Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Todays Prize....

is a Kindle e-book copy of Blake Crouch's superb short story collection FULLY LOADED: The Complete and Collected Stories of Blake Crouch . If you're looking for a great place to start reading some Crouch, this is as good as any.

All you have to do is leave a comment in any of today's posts by midnight, EST. One winner will be chosen at random (please leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win!).

Cover by Jeroen ten Berge
Here is the product description for FULLY LOADED:

From the author of DESERT PLACES and LOCKED DOORS comes this complete collection of short stories and novellas.

*69 - Tim and Laura West receive a bizarre voicemail on their answering machine that seems to have unintentionally recorded a brutal murder. But what happens when the killer realizes their mistake? This story develops over one terrifying evening, and this young couple will never be the same.

REMAKING – Tragic events unfold in a snowy, sleepy Colorado town. From the first scene, in which a man sits alone in the cold, watching a father and son in a diner, you know something is about to go horribly wrong. You may think you know what’s happening, but in this thrilling, heartbreaking story, nothing is as it seems.

ON THE GOOD, RED ROAD - A group of four hard men trying to reach a remote 19th Century mining town become stranded in an early blizzard and resort to drastic, terrifying measures, to stay alive.

SHINING ROCK – An older couple encounter a strange and menacing visitor during a camping trip in the North Carolina mountains. Friendly at first, this stranger seems to know them, seems to know their secrets, and as things escalate, they become convinced that they may never leave these mountains alive.

PERFECT LITTLE TOWN – Ron and Jessica Stahl are a power couple from California, on a Christmas holiday in Colorado. When they stop for the afternoon in sleepy Lone Cone, they’re charmed by the quaint tourist town. But the folksy hospitality will vanish as the sun drops behind the mountains. The Stahls couldn’t have picked a worse night of the year to get snowed into this perfect little town with a dark, dark secret.

SERIAL – The classic horror short I wrote with J.A. Konrath, in which we turn our attention to the twin golden rules of hitchhiking: # 1: Don’t go hitchhiking, because the driver who picks you up could be certifiably crazy. # 2: Don’t pick up hitchhikers, because the traveler you pick up could be a raving nutcase. So what if, on some dark, isolated road, Crazy #1 offered a ride to Nutcase #2?

THE NEWTON BOYS’ LAST PHOTOGRAPH – At 25 words, the shortest story I ever wrote. But it packs a wallop.

THE METEOROLOGIST – Peter, a disgraced meteorologist and chronic wanderer, has traveled the country for years in his Winnebago, in search of the only thing that gives his life meaning. He’s just arrived in the middle of nowhere—Hokie, Kansas—for the same purpose, but when he meets a waitress named Melanie, another sufferer, he’s faced not only with his first real human contact in years, but perhaps someone who can save him.

UNCONDITIONAL – A conversation between two people—devastating, tragic, and beautiful.

THE PAIN OF OTHERS – Letty Dobesh, a gorgeous, degenerate thief, is fresh out of the clink and back to her old tricks—in this case, burglarizing suites at a luxury hotel in Asheville, North Carolina. But when she’s surprised by returning guests on her last room of the day, she’s forced to hide in the closet to avoid getting caught, and inadvertently overhears a hitman being contracted to murder the wife of a wealthy lawyer.

This 60,000-word short story collection also contains introductions to each story by the author, an interview with Blake, and excerpts from all of his novels.

Note: FOUR LIVE ROUNDS + SIX IN THE CYLINDER = FULLY LOADED

7 comments:

  1. I recognize some of these stories from your past reviews. That's great we can get them in a collection.

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  2. Blake's my neighbor and I haven't read any of his books. Does that make me a bad neighbor? Help me to rectify this situation ASAP!

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  3. I'm a recent admirer of Blake's fiction and since I haven't read his short stories, I think this would be a good way to widen my reading.

    M

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  4. That's a cool little prize. Count me in. Always a sucker for some short fiction.

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  5. Willie I don't know if you should read any Crouch. The rest of us have the comfort and piece of mind of distance between he and us.

    I think one read through of Serial you might be wanting to put a For Sale sign on the lawn! ;)

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  6. There are a few of Blake's shorts I'd really like to read. Please enter me in your contest ;)

    Also, Liar comes out this Friday!

    Shackled
    Cheat

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  7. Hey J.E.M!!

    Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to reading Liar!

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