SPOTLIGHT on a pair of indie authors working tirelessly to support the indie author community

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I recently reviewed a little short story by Tessa Hastjarjanto that I fear may have been buried behind a review of a better known classic from Sir Terry Pratchett of Discworld fame. Hastjarjanto’s piece was A Dress to Kill For, and I was well impressed by it. I’m revisiting a mention of her now because I recently read a short story from another indie author, Rebecca Crunden, and her lgbtq fantasy piece The Final Act of Jonas Black.

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It’s quite possible that I picked up an ecopy of Jonas Black from the Narratess indie book sale hosted by Hastjarjanto; I’m not certain, but it seemed fitting to highlight the work of these two women together for specific reasons. Both authors play in the horror/scifi/fantasy sandbox, but they also work tirelessly to support the indie author community in ways that help indie authors get exposure. For free. I mentioned Hastjarjanto’s semiannual indie book sales. Crunden is the might behind the social media Indie Book Spotlight accounts. 

Don’t go down some rabbit hole to search and hound them for their support though. The do it on their own terms, from the goodness of their hearts. They pay it forward, is what I’m saying, and if they have randomly supported you without you having prodded them to do so in some way, you should probably thank them. And as it turns out, they have their own catalogs of material worth a perusal. I’ve left my reviews for the two short stories I’ve read below. Check them out! Their work is well worth your time. 

A DRESS TO KILL FOR by Tessa Hastjarjanto 

This one may be short, but it’s an extremely well told horror piece about the lengths the society folk will go through to keep their fingernails clutched into their status. A touch gothic, a touch eldritch or folk horror. This short story is well paced and, quite frankly a gem. Find more of her work here at her personal website https://tessa.narratess.com/

THE FINAL ACT OF JONAS BLACK by Rebecca Crunden

Jonas Black is not who he appears to be. But he’s comfortable in his current role as a magic act in Vegas. Not too flashy, he gets by. He’s also happy in a somewhat noncommittal relationship with his SO. But then his family past comes back to haunt him, to pull him back home, and he has a decision to make. Does he leave behind the life he’s grown comfortable in, or does he expose his truth to the one he loves, risking the loss of a relationship he didn’t realize he needed?

This is a nicely done story about the lives we choose to lead and the choices we have to make in return. Find out more at her personal website https://rebeccacrunden.com/

Maryneal 1962 by Abigail F. Taylor — A werewolf story. But not really.

 Maryneal 1962 by Abigail F. Taylor — A werewolf story. But not really.

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Wild Ink Publishing LLC

What a wonderfully written coming of age story disguised as a young adult werewolf tale in a Happy Days world. The location is Maryneal, Texas circa 1962.

Delah is a small town girl in a Texas town barely on the map, where everyone knows your name. It’s the summer of 1962, although rural places often don’t keep up with the times, and this town is no different. 1962 could easily pass for the 1950s here, as the girls, including junior in high school Delah, gab about boys and popularity and marriage, and spend their summers at church socials and carnivals that blow through town.

But when a carnival does blow through town, so does something wicked, and Delah and her family suffer a horrible loss because of it. The entire town is affected by the loss as, what the town claims is a rogue ky-ote, continues to terrorize the local livestock. But Delah knows it’s something more, something that she’s afraid to share with friends and family at the risk of sounding crazy. At the risk of putting her friends in more danger.

But that’s not really what this story is about, because as Delah struggles to reclaim some post grief normalcy, she also struggles to come to terms with the idea that she herself is not “normal.” The story is more about teenagers coming to terms with sexual identity in an era when normal had stricter rules. And this town being a white Christian town adds to the pressure to fit in.

It’s a wonderfully written piece filled with heart and well drawn characters. The werewolf angle poses as a nice analogy regarding hormonal changes that lead to dangerous decisions. I really liked how Taylor effortlessly pulled together a small number of trigger warning topics without crossing a line.

But this is, ultimately, a horror story, and the culmination of it does involve quite a bit of gore. I thought the ending actually fell short—not because of the gore—but because I expected to see  a bit of a wind down from the bloody climactic moment.

Overall though, this piece has strong, endearing characters who you want to root for, and not just because of the creature feature monster lurking in the shadows. It’s well worth the read, and I highly recommend it. You can find the book here, or at your favorite online book sites.