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SKINS (animal stories / flash fiction mini compilation)

skins

Skins (freebie)

Amazon (USA) | Amazon (UK) | B&N

FREE (online): Smashwords | Goodreads | FeedBooks

FREE (PDF): PDF Download

SUMMARY:

A 5000-word mini collection for animal lovers. Jess will work at developing more stories with the subject of "animal rights" in mind.

Includes Savion (of a young hunter coming face to face with a prized red stag), Hachiko (based on the true story of a dog's loyalty), and Skins (featuring "Laer," the dark elf from Jess's Cyberpunk Elven Trilogy).

GENRE: Flash Fiction | 5,000 words

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NOTE FROM JESS:

I was recently inspired to write a short story on animal rights, due to a particularly grotesque photo of crocodile-skinned chairs in the November 2011 USA edition of Harper's Bazaar (the photo is included below).

Killing animals to make a fashion statement
= a sickening + cold-blooded vanity.

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The poetic lines in the short story Hachiko were inspired by Brian Robinson's original poem, and is printed with the permission of the author. The poem was written for a special dedication to Hachiko a few years ago, at an event that celebrated the ability of Hachi's story to touch the poet inside of all of us (sweet!).

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REVIEWS:

"Highlights amongst the short stories are Savion, which came with the disclaimer that it was for animal lovers and being just that the disclaimer was dead on. This tale gives the reader an enjoyable trip into the psyche of the woodland critters as a hunter sets his scope. As a result I will forever declare that Savion is very dear to me."
-- Dan Schwartz | www.banoconut.com

"I really liked the powerful, underlying theme of these pieces and the fact that the author connected each one to a real happening and also advocated for animal protection."
-- John Hansen | Incessant Dronings...

"[Jess's] writing is very well edited. And she's a very thought-provoking writer."
-- email from a reader (UK) | Oct 2011

"I'm psyched to have read Skins!
Love the theme and the message at the end."
-- email from a reader (Florida, USA) | Nov 2011

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MEDIA MENTIONS:

Interview @ School of the Ages

"In Defence Of Short Stories" @ Scattershot Writing

Listed on Paranormal Indies and Night Owl Reviews

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EXCERPT (Skins, featuring "Laer" from The Darker Side of Life):

Aleksandra trotted out statistics like a shopping list, running through the various materials on the walls and floors as they went along. "That's bamboo, that's oak, that's eucalyptus, that's crocodile…"

["Furniture by Michel Haillard" | Grand Home Design]

Laer was getting giddy from the zig-zag pattern of zebra-skinned beddings. There was a jaguar skin rug, complete with the head, open mouth crying out in perpetual silent pain. The tiger and lion heads on one side of the wall eyed the Mystère's guests too, with their cold lifeless eyes forever frozen in time.

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