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The Pool
All his life, Amos Caine has wanted only one thing: A pool. Now, he's finally getting it.
10 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2019
26 people want to read
About the author
Jason Sechrest
12 books14 followersJASON SECHREST has an official Patreon page where readers can enjoy a new short story or essay every month for as low as $1: http://Patreon.com/JasonSechrest
Sechrest has been a published writer since he was 15 years old, when he began his career as a staff writer for Femme Fatales Magazine, interviewing women of the horror, science-fiction and fantasy genre.
In 2016, Jason Sechrest was hired by Stephen King’s publishers, Cemetery Dance Publications, to write the monthly column “What I Learned From Stephen King”. In it, he explores the wisdom, life lessons, and spirituality hidden within King’s many works.
In 2018, Sechrest sold his own first work of horror fiction to Cemetery Dance. His short story, “Orange Grove Court,” will appear in a 2019 issue of Cemetery Dance Magazine. His second story, “Jonah Inside the Whale: A Meditation,” was published by Scarlet Galleon Publications in their paperback anthology, Fearful Fathoms: Collected Tales of
Aquatic Terror (Volume One).
In 2019, he launched a Patreon page where readers can now enjoy a new short story or essay by Sechrest for as low as $1 per month. Other tiers include audiobooks as read by the author, exclusive afterwords, podcasts of his "What I Learned From Stephen King" column and more. You can visit it at: http://patreon.com/jasonsechrest
Sechrest has been a published writer since he was 15 years old, when he began his career as a staff writer for Femme Fatales Magazine, interviewing women of the horror, science-fiction and fantasy genre.
In 2016, Jason Sechrest was hired by Stephen King’s publishers, Cemetery Dance Publications, to write the monthly column “What I Learned From Stephen King”. In it, he explores the wisdom, life lessons, and spirituality hidden within King’s many works.
In 2018, Sechrest sold his own first work of horror fiction to Cemetery Dance. His short story, “Orange Grove Court,” will appear in a 2019 issue of Cemetery Dance Magazine. His second story, “Jonah Inside the Whale: A Meditation,” was published by Scarlet Galleon Publications in their paperback anthology, Fearful Fathoms: Collected Tales of
Aquatic Terror (Volume One).
In 2019, he launched a Patreon page where readers can now enjoy a new short story or essay by Sechrest for as low as $1 per month. Other tiers include audiobooks as read by the author, exclusive afterwords, podcasts of his "What I Learned From Stephen King" column and more. You can visit it at: http://patreon.com/jasonsechrest
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 7, 2019
Imagine me standing up on the roof of my house right now, horror fans surround me everywhere. I grab a beer in one hand, no, make that a margarita on the rocks, and a megaphone in the other hand.
"HORROR FANS"
I address the crowd.
"YOU NEED TO BE READING THE SHORT STORIES OF JASON SECHREST!"
At this point, I feel like the megaphone is hurting people's ears so I just shout down into the eager faces looking up at me. I suspect that some of them just want to watch me fall off my house.
"Listen to me. I read a short story earlier about this old man on a long road with all these emotions and this awesome ending. I rated it 5 stars. Then, Jason sent me a link to another one of his stories called THE POOL and I read it in less than an hour because it's short, right?
It's short but OH MY GAWD!
How does he do this?? First of all, Jason's storytelling voice is so natural. It's so compelling. Like you instantly feel your reader's brain shutting out the distractions and slipping into optimum reading enjoyment zone. You know that zone??
It's immediate.
Then, the story begins to unfold and you're just like captivated by this character and these events and this character's drive to have this pool.
Then Sechrest flips the tables on you. He just *flip* turns this thing on its head and you're literally staring at the screen like, WHAT DID I JUST READ?? Then you jump on your roof and you tell everyone they better be reading this guy's stories because HOLY HELL! If you're not reading them now, you will be. Because this author is going to light it up.
So do yourself a favor and start now?
You have to maybe subscribe to his Patreon or something. I don't know. Do whatever it takes.
Mother Horror is going to finish her margarita."
"HORROR FANS"
I address the crowd.
"YOU NEED TO BE READING THE SHORT STORIES OF JASON SECHREST!"
At this point, I feel like the megaphone is hurting people's ears so I just shout down into the eager faces looking up at me. I suspect that some of them just want to watch me fall off my house.
"Listen to me. I read a short story earlier about this old man on a long road with all these emotions and this awesome ending. I rated it 5 stars. Then, Jason sent me a link to another one of his stories called THE POOL and I read it in less than an hour because it's short, right?
It's short but OH MY GAWD!
How does he do this?? First of all, Jason's storytelling voice is so natural. It's so compelling. Like you instantly feel your reader's brain shutting out the distractions and slipping into optimum reading enjoyment zone. You know that zone??
It's immediate.
Then, the story begins to unfold and you're just like captivated by this character and these events and this character's drive to have this pool.
Then Sechrest flips the tables on you. He just *flip* turns this thing on its head and you're literally staring at the screen like, WHAT DID I JUST READ?? Then you jump on your roof and you tell everyone they better be reading this guy's stories because HOLY HELL! If you're not reading them now, you will be. Because this author is going to light it up.
So do yourself a favor and start now?
You have to maybe subscribe to his Patreon or something. I don't know. Do whatever it takes.
Mother Horror is going to finish her margarita."
May 21, 2019
A fantastic and unpredictable read. This authors stories are gems to be discovered every month. In all of these past three short stories I’ve found it remarkable how quickly this author gets you to care for his characters, they show the impact horror with heart can have.
January 29, 2020
A fine Sechrest introduction
I read "Orange Grove Court" in Cemetery Dance Magazine tonight and enjoyed it. "The Pool" was the only story of Sechrest's I could find on Amazon, so I downloaded it minutes later. It's a short read (twenty minutes or less), but impressionable. Sechrest is a strong writer, more than capable of luring you into a character's world and flipping the picture a moment later. This horror short feels like the beginning to a wonderfully disturbing novel, a bite into a frenzy. Luckily for me, I've been part of Sechrest's Patreon for some six months now without really visiting it, so I should have a small stack of new stories awaiting my return. I know where I will be spending this weekend.
I read "Orange Grove Court" in Cemetery Dance Magazine tonight and enjoyed it. "The Pool" was the only story of Sechrest's I could find on Amazon, so I downloaded it minutes later. It's a short read (twenty minutes or less), but impressionable. Sechrest is a strong writer, more than capable of luring you into a character's world and flipping the picture a moment later. This horror short feels like the beginning to a wonderfully disturbing novel, a bite into a frenzy. Luckily for me, I've been part of Sechrest's Patreon for some six months now without really visiting it, so I should have a small stack of new stories awaiting my return. I know where I will be spending this weekend.
September 4, 2019
A simple cover with a very well done short story. I'm happy to have discovered this author and will be hunting done more of his work for sure.
May 17, 2019
Amos has always wanted a pool of his own. He finally gets what he wanted. A pool is not all he wanted. I had no idea where this story would go but I can assure you it when somewhere I was not expecting. This was a really enjoyable read!
July 31, 2019
Great read!
I really enjoyed this story. I can picture everything in my mind, like a movie. Just the way I love my books!
I really enjoyed this story. I can picture everything in my mind, like a movie. Just the way I love my books!
June 17, 2020
Amos is bullied, lonely, and needs attention and love. It's natural to feel sorry for him, even to cheer for him. He wants a swimming pool. He works hard, saves his money, and is finally able to buy a house with a pool. At the age of 26, he's finally acheived his goal. But the ending took me totally by surprise. Creepy
February 11, 2021
Dark and messed up. Love it.
December 21, 2020
Damn, that was creepy. I enjoyed the ride, and I would devour a whole book of shorts like this one.
*The Pool* is the only published work by Sechrest I could find on Amazon. I have been following (and loving) Sechrest's podcast on rereading Stephen King's *The Stand* that I had to find out what this writer has to offer. It turns out he can write some terrifying and disturbing shit! I didn't connect with Amos as much as I wanted to—that would have given more power to the ending—but I love what Sechrest is doing here. And a couple months later, I am still thinking about it.
More please!
*The Pool* is the only published work by Sechrest I could find on Amazon. I have been following (and loving) Sechrest's podcast on rereading Stephen King's *The Stand* that I had to find out what this writer has to offer. It turns out he can write some terrifying and disturbing shit! I didn't connect with Amos as much as I wanted to—that would have given more power to the ending—but I love what Sechrest is doing here. And a couple months later, I am still thinking about it.
More please!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews