Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles 2000-2016

by William H. Coles

A collection of thirty-three award-winning short stories and a novella, each about one-of-a kind characters solving serious problems in challenging settings. The stories are crafted by William H. Coles with artistic intensity for engagement and entertainment. Each short story is illustrated by one of six artists commissioned for the story. Coles’s stories are inspiring, memorable, and enjoyable–a treasured addition to any library.

ebook

Published June 26, 2017

About the author

I am the owner and developer of the website Story in Literary Fiction as well as several mobile applications. I've written all of the content on my website: short stories, novels, essays, interviews and produced downloadable-audio readings of stories. I've also written several novels. My interviews include: prominent authors, educators, writers and editors.

In addition, I'm the producer and reader of audiobooks: Open Book Audio. Finally, I provide a free online workshop for fiction authors and a tutorial.

Reviews

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories for every taste

Utah author William H. Coles, MD is a retired Ophthalmologist whose medical career was internationally lauded for his expertise as an ophthalmic surgeon specializing in ocular injury repair and reconstruction, a professor and chairman at SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine, a Regent for The American College of Surgeons, president of the Association of University Professors in Ophthalmology, and lecturer on mechanistic biologic ophthalmic research and ophthalmic surgery internationally. Equally respected in the literary world, Coles published ten books - five novels, collections of short fiction and three books on the writing of fiction stories. He has also garnered honors for his participation in the arts – jazz piano, antique art, museums, and historic preservation.

In many ways this collection of short stories is a reflection of the growth in stature as a writer since the turn of this century. The stories have been published individually and as such they represent a spectrum of thought, concepts, and revelation of the talent of this distinguished author.

Accompanied by an assortment of fine illustrations, each story is poignant, presenting a number of significant social comments for pondering. For example, the initial story, “The Gift’, relates a mother’s response to her young child’s accidental pregnancy, sending her to France to a nunnery where the daughter Catherine gives birth to a girl with multiple abnormalities resisting acceptance by the would be foster parents, but resulting in a deep love from Catherine who nourishes her child, eventually returning to her US home where her mother and father represent the spectrum of acceptance of both their daughter and the deformed child. The story is adorned with a tender image by artist Peter Healy whose art is seen frequently in this collection, including the two graphic novels and the novella ‘Sister Carrie.’

The stories address characters who must address problems, and explores presentation, cogitation, and resolution in a manner that reflects Coles' keen insight and philosophy as well as his ability to tersely create a scenario that is credible and engaging. The scope of issues presented as well as the skill of the author’s prose once again establishes the stature of William H Coles as an artist of importance.

[Pegboard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stood in awe of the amazing writing skills of William H. Coles in Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles 2000-2016. This collection of short stories will not leave you with that fuzzy feeling of happy endings, but you will view humanity in times of our darker acts. Each mesmerizing piece touches a raw nerve that leaves you questioning choices that were made. After each story I end thinking “this is the one that is my favorite”, until I finish the next story. I am left inspired as I dig deeper into my own thoughts of how I would have handled the dilemma these characters faced. Speaking of the Dead was the most thought-provoking story to me, but everyone left its mark in my thoughts.

It is hard to explain the depth of writing put into Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles 2000-2016. William H. Coles has mastered the art of drawing his readers into the story and leaving you to ponder the road his characters traveled, and to some the price they would pay for freedom. Since all pieces are short, they go by quickly, and each has its own topic and theme. The main thought throughout the book would seem to be the path traveled when truth is revealed. The characters face; speaking kind in an unkind situation, putting their life before a broken child, keeping faith in themselves when others believe the worse, and people facing their greatest adversary. Overall, every well-written story touches your core belief in people and the past he chooses in life.   

Review written by Peggy Jo Wipf for Readers' Favorite.

[Deborah Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of the books where the author is not afraid to address crime, religion, prejudices, murder, sex, and more of the world's flaws in more ways than one.

There is one story that I admired the struggles of the main character, "Speaking of the Dead" centers on the life of John who is a recent widow, there is one catch though, his wife cheated on him right before she died. He is supposedly in charge of writing the eulogy for his dead wife when he mees his stepdaughter's roommate, Henri.

