Fast Fiction: 101 Stories 101 Words Each

by Scotty Cornfield

Overview

In FAST FICTION, you'll enter a cafe where the menu is loaded with nothing but literary appetizers, designed to be quickly consumed and easily digested. You'll meet people with secrets and others who wished they knew how to keep them; characters looking to exact revenge and others getting their just desserts when karma calls. Fans of the combo platter will see it all here, from the dark to the darkly comical; the laugh-out-loud funny to the thought-provoking; offering more twists and turns than a pretzel—more ups and downs than a souffle. Designed to be picked up and perused at any time-- FAST FICTION is perfect for those impromptu moments while you're waiting in line or otherwise find yourself with some extra time to kill--not long enough to get deeply engaged in a novel but just right as a fun alternative. Even if you do have time to put your feet up, get comfortable and grab a book, these 101-word tales will keep you entertained, briefly encountering characters you will never see again--if you're lucky.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781667866338
Publisher:	BookBaby
Publication date:	09/29/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	879 KB

About the Author

Scotty Cornfield spent 30 years in the crimefighting business, hunting murderers and sexual predators as well as working deep undercover assignments. As a diversion, he's performed improv and stand up comedy.
When not writing, he works as a licensed P.I.

Editorial Reviews

2022-12-07
This debut collection of flash fiction explores a broad range of themes, from love to criminality.

Inspired by a literary competition in a local newspaper, Cornfield began writing stories of 101 words in length. He started producing a tale a day and soon accumulated over 400 pieces. This captivating series opener includes 101 of those stories, each inspired by a specific prompt. The opening tale, “A Most Unexpected Gift,” is shaped by a prompt that simply reads “Found Property.” It introduces a character called Shakes, a destitute scavenger who finds keys to a Mercedes on the street. He drives off happily in the car, unaware of what is lying in the trunk. In “Lessons From a Grim Reaper,” a member of the hordes of reapers sets about “rebranding death” for the social media age, calling himself the “Grin Greeter.” Meanwhile, in “Unfortunately, not Everybody’s a Baseball Fan,” responding to the prompt “execution of an innocent person,” an assassin’s lack of sports knowledge leads her to take out the wrong target. Other tales introduce squabbling lovers, hoodlums getting their stories straight, and fated fraternity brothers enjoying a vacation in Tahiti. Flash fiction places significant pressure on a writer to communicate entertaining plotlines using very few words. Cornfield rises admirably to this challenge. The author holds the power to write tantalizing sentences that quickly and effortlessly draw readers in: “Jessica playfully kissed his ear as she removed the .22 revolver from her purse.” The brevity of such statements compels readers to speculate beyond the confines of the narrative itself. This speculation is all part of the fun. Many of the stories in the collection are driven by the delightful crackle of dryly humorous dialogue: “ ‘That was quite a meal, Lace,’ Glen smiled. ‘They said the recipe was “foolproof” but you showed them.’ ‘Thanks, hon. Imagine how good it might’ve been if I’d cared.’ ” There are rare occasions when Cornfield’s plots struggle to entertain. For instance, “Neither Safe nor Sane,” about waging revenge on “raging pyro” neighbors, has an uncharacteristically matter-of-fact denouement. But the author rarely misses the mark, and the bite-size stories found here will prove sufficiently addictive to cause readers to devour them one after another.

Smart, snappy, compelling tales.

Kirkus Reviews