Blog Tour: TWENTY-FOUR SHORT STORIES by Michael Ross

 

Twenty-Four Short Stories

by Michael Ross

 

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GENRE:   Anthology

 

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BLURB:

 

Why can time consumed reliving memories provide enough motivation to carry on? Why keep a diary if you don’t want people to read it? Why let prejudice cloud your judgement? Why do the most simple of smells bring memories back to life? Why is it possible to believe the impossible? What does it feel like to take another person's life? Will the good deeds we do come back to us in different forms?
These are of some of the questions posed in this imaginative collection of short stories involving, amongst others; a private detective with super powers, a loveable car salesman, a dour public health inspector, a vicar’s daughter with a dark secret, a sculptor with a destructive obsession, a young man with a passion for language, a reluctant public executioner, two sisters whose petty disputes hide something deeper, a job hunter with an unusual skill.
There are so many diverse characters and in this intriguing and imaginative collection of stories everyone has a tale to tell.
A collection of stories that will surely leave its mark on the reader.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

From my window, I spot my fellow students grouped in excited conversation, circling around, probing each other with thoughts and words, questions and answers. After two years, we know each other well. I know they all wish they could play the violin as well as me, and in my turn, I wish I could be as happy as them. I wind down by running through scales for twenty minutes, and then I hear the old grandfather clock in the hall strike eleven—my other life beckons.

 

In Chinatown, it is easy to find a restaurant where you can spend £100 a head on a meal. At my parent’s place, six people can eat like kings for less money.

 

The walk from the rehearsal rooms takes the best part of an hour. I cast aside my musical mantle as I walk, so that by the time I reach Uncle Wong’s, I am prepared for my twice-weekly four-hour shift. This is the only payment my father and mother have ever asked of me. It is nothing.

 

Two years ago, my parents ushered me into the tiny lounge area above their restaurant, and wordlessly, my mother passed me my gift. My eyes moved to my father and then back to my mother. I could not speak. It was beautiful. Feeling its dark ebony grain, I turned it tentatively through my fingers, tilting, and twisting—gazing, unsure of my breath.

 

“Baba. Mamma. It’s beautiful, but you cannot afford it.”

 

“Shush, my son.” The look on my mother’s face said that my joy was all they required.

 

 

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Q&A with the Author

JUST FOR FUN, IF YOU COULD TAKE A VACATION ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? Somewhere with history no way could I cope with lying around on a beach, so…ITALY.

 

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING? Taking it seriously? About ten years.

 

ARE YOU WORKING ON ANY PROJECTS AT THE MOMENT? Halfway through creating a new anthology and working on the third novel in the ‘Pin-up and Tanner’ thriller series.

 

WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW? Where the Crawdad Sings.

 

YOUR WORK HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE TITLE FOR THIS BOOK? My novels from all over the place – Chasing What’s Already Gone came from a Mary Chapin-Carpenter song. Words on Paper - I had the title before I started writing the book.

 

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK? IS IT PART OF A SERIES? Lots of short stories littering my PC – had to get rid of them somehow!

 

WHAT CRITERIA DID YOU USE WHEN SELECTING THE COVER FOR YOUR BOOK? The cover for the first anthology Twenty Short Stories was just a photo I took when on holiday in Poland and so I look for something bright, obvious and eye catching.

 

WAS THERE A MESSAGE IN YOUR BOOK THAT YOU WERE TRYING TO CONVEY? There is always an underlying message in all my novels, with the short stories the intent is to make readers look beyond the text – the tag line on my website is “Words, once written, have a life of their own.”

 

WHEN AND WHY DID YOU BEGIN WRITING? My partner set me up to try a creative writing class. I had written my first short story (in my head) on my drive back home from the first session – she believed in me more than I did myself.

 

DESCRIBE YOUR WRITING STYLE. My editors and beta readers say my characters are believable and my plots fascinating (mind you I pay some of them!)

 

WHAT IS THE HARDEST LESSON YOU HAD TO LEARN AS A WRITER? To accept rejection, also because a writer is successful does not necessarily mean they are any good – hundreds of examples of that!

 

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE AS A WRITER? Marketing – yuk,yuk,yuk.

 

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR NEW WRITERS? Go for it – you never know until you do.

 

Thank you Sandra’s Book Club for helping me exercise my brain.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Born and raised in Bristol, England. I spent my adult life in business, the majority of that time marketing cars. I eventually owned the largest Saab specialist in the world, before a divorce put an end to that part of my life.

This led me to leave Bristol to live halfway up a mountain in the Welsh Valleys; start a part-time six year English Literature course at Bristol University, and attend creative writing classes in Cardiff. My interest in English literature flourished and I have since won several prizes for my short stories. My first book, 'Twenty Short Stories - Settling a score," reached No 1 in the Short Stories Best Sellers and is still available, as is "Twenty-One (more) Short Stories,” and “Another Twenty-Two Short Stories.”

Also available are the first 5***** crime thrillers in the Tanner and Pin-up series:

Hand over Fist

Hand in Glove

Plus a 5***** light hearted rom-com "Chasing What's Already Gone.”

I still live very happily halfway up that mountain in the Welsh Valleys with my wonderful partner, Mari, and our two rescue dogs, Wavy and Wenna.

Website       http://michaelrosswriter.net/

 

Facebook    www.facebook.com/michaelross.writer

 

Twitter         https://twitter.com/mikerosswriter

 

                                           Email          mikerosswriter@outlook.com

 

 

The book will be free.

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

 

Michael Ross will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway