Creativity Brewing: 30 Short Stories Hand-Roasted to Perfection

by Kevin Barrick, Jason Schneider

Enjoy a selection of flash fiction stories hand-roasted to perfection. Each story has been crafted to be your perfect pick-me-up. Whether you like light roast, medium roast, or dark roast, this collection serves it all! Read these stories each morning with your morning cup of coffee, or all at once. However you read this collection, know you are getting a rich dose of flash fiction, strong and smooth to enjoy time after time. With Creativity Brewing, you can hear the tales of pirates or war veterans, of lions or hyenas, of an impoverished boy trying to attend school, or of a queen chosen by the ancients. You will explore vast lands and travel great distances with every turn of the page!

Genres: Ebooks

100 pages, Paperback

Published February 24, 2020

Reviews

[S.A. Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique collection of short stories

Every single one of the short stories had something different to offer. Every story was a quick read and was a flash fiction. But they were all enjoyable. Liked it.

[Anya Pavelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although these stories are very short, I took my time reading them. Like a fine cup of coffee, they're meant to be savored. I wish some had been longer, but part of their charm is that so much significance is packed into the pages. Very well done. The themes of these tales are varied. My favorite was the one about someone who loses their job only to come home and find a love note from their wife that changes the day from miserable to wonderful. That story hit home about what truly matters.

[Rue Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect as far as range when I started reading these short stories, but I was surprise at the breadth which Barrick and Schneider cover in genres. There's science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural, mystery, literary... Everyone can find at least one story in this collection that takes your breath away.

For me, right of the bat Rifts and Orange Orchards had me hooked. When you compare that to stories like Saturn's Queen, it's hard to remember the same mind envisioned both stories, but there's also a unifying feeling, a writer's flair between each one. Like all short story collections, some hit me harder than others, but I'd be hard-pressed to say there were any 'duds.'

This is a great collection to pick up for readers who just don't have the long lengths of time to sit down and read through a novel. They're bite-sized portions of emotion that will have you coming back over and over.

[Elizabeth Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a collection of short stories that are easy to dip in and out of with a cup of tea in hand. This book was just that. I really enjoyed the eclectic collection. Each story was widely different from the previous and so I never knew what was coming. I particularly enjoyed Graveyard Origami and Love's Shadow for the emotions that they evoked. They were incredibly poignant stories dealing with loss. In contrast to that I found myself laughing at The Fruit-Eating Hyena.

This book is a real delight of stories that will have you smiling and crying depending on which page you're on.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t usually read a book of short stories, so this was interesting. Creativity Brewing has tales from two different writers and, though there were a few typos, I could tell that both writers knew the craft well! I thought the stories were creative and unique. My favorite short story was “The Boy Under the Banana Tree.” This collection is a quick read. I’d recommend to anyone who is interested in trying out a book of short stories.

[Judy Ferrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coffee, and humans.

This is a nice collection of short stories. You can read each in just minutes. They give you a look at the human condition. And you feel as if it have time to think between each one. Just 3 or so pages, these stories are great for a doctor's office waiting room or on a body day when you just need a minute someplace else.

[Rachel Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my beach-book for a day trip and I do not regret that decision in the least! I mean, when you are easily distracted and are being dragged around from one place to another, you need a book full of short stories, right? Even better - these are actually flash fiction - as in only 2 - 3 pages each. And they aren't all one genre - I read fanciful, thrilling, adventurous, melancholy, mysterious, and even horror themed stories. This book captives my imagination by providing a glimpse into someone's life and then pulling that away, leaving your creative mind sparked! I could pause between each story and let my brain simmer on what I had just read for a while: How did the character come to this? What's going to happen to the character after this? What was the meaning behind the story? What do I hope happens next, even though it's not written? I would definitely recommend this to anyone!

[Larae Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun group of short stories. I found myself wanting more information at the end of several of them.

[Niranjana Siva · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a fan of short stories, read this book without another thought. All the stories were captivating and interesting. Every story was written with great flow and with amazing insight. This makes it really hard to choose a favorite. And also, it has stories of various genres. It was one of the reasons I enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this book and it is a MUST READ for all short story lovers.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part, my experience with short story collections has left me with the expectation that even the best collections will have some stinkers. And while this one does have one or two which I shrugged off after finishing, the majority of the 30 short stories inside are quite well done and engaging (a personal favorite being Skeleton in the Closet) and tip the scale in the direction of great regardless of those that were more flat (Cobra District being a stand out in that regard). Well worth a read for the good ones, and who knows, you may actually enjoy the 'okay' ones. Read it and see!

[Thaine Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a short story writer myself, I appreciated the skill and brilliance of this collection. Each story held its own tone and magic -- Kevin and his guest writer are extremely talented.

I read the entire collection in one sitting, and since then, have re-read many of these stories a second and third time.

This creativity collection is brewed to perfection.

[E.G. Radcliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite 30 cups of coffee later, I have finished this collection of short stories with a smile on my face. I came to look forward to each bite-sized tale with my morning cuppa. Everyone who reads this will have their favorites, but mine was the trilogy of shorts about Markos and Carson, which left me a bit misty-eyed. Well done, authors Barrick and Schneider.