His genuine confusion on what to write for someone who betrayed your trust is truly tiring; he manages to go through the memorial with honest words spoken about his dead wife, the story then ends on a cliffhanger that leaves anything to the readers' imagination.

I truly recommend everyone to read this masterpiece!

[Rose Mute · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of stories and illustrations. The author is able to create a "what would you do if it was you?" moment in every story. It contains unexpected endings and endearing characters. Out of the 33 stories, 2 graphic and novella, a reader is spoilt for choice on favourites .Being a lover of stories that are dark, my favourites were ; The Bear, Dilemma, The Cart Boy, Suchin's escape, The wreck of Dr. Amtrak silver service and the Thirteen nudes of Ernest Goings.
I would recommend this book for any reader looking for a change of pace and pick of genres. Despite the lack of weird, it felt like how I use to get excited watching a new episode of outer limits each week. A truly amazing read.

[Patricia Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Coles has his own adaptations about the issues, social issues in specific, and the situations that surround them. He made sure the stories in the book were literary fiction at its finest.

One thing I noticed about the stories was that there are two types of love: the light, fun and happy love, and the deep, dark, and intense romance. The themes all connect from the first story "The Gift" down to the last novella "Sister Carrie".

I loved how Coles was able to capture emotions in detail, word for word. Illustrated Short Fiction is a fast and easy read that interacts with the audience. There is a story suited in the likes of everyone, and I think that's what I loved the most about the book.

[Eduardo Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrated Short Fiction by William Coles is a compilation of 36 stories, each having their own message to relay to the readers. The stories are realistic, and so are the characters that have their special personalities that complete the book.

Kudos to Coles for being truthful to the human imperfections present every day; he is perhaps sending a message that no one is perfect, and that is perfectly normal.

Stereotypes are not present in every story, making the whole book refreshing to read since I am quite fond of only one genre. With this book, I explored many genres like death, grief, hate, anger while also enjoying the moments of love, content, happiness, and light romance all in one. A great read, I would suggest this to fiction readers everywhere.

[Sandra Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was almost intimidated by reading this book. It is so well-written. The stories' titles are clever. The plots are never-before-seen. Then I realized it isn't subject to intimidation. It is a blessing! I got to witness the well-crafted works of William H. Coles and some illustrators!

This book has a lot of valuable and important messages behind every short story. Each one of them has varying plots. I like how each one of them is unique and original in their own way.

I have always known that William Coles has garnered awards for his works, and after reading one of them, it makes me feel giddy. I am sure people will love this.

[Michelle Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives life to the phrase "everything and everyone has a story". William Coles put life into fiction with this book that has various stories, novels, and novellas about love, grief, hope, hate, confusion, and almost every human emotion one can think of.

One thing that stood out for me was the way that Coles made the fictional characters feel real; every character was unique in their own way. The way the characters embody human emotions makes me say that William Coles has an eye for detail. It is wonderful to read through such characters and relate to a certain scenario or a feeling they capture. A definite five-star book.

[Sarah Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book where anything and everything is possible, author William H. Coles surely did not disappoint. The alternate reality the book gives me is exciting, and to see different perspectives of varying emotions is refreshing. The book could be made into a series like "American Horror Story" with the same casts but different roles every season.

There are typos in the book that need to be corrected, but aside from that, it was a delight reading it; it's not a book you give away so easily; it stays in your mind for as long as you'd like it. Coles did a great job with writing with simple words but created a captivating story that will impact readers everywhere.

[Theodore Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enticing and inspiring book, Illustrated Short Fiction is one the most amazing collection of short stories I have read.

I am not one to judge books about the plot, although it plays a big part in deciding if the book is a great read, characters also play a big part. I loved the character development in each of the stories; even the side characters had the chance to develop.

The stories depict real-life scenarios that anyone can relate to, and this book helped me learn a lot of valuable lessons. William Coles takes you on an adventure that will forever have an impact on your life; I would give this book a hundred out of ten.

