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A Matter of Words: 21 Short Stories
From Scout Media comes A Matter of Words —the first volume in an ongoing short story anthology series featuring authors from all over the world. In this first installation, no limits were set on genre, allowing the authors to lead the reader to destinations unknown. From the outer limits of the galaxy to the darkest depths of the ocean, A Matter of Words conquers the struggles of everyday life before revealing the dramatic loss of innocence and disturbing the reader with things that go bump in the night. Whether to be enlightened, entertained, or momentarily caught up in another world, these selections convey the true spirit of the short story. Our list of contributors include Michelle Jillian Bailey Faith Cooper Stephanie Rogish Dan Golden Travis West Leah Lederman Stephen Rhodes A. Lee Ajang Alfred Balcon Cynthia Paone Alex Lonchiadis Lee Diogeneia Richard Lopez Salgado S.M.
320 pages, Paperback
Published October 6, 2015
About the author
Brian Paone
37 books361 followersBrian Paone—a Salem, Massachusetts native displaced to northern Virginia—has been a published novelist since 2007. Brian is primarily a speculative fiction author who doesn’t know how to stay in his lane. His novels feature an array of subgenres for those readers who dare to venture just outside of realism.
Brian is a police detective in Maryland and has worked in law enforcement since 2002. He is the father to four children, a self-proclaimed rollercoaster junkie, a Star Wars 501st member since 2005, a New England Patriots fanatic, and his favorite color is burnt orange. In 2019, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming the proud owner of a 1981 DeLorean!
Brian is a police detective in Maryland and has worked in law enforcement since 2002. He is the father to four children, a self-proclaimed rollercoaster junkie, a Star Wars 501st member since 2005, a New England Patriots fanatic, and his favorite color is burnt orange. In 2019, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming the proud owner of a 1981 DeLorean!
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 9, 2015
I love short story collections, because I can pick one up, read a whole story, and get my reading fix even when I'm short on time. A Matter of Words is a well written collection of diverse short stories of many genres and different lengths, by various authors. It's well put together and very much worth the read.
January 24, 2018
A Matter of Words, the debut installment of the "Of Words" series had no theme, which stands it apart from the others. In a way, it was like the editor, Brian Paone, wondered if it would drum up enough of a group to see if he even could put the anthology together.
Much to this guy’s delight, he was able to do so. The result is a mishmash of tales from strangely apocalyptic, to heartbreaking, to murder mystery, to sci-fi to rural tale, to a journey with the King. Most of the tales in this reached out from the pages and gripped me by the face, to glue me to its words until I had finished the story. It was a rare case that didn’t do that. I will admit that with a couple, I felt I was just going along for the ride to be polite, but in the back of my head, all I could think about was “Can I go home now?” Luckily, such stories were few and far in between. Indeed, I’d much rather talk about the standouts.
Randy Blazak – Elvis is My Rider
This is a lovely story that is partial biography (possibly), partial roadtrip, partial social commentary, and 100% The King. It is such a stirring piece of art that brought out the man from within the legend in such a way that immediately after watching, I threw a DVD of Bubba Hotep in my Blue-Ray player. What? You say that Elvis was an actor who was in a bunch of movies? Well, maybe one day, I’ll be able to find some copies of them somewhere. I actually had Bubba Ho-Tep on hand. It became my de facto piece of Elvis art to enjoy.
Steven Hartov – Dead Drop
Gripping. From the very first beats, readers are thrust into a noir world where detectives were cheap, women were dames who looked like Jessica Rabbit, and cigarette smoke filled the hazy greyscaled world. But this was no pulp story. This was contemporary Bond filtered through a masterful lens of a skilled auteur. My biggest problem with this was that it ended. I really wanted to see what layers Hartov would be exploring in on this little detective story. It felt so much like one part of a much larger story.
Jacob Prytherch – The Uncanny Mr. Bones
To be frank, I hate it when people mock others. In a story, however, such people are fun. The Uncanny Mr. Bones follows a complete schmuck very-appropriately-named Crouch through a night at his new job as a security guard at a storage warehouse. While the premise might be rather boilerplate, Crouch’s pov ensures that this tale is anything but. He is a man who micks the world apart with casual indifference, lighting up cigarettes immediately after his boss tells him to snub his old one out. Honestly, even if the story had been about Crouch knitting a crochet, I doubt I would have been any less captivated.
Stephen Rhodes – Just Another Day in Hell
I’ll admit. Just about all I could think about through every single moment of this story was David Ayer’s wartime tank movie, Fury. Both followed a group of tankmen who are stuck blowing things up in the middle of a war. Both get into their heads and explore the day-to-day motions of gore and maintenance that define tank squads’ lives. The biggest difference was that Just Another Day in Hell was set on a different planet. It’s a small difference, and this story was no less riveting for that.
Douglas Esper – My Wife’s Favorite
Holy hand grenade, Batman. This is my kind of story. It starts off cool, with characters that are interesting and inspire me to keep turning the pages, and then from there… wow. It’s like a Faberge Egg, where you get some great detail on the surface, but as you look, the egg opens up on you, expanding to reveal a much greater world deeper inside, and even as that expands out, there is more and more. Then, when you finally reach the inside, you find yourself screaming for escape. It is all so beautiful and heart-breaking, that it utterly shatters you, with the deep impacts of this egg lacerating your very soul.
All in all, I would say that the A Matter of Words gives readers a fun place to explore, and brings together some excellent talent to bring it together. I am very much looking forward to reading the second volume of my wonderful gift prize: A Journey of Words. Keep an eye out for that review in the weeks and months to come.