[P.J. Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

About half way through Creativity Brewing, this excellent collection of short stories from the pens of authors Kevin Barrick and Jason Schneider, there’s a story about a diver who discovers a library hidden in an air pocket beneath the sea which perfectly describes this book. Each story feels like dipping into a different book from a different genre, as if exploring your own secret library under the sea, and no story is less compelling for it. These stories take us from the orange orchards of Florida to the depths of space, and from the battlefields of fantasy to the plains of Africa, yet every one invokes its own sense of place with its own unique characters.

The Forbidden Library Beneath The Sea was a favourite, as was Rifts and Orange Orchards, or The Boy Under The Banana Tree, but there are many other brilliant stories here. The writing is wonderful, the stories fly by, and if I have anything at all to say against this book it’s that at the end of many of these stories I wanted to keep reading more about these characters and their worlds, and so much so that I sometimes found myself returning to the same story.

Creativity Brewing is a book over-boiling with imagination and ideas and well worth dipping into.

[Harker McNair · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Creativity Brewing" is a collection of short stories that touches nearly every genre. Each story ends on a fantastic cliff hanger. It's hard to imagine that the 30 different stories came from only two writers. The style and tone shifts are remarkable.

Each story touches on a section of the human experience: love, sorrow, war, revenge, etc. While it is hard to review each individual story, we were particularly impressed with "Reading in a Time of War", which follows two boys using knowledge from books to advance a war against a destructive enemy. You'll find stories of ghosts, murderers, queens, magic, and romance all wrapped up in one book.

To some extent, most of the stories felt like reading the first chapter of a book. Several of the stories would be fantastic debut novel ideas. We hope to see some of these ideas pushed further in the future. We would 100% read a book on any one of these stories.

[Kaylee May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flash fiction often gets a bad rep for being thoughtless or shoddy, but Creativity Brewing is neither. Many stories draw on themes of adventure and comradery. You will be seamlessly drawn into scenes that play on the allure of the unknown and enchantment of adventure. Many of the settings take the reader to places that are unsettling or otherwise curious, because they are not necessarily settings one would find themselves. Nonetheless, the world building that takes place in such a short amount of words leave those worlds feeling surreal, liminal, and oddly comforting. Further to this, I would like to add that I never thought I would find myself crying over a hyena but here we are. Creativity Brewing is more than a warm cup of coffee on a cold morning. It's the steam coming off the top of the brew and dissipating into the unknown.

[Gurpreet Dhariwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the stories took me back to my childhood days when I didn't even how to read the comic. There was this particular story where a man confessed his love for his dead wife. It broke my heart into pieces. He was recalling all the good experiences he have had with her when she was alive and how difficult it became for him to move on with life. I wish to see this kind of love all around me.
Overall, Kevin has done complete justice to this short storytelling book and I find his approach quite fascinating with all of the stories. I look forward to reading more from him.

[Kara Bernard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read exploring multiple genres

I really enjoyed the concepts written about in this collection, but the stories left me wanting more. I felt like I was reading the first chapters of 30 different books rather than 30 individual stories; the tales ended abruptly and left me with more than a few questions. But they touched on some very interesting topics, and I'd be interested to see these topics explored more in a short story or novel format. Hope to see a novel-length work from this author in the future!

[Hannah Symonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit different to what I normally read but I needed this little pick me up inbetween reading lots of other books. This is 30 short stories, I like the fact it says on the title hand roasted to perfection, which means you can enjoy them whilst having a coffee in the morning. There is all sorts of different stories, they are light easy reads, I liked the lion who forgot how to roar but I mainly enjoyed them all. There is a variety of stories that will keep you intrigued. Well written.

[H.G. Ahedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of short stories

Wow! I was amazed by the beautiful collection of short stories. Highly entertaining, engaging and unique.
My favourite include a land of opportunity, the fruit eating hyena, the forbidden library beneath the sea, and Saturn's Queen.
If you are a fan of short stories, do not miss this one!

[Stephen Smyth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately only one or perhaps two of the stories in here can be called actual stories. All the others felt like a first draft of a first scene that might eventually become a story. It is a shame because some of the writing seems quite good so I wanted there to be something I would enjoy in here but it felt like the author did not take the opportunity to actually tell any stories.

[G.M. Lupo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reasonably good micro stories

I’m not a huge fan of micro fiction, as I like to get lost in a story, but this collection had a number of good tales. I probably enjoyed the three part offering the best. I definitely recommend this for fans of the genre.

[Scott Branchfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little collection of diverse stories

[Elizabeth Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short & thought-provoking

These are interesting micro-fictions. Some stand on their own, while others make you crave the chance to read more. Great for firing the imagination!

[Kerat Jhaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some, great nice short reads. The author is a great flash fiction writer, giving us just the right amount of picture. This is also multi genre and I had won this in a twitter giveaway.

[Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

These tiny little tales are like shots of espresso (short but bold). This was a great collection to help me ease back into regular reading after the pandemic bored me out of the habit.

[Dee Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection was recommended by an author I like to read, and was a nice flowing experience. Lovely collection.