Chasing the Light: A Benefit Anthology of Speculative Fiction in Honor of Melanie Otto

by Emily Lavin Leverett (Editor), Lillian Archer (Contributor), Amy Bauer (Contributor)

Once upon a time, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Faith Hunter and award-winning authors David B. Coe and John G. Hartness agreed to mentor a group of rising authors—the Roaring Writers. Chasing the Light—with tales across the spectrum of science fiction and fantasy—is their celebration of success.

It is also a tribute honoring Melanie Otto (AKA Melanie Griffin), one of the founding authors, who died unexpectedly in 2016. Melanie critiqued many of these stories at the Roaring Writers' annual writing retreats, and the authors will never forget Melanie's sparkling eyes and delighted laugh as she found passages she loved in each. With this collection, including stories by Melanie, the Roaring Writers share her light with readers everywhere.

Thanks to the generosity of their mentors and contributors, all profits from the sales of this anthology will be donated to help Melanie's lifelong partner defray medical and legal costs.



stories in the lovely tribute include:

The Man from the Purple Planet by Melanie Griffin as recounted by Janet Buhlmann
What’s Your Year, Darlin’? by Melanie Griffin
Stasis by Margaret S. McGraw
The Intern by Ken Schrader
Cassie’s Story by David B. Coe
Game Over by Mindy Mymudes
Steam Make the Mirrors Move by Lillian Archer
Jazz City Blues by John G. Hartness
Preservatives by Laura S. Taylor
Null and Void by Alexander G.R. Gideon (credited as Alex Gideon)
Gold Mountain by Amy Bauer
Alone by Faith Hunter
Road Trip by Janet Walden-West

302 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 23, 2018

Reviews

[Anne Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful anthology to honor a friend and fellow writer!

With 13 short stories to choose from, featuring established and debut authors alike, you can't go wrong here. Be sure to read all the way to end because tucked right at the back on page 218 is my favourite story, "Road Trip" by Janet Walden-West.

Two kick-ass heroines hunting a mythical creature in the Tennessee wilderness, all while battling their enemies-to-maybe-friends feelings towards each other. Walden-West's writing is sharp and fierce and will have you gripped from beginning to end... and desperately craving more of her snarky characters with their sharp tongues and killer attitudes. An incredible voice, gorgeous descriptions, with rich world-building and a deep knowledge of folklore complete the package.

I highly recommend!

[Douglas Meeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well if you read up on what this book is then you should not be surprised to find out that generally speaking the well known authors wrote some very entertaining stories and the less well known wrote some less entertaining ones. There are some exceptions but I am not going to point out any really bad but a couple (and surprisingly only a couple) needed a bit of work which means the story went nowhere and ended nowhere.

Let me make it clear that I could have dropped this book and moved along to another book but it WAS entertaining and a couple made me really wish there was more story to be had or wonder what happened later. A couple of surprises were the Faith Hunter story which makes me wonder think I need to try to make some time to read her Rogue Mage trilogy which while I knew it existed I had not took the time to find out anything, it looks good. The BIG surprise for me in this collection was the discovery of Quincy Harker by John G. Harkness which resulted in me immediately kicking a book out of my KindleUnlimited queue to place [[ASIN:B00RDM3N8O Raising Hell - A Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter Novella]] in it to read as soon as I have a bit of time (figuring out what was book 1 was a bit of a pain, why do authors not label such books in order??)

The story "Null and Void" by Alex Gideon was one of the better and one of the worst since I was glued to the pages of this violent story and then when I thought it was really getting interesting it was over with a 1000 questions remaining, I have found that if a story has enough interest to make me a bit mad it usually means it was done well. The Amy Bauer story "Gold Mountain" was one of the best in a way because it may have been the only story that had a beginning/middle/end that did not leave you searching for more of this story but left you entertained while reading and satisfied with the ending although there is a bit of a "chicken or the egg" question that requires the reader to just accept it on face value and enjoy the story.

So to keep this review from becoming a novel, the book is worth the money, it kept me reading and enjoying the stories for the majority of the book which is an accomplishment in itself since I tend to dislike short story collections. So grab a copy and enjoy some quick reading for those times you really don't want to get involved in 300 pages of a novel. Know also there are several other good stories that I did not take the time to mention.

[Alisha Henri · Rating 5 out of 5]

DeLIGHTful

An intriguing collection of well written stories that honor a dead friend,who has soared into the Light. Some were a little dark for my preference but still excellently written.

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this one up a while back. I found myself on vacation after a ridiculous summer, and realized it had been sitting on my to-read pile for most of the summer.

A fun outing, all around. Favorite pieces were Jazz City Blues, from John Hartness, who I've just wandered across recently; The Intern, the first I've run across by Ken Schrader, and Road Trip, from Janet Walden-West.

Actually surprised by how much I enjoyed it, and pleased that I'll have a couple new authors to watch out for....

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this eclectic mix of stories! Even the genres that weren't my normal cups of tea were well written- there isn't a bad apple in the lot, and that's hard to say about most short story collections.

While I enjoyed everything in the book, a few really stood out: "What's Your Year, Darlin'?", by Melanie Griffin, "Steam Makes the Mirrors Move", by Lillian Archer, and "Road Trip", by Janet Walden-West.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book!

[Anna Wick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Novella Alone is also in the book Trials
Enjoyed it, worth it