[Terrence Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would be excited if The Illustrated Short Fiction had a series on television or a movie adaptation. Short stories are perfect for a series, making every episode a different story than the former. An inspirational tale about the struggles of each character and how they do or don't come out on top of it.

William H. Coles did a great job with the stories because the tales are from sixteen years of writing, it was a great idea for him to compile them all in one book, giving the audience true to life scenarios and life-changing messages that will impact them. It is my favorite compilation of short stories.

[Linda Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to be honest, but this book is ineffable. My extreme admiration for this book, I am lost for words. From the dialogues to the content and illustrations – everything is golden!

Let me touch on a picture that bedazzled my imagination. It was attached to the story “Lost papers”. It was illustrated by Peter Healy, and for a lack of a better term, I find it “cute”. I felt all the colors of emotions by looking at it – a picture of a petite girl sitting by the train station.

I am super grateful that I got to read this book. I will indeed encourage people to do so, too.

[Lucas Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first short story featured in the book is "The Gift". Teen pregnancy is often looked down on, especially in high ranking societies and Christian households. In the story, the daughter of two high ranked people gets pregnant, and her mom is doubtful that she can take care of the baby. A truly beautiful story about a teen mother determined to make her disabled daughter's life as normal as possible.

There are many beautiful stories like this inside the book; it does not matter if it doesn't have a happy ending, as long as the message conveyed is beautiful.

[Enrique Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

William H. Coles’, The Illustrated Short Fiction, consists of wide-ranged genres from romantic love stories to an action-packed tales, it also gives us coordinated character development with each short story, novella, or graphic novel.

I liked how the author is sensitive to issues present in society nowadays, like the disability of a child, the rights of a prostitute, the prejudices of romance, and psychological disorders. Each story delivers a substantial message to the audience that proves that even fast-paced short stories can impact anyone.

[Dave Wordsmith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read over half of these nonsense stories and found them highly bigoted. Much disregard for women, other nationalities, and sexual orientations. The writing is frequently sloppy with poorly constructed sentences, and dialogue missing much needed articles and poor subject-verb arrangement. There is little separation between reader and author, as it both feels like the story is being told to you by the MC and invariably lacks the 'show don't tell' aspect.

[Laura Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is real and relatable; I think that's one reason why it piques the attention of its readers.

There is a common theme among the stories, and that's okay because most readers would steer away from deep books because they can't stand to feel emotions, and I think that's what I liked most about the author.

The book will be great for a movie, letting every character come to life and take the world by storm. I would rate this book a 10.

[Husain Necklace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I recommend to everyone! The stories are fantastic! They help you venture deep inside the human psyche and when you come out on the other side you will notice just how much you've changed. Seriously, don't miss out on this one.

For my full review click this: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/vie...

[Antonella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Award-winning author Willam H. Coles brings 33 short stories and one novella...there are two graphic novels included, illustrated by Peter Healy.

[Ara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woman who gives birth to a deformed baby. A boy who falls in love with an Amish girl. An employee in a nursing home with a twisted notion of mercy. A teacher dealing with a difficult student. A mother who takes her own child hostage. In this collection of short stories, two graphic novels, and a novella, author William H. Coles deftly portrays human beings at their best, at their worst, and at their most vulnerable.

Filled with stories that are sure to induce a range of emotions - from outrage, anger, delight, to compassion - Illustrated Short Fiction has kept me turning the pages until the very end. The highlights for me include the story of three siblings who watch their father’s trial for their mother’s murder and the account of a disabled cart boy who finds meaning and purpose in a job many consider to be menial or demeaning. The illustrations at the start of each story pose a sort of riddle, with the meaning of each image becoming clear at the conclusion of each tale. Two of the stories were also converted into graphic novels, which, while interesting, weren’t as engaging as the written versions.

Overall, a collection of compelling – often heart-wrenching – stories with messages that will stay with you long after you close the book. For me, this was definitely a great introduction to Coles’ work.

[Helen]

I have to be honest, I didn't like these very much. I enjoyed a couple of the stories, but I found most of them dark, depressing, disturbing and weird. He explores some interesting themes, but but I found a lot of it simply morbid.