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Made in LA Fiction Anthology Vol. 1

Readers in Los Angeles are thirsty for stories that bring their city to life. This anthology features a diverse range of voices and genres. Like the City of Angels in which these stories were born, nothing is off-limits. Literary or contemporary, noir or ghost story, fabulism or science fiction, each story in this volume will forever change the way you look at this iconic metropolis.

Made in L.A. Writers is a collaborative of Los Angeles-based authors dedicated to nurturing and promoting indie fiction. This 2018 volume is the first of the annual Made in L.A. anthology series. While our styles, themes, and story locales differ, our work is both influenced and illuminated by our hometown and underpinned by the extraordinary, multifaceted, and often surreal culture and life in the City of Angels.

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This book is created by a team of amazing author’s make sure to check out all of their books. You won’t be disappointed.

My Review

5 stars

Los Angeles is a place of many things. Hopes, dreams, fun, and horror. This collection of short stories has a little bit of everything in them. You will read about aliens, demons and angels, the young trying to be famous, and those past their primes. It definitely has something for everyone and no one will be disappointed. I loved all of these stories, some more so than others, but they were all a joy to read.

I won’t go into a summary of each story even though it pads my reviews. But believe me, if you can think about it possibly being in LA, it is in these stories. I really loved Salt in the Hell Mouth and the possibilities of demons being fought in the streets unknown to the rest of us.

This is a great collection of short stories based in the LA area. I loved the book and recommend everyone check it out. I can’t wait to read volume two.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

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He by John Connolly

An extraordinary reimagining of the life of one of the greatest screen comedians the world has ever known: a man who knew both adoration and humiliation; who loved, and was loved in turn; who betrayed, and was betrayed; who never sought to cause pain to others, yet left a trail of affairs and broken marriages in his wake . . .

And whose life was ultimately defined by one relationship of such tenderness and devotion that only death could sever it: his partnership with the man he knew as Babe.

he is Stan Laurel.
But he did not really exist. Stan Laurel was a fiction.

With he, John Connolly recreates the golden age of Hollywood for an intensely compassionate study of the tension between commercial demands and artistic integrity, the human frailties behind even the greatest of artists, and one of the most enduring and beloved partnerships in cinema history: Laurel & Hardy.

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Author’s Bio

John was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1968 and has, at various points in his life, worked as a journalist, a barman, a local government official, a waiter and a dogsbody at Harrods department store in London.  (A dogsbody, for our North American friends, is a ‘go-fer’.) He studied English in Trinity College, Dublin and journalism at Dublin City University, subsequently spending five years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper.  He divides his time between Dublin and Portland, Maine; makes regular donations to the wine industry; and keeps a number of dogs in a remarkable degree of comfort.

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My Review

4 Stars

This is a fictional biography of Arthur Stanley Jefferson, otherwise known as Stan Laurel of the infamous Laurel and Hardy. I have heard their names and seen a couple skits of Laurel and Hardy, but I’m sorry to admit that I don’t know much about them beyond that. I liked this book because you get to travel along with Stan as he comes to America and makes his break into Hollywood along with Oliver Hardy.

This book was an interesting read as you follow along with Stan as he is in understudy for Charlie Chaplin, doesn’t make it, finds a grove with Hardy, and then makes it big with “talkies”. But just like almost all Hollywood stories, nothing stays the same and as fast as you rise you can fall just as fast.

Stan has a lot of things that go wrong in his life including numerous marriages, the death of a child, losing fame, and of course the loss of money. His life was not easy, but throughout it all he always had Oliver to lean on.

Now, having said that, I’m sorry to say but the writing style got on my nerves with the super short sentences, repetition, and use of full names. After a while you tend to get used to it, but it did make it difficult getting into this book. But overall it was a good read. It definitely made me want to learn more about Laurel and Hardy along with watching their movies.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

I would like to thank Quercus for the opportunity to read and share this book.

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