Monster War: Apocrypha - free again to celebrate a bad review!

Hey! I got a review on my short-short story, Apocrypha on Amazon! Unfortunately, they didn't like it much. "No need for bad language..." I hope they got it on one of the free promotions and - dear God - I hope they don't ever read The Monster War! Talk about bad language... Anyway, to celebrate the story's first review, it's free again! If you don't mind the 's' word you might like it. And if you don't, well - at least it's short - and free!

Download it from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EX6CUYA

New Short Story - FREE for a limited time!

I wrote up a quick short story set in the Monster War universe to give away for my birthday! Amazon doesn't let me set the price at 0 - even for a story as short as this one (1500 words). However, it does let me run a promo price, which is going on right now! Until May 3rd, 2016, "Tales of the Monster War: Apocrypha" is free! It might be good, it might be bad, but at least it's short! (There's also the first 3 chapters of The Monster War excerpted, so there's a little more to read if you want.)

LINK: http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Monster-War-Bob-Cram-ebook/dp/B01EX6CUYA

Book Review: Uncommon Bodies

The new short story collection from Fighting Monkey Press - publishers of Sin Eater by Pavarti k. Tyler and Jessica West - professes to "explore the lives of the odd, the unbelievable, and the impossible." It manages to do so with aplomb, collecting a stellar menagerie of tales to thrill, horrify and titillate in equal measure.

Standouts for me include "From the Inside," a surreal tale of obsession in a rain drenched Europe by Daniel Arthur Smith,  Christopher Godsoe's cyber-noir/sci-fi procedural story "The Zealot," and "Scars: First Session," a character piece by Jordanne Fuller. (Weirdly, two of the three feature tattoos.) I also enjoyed "We is We" by Michael Harris Cohen, "In Her Image" by Vasil Tuchkov, "Undead Cyborg Girl" by Kim Wells, "Don't Touch Me" by Bey Deckard, "Ruby" by Bob Williams and "Daedelus' Daughter" by P.K. Tyler. I liked the vast majority of the stories, actually, and am just picking out the ones that I'm still thinking about now that I've finished reading them all. You may find any of the other eleven stories and three poems more to your liking.

A small point of concern is that the net is cast perhaps a little too wide. There's cyberpunk, horror, magical realism, even Victoria Era erotica (there are two sexually explicit stories in the collection, so be aware). Going from one genre extreme to another sometimes engendered intellectual whiplash as I adjusted expectations. There are also a couple of stories that - to my mind - just weren't up to the same level as the rest. However, the vast majority of them are well-written and, more importantly, enjoyably so.

So, slip off the prosthetics, moisturize the tentacles and tweak the cybernetic eyes so you're seeing the visible spectrum. Uncommon Bodies is - forgive me - an uncommon collection of stories that will challenge your perceptions and entertain you while doing so. 

Uncommon Bodies will be available in print and digital format starting November 24, 2015. I'll add links once it's available.

(NOTE - I was given a preview copy of this collection to review ahead of publication.)