short stories and all the authors were amazing. I couldn’t just pick one favorite. I loved them all.
May 25, 2017
What an amazing collection of books. Just wanted to keep reading until the end and then didn't want the stories to finish. Super author. Received an ARC and review done because I loved the book.
June 11, 2017
5 stars! But I'm also one of the authors, so.... :)
June 12, 2017
Nine short stories inspired by different songs. Some better than others. Some were very interesting.
June 17, 2017
Great collection...a mixed taped version of books 😀 There are a few authors here I want to go find more of now, always a good thing.
Now to go search the songs that inspired the stories!
Now to go search the songs that inspired the stories!
July 20, 2017
A book of somewhat dark tales. None ending the way you'd expect.
August 2, 2017
a solid collection that balances theme, diversity, and originality. really well put together and quite the enjoyable read.
August 11, 2021
Great collection of short stories! My favorites were "Basil and Jade" and "The Boy Who Wasn't There." I felt that there could have been a better unifying theme because the stories were all over the place, but I'll check out the other anthologies by Wicked Ink.
April 17, 2017
I am one of the authors in this anthology and I loved all the stories! :)
April 27, 2017
Nine Spins on Song has such a great idea for an anthology: each story is inspired by a piece of music, though the inspiration is never reduced to a literal interpretation of that song. The writing is solid all the way through, with tales that twist and turn in very unexpected ways. Each story here has its own hook and charm, and I loved reading what songs had originally inspired the writers at the end of each story.
Stand out stories for me included Basil & Jade by A.G. Henley - a harrowing and gripping tale that caught me by surprise more than once; and R.B. Wood's 'Thanksgiving In The Park' - a dark and oddly hopeful tale of love squandered, the chance of redemption, and joy blending with tragedy.
A collection of dark, twisting tales that are well worth a read.
Stand out stories for me included Basil & Jade by A.G. Henley - a harrowing and gripping tale that caught me by surprise more than once; and R.B. Wood's 'Thanksgiving In The Park' - a dark and oddly hopeful tale of love squandered, the chance of redemption, and joy blending with tragedy.
A collection of dark, twisting tales that are well worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews