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True Wit: Stories by Humor Writers from Around the Globe
Seven twisted voices, seven outrageous stories.
True Wit is a beach-ready collection of off-kilter tales from seven of today’s most original humorous authors from around the globe.
True Wit is a beach-ready collection of off-kilter tales from seven of today’s most original humorous authors from around the globe.
What makes you laugh?
In Benefit of Hindsight for Ghosts, a disoriented spirit gets more than he bargained for when he ends up haunting a jail against his will. Or dive into a bizarrely comic tale of mistaken identity in The Curious Case of a Murder Being Announced at Dosford Park.
What helps you escape?
In Iron Jimmy, a recently-fired FBI agent enrolls in a school for private investigators, but neglects to inform his wife. The Fish is Back! chronicles an adventure of Pinhead Paul, a pungent-yet-heroic dock worker who saves the day amidst a hurricane.
What lifts your mood?
After reading Weighty Issues, you may never look at your doctor the same way again. Smart Phone will leave you wondering what would happen if artificial intelligence manifested a genuine attitude. And Pretender to the Throne explores alternate (or maybe just unreported) events following the death of Elvis Presley.
With clever contributions from award-winning and popular authors Mark Cain, Lance Carney, Bill Cokas, Rob Johnson, John Martin, John Parrot and Lisa Shiroff, this contemporary volume of lighthearted fiction will provide hours of memorable entertainment.
As a bonus, each story is followed by an excerpt of a full-length work by each author.
Your To-Be-Read list is about to get a little longer!
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 11, 2019
25 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
John Martin
25 books186 followersI'm an Australian who writes funny novels with a dash of mystery and sometimes with a dollop of whodunnit. Heck, 2020 even brought out some black comedy from me.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 26, 2019
‘True Wit is a collection of short stories written expressly for this volume …’
Seven short stories and a preview of a novel written by each author. Until I received a copy of this book, I was only aware of John Martin’s humorous works. Which, as a fellow Tasmanian expatriate living on the Australian mainland, I do because it reminds me of Tasmania in an alternate dimension. Mostly. So, I picked up (electronically speaking) this collection with great expectations of being amused, of being transported elsewhere on the Globe, and of laughing.
I was not disappointed (although unkind souls might say I am sometimes easily amused). My favourite short story was Mark Cain’s ‘Smart Phone’ which fits somewhere on the horror-real life- humour scale. I may have to look out for Mark Cain’s ‘Circles in Hell’ books, once I’ve renegotiated terms with my own smart phone.
I also enjoyed Lisa Shiroff’s ‘Weighty Issues’ with all of the empathy that half a century of weight-watching brings to such issues. I made a mental note to add an extra couple of hours to my walking routine each week, which severely cut into the time I had available for reading the rest of this volume. But that was okay, because after reading ‘The Fish is Back’ by Lance Carney, I thought about changing my diet.
Fortunately, while the other short stories amused me, I didn’t feel quite so threatened by the ‘Pretender to the Throne’ by Bill Cokas, or ‘The Curious Case of a Murder Being Announced at Dosford Park’ by Rob Johnson. I don’t want to dwell on Elvis, and I can always avoid Dosford Park.
Which takes me to ‘Iron Jimmy’ by John Parrot and ‘Benefit of Hindsight for Ghosts’ by John Martin. I like John Martin’s work and was comforted by returning to Tasmania (albeit to the Windy Mountain lock-up). ‘Iron Jimmy’ took me into a completely different private investigator space: I’m glad I don’t need a private investigator (at the moment).
My conclusion? Each of the short stories made me laugh, and some of them had me seriously worried. I’ll try to read more work by each author before powerful people with Twitter accounts and smart phones completely take over the world
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Seven short stories and a preview of a novel written by each author. Until I received a copy of this book, I was only aware of John Martin’s humorous works. Which, as a fellow Tasmanian expatriate living on the Australian mainland, I do because it reminds me of Tasmania in an alternate dimension. Mostly. So, I picked up (electronically speaking) this collection with great expectations of being amused, of being transported elsewhere on the Globe, and of laughing.
I was not disappointed (although unkind souls might say I am sometimes easily amused). My favourite short story was Mark Cain’s ‘Smart Phone’ which fits somewhere on the horror-real life- humour scale. I may have to look out for Mark Cain’s ‘Circles in Hell’ books, once I’ve renegotiated terms with my own smart phone.
I also enjoyed Lisa Shiroff’s ‘Weighty Issues’ with all of the empathy that half a century of weight-watching brings to such issues. I made a mental note to add an extra couple of hours to my walking routine each week, which severely cut into the time I had available for reading the rest of this volume. But that was okay, because after reading ‘The Fish is Back’ by Lance Carney, I thought about changing my diet.
Fortunately, while the other short stories amused me, I didn’t feel quite so threatened by the ‘Pretender to the Throne’ by Bill Cokas, or ‘The Curious Case of a Murder Being Announced at Dosford Park’ by Rob Johnson. I don’t want to dwell on Elvis, and I can always avoid Dosford Park.
Which takes me to ‘Iron Jimmy’ by John Parrot and ‘Benefit of Hindsight for Ghosts’ by John Martin. I like John Martin’s work and was comforted by returning to Tasmania (albeit to the Windy Mountain lock-up). ‘Iron Jimmy’ took me into a completely different private investigator space: I’m glad I don’t need a private investigator (at the moment).
My conclusion? Each of the short stories made me laugh, and some of them had me seriously worried. I’ll try to read more work by each author before powerful people with Twitter accounts and smart phones completely take over the world
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
July 10, 2019
True Wit brings humorous writings from seven authors together as an introduction to readers who may be unfamiliar with their efforts. The volume contains a short story and an preview of a novel from each author. The stories run the gamut from sci-fi about a smart phone, a drunken ghost, a detective who resembles Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, a woman with appearance issues, an odd fish, a quest to find an Elvis release after the King's death, and Sherlock Holme's neighbor. The quality of the stories varies as is usually the case with a collection of short stories. The previews give a good introduction to a book from each author. At least some of the books are worth a look.
Note: I received this as a free copy from the author and am freely offering this review.
Note: I received this as a free copy from the author and am freely offering this review.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews