One Mistake

by Andy Frankham-Allen

When Robert discovers a business card in a phone booth advertising astral projection lessons, he thinks he's stumbled upon a way to improve on his ordinary life. Unfortunately, the instructor has much more sinister plans for his student. A short story from the bestselling author of SEEKER and OFF FLESH.

9 pages, ebook

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Welsh-born Andy Frankham-Allen's passion for writing began with a love of Doctor Who. He's been writing since as far back as he can remember, and, although unsuccessful, he wrote a Doctor Who novel for BBC Books in 1996 after an accident caused him to be out of work for four months. Following that writing fell back into a hobby until 2001 when he began an ongoing fan-fiction series called Doctor Who: The Legacy, which carried on until 2006.

He has been writing professionally since 2004, through several official Doctor Who short stories, and since 2010 with horror shorts of Untreed Reads Publishing. March 2011 saw the release of his novel, 'Seeker', the first book in The Garden Saga, published in print by Hirst Publishing and in all digital formats by Untreed Reads.

Reviews

[Giovanni Gelati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today we are taking it easy and only throwing two digital shorts at you. No explanation for it, just laziness on my part, sorry. I have been getting a lot of messages from readers chatting up the digital short and their ability to be read in various places to help them get through the day. I had not thought of many of them so here goes: at the train stop waiting for the train, on the train, at their desks, in between commercials of their favorite shows, the list keeps going. I enjoy reading them in between the full length novels as it helps break things up for me and gives me a nice jolt of satisfaction of having followed a story full circle in a short span.
One Mistake is an interesting 5080 word digital short that had my rapt attention. Andy Frankham-Allen had me hanging on every written word as I was not sure where the story was going but I knew that something was coming around the corner. Don’t be misled by the word count; this story packs a punch and has a deep seeded and sad genesis. Here is a very brief description of what you will find: “When Robert finds a business card in a phone booth advertising astral projection lessons, he thinks he has stumbled upon a way to improve his ordinary life. Unfortunately the instructor has much more sinister plans for his student. A story from the bestselling author of Seeker and Off Flesh.”
I didn’t time myself when I read this, all I know is that the time went quickly as my eyes were flying through the read. I couldn’t turn the virtual pages fast enough. Frankham-Allen has written a very captivating, taunt story that stayed with me for a while. As I read more novels, especially those out of my comfort zone, I am enjoying them much more. This is definitely something I wouldn’t normally have thought I would have gotten into, but the writing is that strong , the emotion of the moments that well conveyed, that it just sucked me into it and didn’t let go till the very last word. Do yourself a favor and don’t make the One Mistake in passing this up. Click the cover here at the post and download it from Amazon to whatever platform you eread on.
News Flash from the Editor-In-Chief of Untreed Reads Publishing Jay Hartman : I'll be on a panel discussion at Litquake 2010 on October 4th. All the info is at http://litquake.org/events/new-writers and I'm on the 5:30pm panel. We'll be open to meeting with agents and having pitch sessions with authors. They can contact me directly if they'd like to setup an appointment.
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[Red Haircrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love psychological stories. Ones that make you think, stories which are more than just a telling of a tale, and "One Mistake" fit that category for me. Without dancing around issues, long backgrounds or dialogue, we are introduced directly to Robert Hoard, the main character, and the plot, which I found believable though some might doubt the possibility of astral projection.

Though we are told some backstory without having directly experienced it, to me this didn't feel jarring or abrupt. It takes a special skill to do so, and a certain mind which can appreciate the magic authors perform when they successfully create a well-rounded, balanced world in a minimum of pages.

Descriptions are outstanding in placing the reader at the scene, as well as building a sense of horror at what astral projection really can mean, and how it can be manipulated. I didn't find the ending unexpected, yet "One Mistake" was a satisfying read. My favorite part was the fact it left me with a question. With his new found ability, what was next for Robert Hoard?

For more review and interviews by Red Haircrow, visit their book blogsite Flying With Red Haircrow http://flyingwithredhaircrow.wordpres...