Love Letters to a House on Fire: Stories, Poems, and Ransom Notes

by Aaron N. Hall

Greedy elves. Warrior princesses. Earnest robots. Sexy frogs.

Love Letters to a House on Fire is a collection of stories, letters, poems, and ransom notes that contain thoughtful and quirky observations on the world we live in. Follow along through science fiction- and fantasy-inspired tales of adventure, conspiracy, betrayal, and determination. Enjoy poems exploring themes of love, life, nature, faith, and mental health. Finish by reading the ransom notes documenting a botched kidnapping that blossomed into a family blood feud.

These are love letters to the deep parts of ourselves and the parts of the world burning at our feet.

149 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2023

About the author

Aaron N. Hall is the author of the The Legend of Uh, The Wevlian Chronicles, the Hammerfist series, and multiple collections of stories and poems. When he’s not writing (which isn’t often), he’s doing nonprofit work, lifting heavy things, reading a book, or sipping a cup of tea. He lives in Utah.

Reviews

[Crystal Frost]

I enjoy reading from this author so much. His books and stories have so much wit, humor, satire, heart and soul, and adventure. And take this book for example, an author who can write short stories AND poems (with a side dose of random notes) clearly shows an author whose brain is ticking all the time with thoughts and ideas like a mad man (but in a good way). And on a side note, I hear he is writing a recipe book as well 🤔

[K.E. Andrews]

Another fun collection of short stories and poems. I really liked the Frog Prince story.

[Stephanie Teig]

I tore through this in a matter of hours. Could not put it down because it was such a delight!

[Cambria Williams]

It’s not every day you find a book you can read in one day and it’s not often you find a book that you want to read in one day. Hall’s collection of short stories and poetry is filled with humor and heart. The author’s themes are poignant and universal. I look forward to reading more by this author.

[Tim]

I could not put this book down. The stories ranged from funny to serious to really thought provoking.

You might wanna keep your eyes on Aaron N. Hall. Dude’s going places.

[Bekah]

I loved all three portions of this collection for different reasons.

The short stories: I come from the same Utah sci-fi/fantasy scene as Hall, and reading his short fiction feels very nostalgic, like being back in the writing group I was in while in my early-to-mid 20s. Each story has its own experiments with genre, pacing, character, and theme, all of which clearly showcase his love of the game. I enjoyed these very much!

The poems: Hall has some beautiful love poetry here, as well as some very relatable feelings about outgrowing a system that intrinsically shaped you. Also some very silly animal poems that would feel right at home on the shelf by a Shel Silverstein collection.

The ransom notes: a cleverly disguised epistolary epic that spans generations. Genuinely stands on its own as one of the better short stories in the collection.

Collections are so often underrated in an author's bibliography, but if you like Hall's stuff, you shouldn't miss this.

[Darci Maxwell]

My love letter to Love Letters to a House on Fire

Thank you for this gift.
I laughed. I cried a little - in the way I cry at least. Inside, where the empty is mixed with the noise.
Thank you for being vulnerable.
Thank you for sharing a piece of your soul, and your thoughts about peanut butter label designers.
I debated leaving one star - as a joke, to remove myself and my unfortunate taste.
But I couldn’t. Even as a joke.
This book warmed my heart in many ways. Touched insecurities I’ve let hide.
“No one cares to bring you back
so you remain alone”
Pretty sure that poem was about me not a shopping cart.
I hope one day, you can feel seen and known like this book did for me.

[Will Phillips]

I was not expecting this little palate cleanser to blow me away like this. This collection of short stories, poems, personal essays, etc. was not only expertly written; it was engaging, funny, poignant, at times devastating, all wrapped up in a little package with so much heart, it hurts.

Hall has delivered an absolute triumph in this collection, and ensured I read more of his work soon.

[Jaxon Charlton]

Aaron’s collections are so much fun. This was my last one but I’m sure I’ll be back sometime. The sexy frog short story was probably my favorite, but the random notes at the end also tell a really fun story too

[Ryan Griffith]

Another amazing collection of short stories, poems, and this time….ransom notes!
Remarkable and refreshing storytelling.

[Dawn Swartz]

Really this should be a 4.5! I love it when a story can touch my soul with a hint of kindred spirit, and also make me laugh out loud. Read this. Listen to this. Something. THIS!

[Jodie Scales]

While I enjoyed a couple of the short stories, specifically “Awaiting Further Orders” and “The Tragedy of the Frog Prince” and author Aaron Hall has a wide range of talent as a writer, the book as a whole was not structured pleasingly to my tastes. I felt as if some of the selections were more wondering of the author’s mind which alone would have been interesting, but in the order presented did not show any consistency of theme, context, or reader level understanding or interest. I found that Hall does a wonderful job of writing from the mindset of many middle schoolers with appropriate voice, then jumps into reflections far too advanced for that age group.

[Björn Lidenmark]

rolig och underhållande. välskriven och väluppläst.