Needles & Bones

by Deena Fisher (Editor), J.C. Miller, David Harrity

Needles & Bones is a collection of poems and short fiction by a double handful of brilliantly creative artists-with-words. It's difficult to describe an anthology, especially one containing works of such talent. The titles and authors are listed below:

Someone Has Broken the Looking-Glass Girl - Lea C. Deschenes
Light as Mist, Heavy as Hope - A. G. Slatter
Heart of the Desert - Nyla Nox
The Train - Cindy Lynn Speer
Sister Night, Sister Moon - Catherine Schaff-Stump
Subterranean Song - David Sklar
And At That Time Shall Michael Stand - Berrien C. Henderson
Answer Me - AJ Odasso
Metal Feathers - G. L. Simmons
Swamp Angels - Andrew S. Taylor
The Strange Horses - Kristine Ong Muslim
Mother - J. C. Miller
Sleepwalker - Darin C. Bradley
Gravity - Kris Vaagen
At Sea - Felicity Bloomfield
Being Dead - V Addeman
Terra Incognita or Drawn - David Harrity
Benjira's Bride - Lida Broadhurst
Memorabilia - Rudy Ch. Garcia
Widow's Walk - Meredith Holmes
Dancer, Daemon - Jason Rubis
Rag Woman - Lea C. Deschenes

Genres: Poetry

265 pages, Nook

First published July 24, 2009

Reviews

[Catherine Schaff-Stump · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of artistic and (somewhat) erotic stories with their roots in folklore. Worth reading, but be aware it's not for children.

[Nyla Nox]

Excellent collection with many very imaginative stories.
Absolutely outstanding: Nyla Nox with 'Heart of the Desert'.
I am always looking for writers who tell their stories through the language as well as through the 'plot', and this story takes me to a campfire and a time long ago or far away, or both. To the heart of the desert!
The writer also tells a much more challenging story than most writers in this genre: what are we prepared to sacrifice to follow our dreams, and whom are we prepared to sacrifice?
The main male character is willing to accept the sacrifices of others and only sacrifices himself when there is no other option left. The main female character is willing to sacrifice herself hopelessly and absolutely.
In the end, they both lose everything and are transformed.
But no, this is not a love story in the traditional sense. Their stories do not end up together....

'Heart of the Desert' is bleak and beautiful, it tells a stark truth and takes the reader to a place where everything we know is forgotten and the future is like the midnight sun where the final goal may be decided. Recommended, if you like to dream, and take your dreams seriously... Recommended if you like writing.

Nyla Nox has since been one of the winners of the extremely competitive Seven Fund Essay Competition 2010 'The Morality of Profits' and I just saw that her first full length novel will be published by www.afternoon-books.com this year.

Maybe good writers can succeed...