Much to this guy’s delight, he was able to do so. The result is a mishmash of tales from strangely apocalyptic, to heartbreaking, to murder mystery, to sci-fi to rural tale, to a journey with the King. Most of the tales in this reached out from the pages and gripped me by the face, to glue me to its words until I had finished the story. It was a rare case that didn’t do that. I will admit that with a couple, I felt I was just going along for the ride to be polite, but in the back of my head, all I could think about was “Can I go home now?” Luckily, such stories were few and far in between. Indeed, I’d much rather talk about the standouts.
Randy Blazak – Elvis is My Rider
This is a lovely story that is partial biography (possibly), partial roadtrip, partial social commentary, and 100% The King. It is such a stirring piece of art that brought out the man from within the legend in such a way that immediately after watching, I threw a DVD of Bubba Hotep in my Blue-Ray player. What? You say that Elvis was an actor who was in a bunch of movies? Well, maybe one day, I’ll be able to find some copies of them somewhere. I actually had Bubba Ho-Tep on hand. It became my de facto piece of Elvis art to enjoy.
Steven Hartov – Dead Drop
Gripping. From the very first beats, readers are thrust into a noir world where detectives were cheap, women were dames who looked like Jessica Rabbit, and cigarette smoke filled the hazy greyscaled world. But this was no pulp story. This was contemporary Bond filtered through a masterful lens of a skilled auteur. My biggest problem with this was that it ended. I really wanted to see what layers Hartov would be exploring in on this little detective story. It felt so much like one part of a much larger story.
Jacob Prytherch – The Uncanny Mr. Bones
To be frank, I hate it when people mock others. In a story, however, such people are fun. The Uncanny Mr. Bones follows a complete schmuck very-appropriately-named Crouch through a night at his new job as a security guard at a storage warehouse. While the premise might be rather boilerplate, Crouch’s pov ensures that this tale is anything but. He is a man who micks the world apart with casual indifference, lighting up cigarettes immediately after his boss tells him to snub his old one out. Honestly, even if the story had been about Crouch knitting a crochet, I doubt I would have been any less captivated.
Stephen Rhodes – Just Another Day in Hell
I’ll admit. Just about all I could think about through every single moment of this story was David Ayer’s wartime tank movie, Fury. Both followed a group of tankmen who are stuck blowing things up in the middle of a war. Both get into their heads and explore the day-to-day motions of gore and maintenance that define tank squads’ lives. The biggest difference was that Just Another Day in Hell was set on a different planet. It’s a small difference, and this story was no less riveting for that.
Douglas Esper – My Wife’s Favorite
Holy hand grenade, Batman. This is my kind of story. It starts off cool, with characters that are interesting and inspire me to keep turning the pages, and then from there… wow. It’s like a Faberge Egg, where you get some great detail on the surface, but as you look, the egg opens up on you, expanding to reveal a much greater world deeper inside, and even as that expands out, there is more and more. Then, when you finally reach the inside, you find yourself screaming for escape. It is all so beautiful and heart-breaking, that it utterly shatters you, with the deep impacts of this egg lacerating your very soul.
All in all, I would say that the A Matter of Words gives readers a fun place to explore, and brings together some excellent talent to bring it together. I am very much looking forward to reading the second volume of my wonderful gift prize: A Journey of Words. Keep an eye out for that review in the weeks and months to come.
February 21, 2017
Again, I appear in this anthology, so take anything I say with a grain of self promotion, but...ScoutMedia did a great job on their first ever anthology!
Randy Blazak gives us a road trip adventure with one of America's all time greats
Jacob Prytherch chills us to the core with a "things that go bump in the night" tale
Brian Paone sends you on an off-kilter trip that starts with a great suspense set up and then redirects you into oblivion
Randy Blazak gives us a road trip adventure with one of America's all time greats
Jacob Prytherch chills us to the core with a "things that go bump in the night" tale
Brian Paone sends you on an off-kilter trip that starts with a great suspense set up and then redirects you into oblivion
July 10, 2016
* * * * I give A Matter of Words 4 stars!
This eclectic collection of short stories never gives readers a chance to predict what the next page will bring.
What I Liked:
• It’s a great group of stories in various genres which is perfect for readers who can’t commit to a favorite. The varied subject matter and tone of the stories make each reading session a mystery.
What I Didn’t Like:
• As with any anthology of this type there is a great variance in the experience levels of the writers. Some stories read easier than others.
Would I Recommend This and to Whom:
I recommend this to just about anyone who enjoys short fiction. You’ll find stories that are heart-wrenching, surreal, introspective and some that will make you leave the light on at night.
Favorite Stories:
• My Wife’s Favorite by Douglas Esper
• The Uncanny Mr. Bones by Jacob Prytherch
• Hungry: The Memoir of Abby Snow by Kim Loraine
• Lithium Sandwich by Leah Lederman
This eclectic collection of short stories never gives readers a chance to predict what the next page will bring.
What I Liked:
• It’s a great group of stories in various genres which is perfect for readers who can’t commit to a favorite. The varied subject matter and tone of the stories make each reading session a mystery.
What I Didn’t Like:
• As with any anthology of this type there is a great variance in the experience levels of the writers. Some stories read easier than others.
Would I Recommend This and to Whom:
I recommend this to just about anyone who enjoys short fiction. You’ll find stories that are heart-wrenching, surreal, introspective and some that will make you leave the light on at night.
Favorite Stories:
• My Wife’s Favorite by Douglas Esper
• The Uncanny Mr. Bones by Jacob Prytherch
• Hungry: The Memoir of Abby Snow by Kim Loraine
• Lithium Sandwich by Leah Lederman
August 30, 2016
This book has something for everyone. Unlike genre specific anthologies, AMOW is one of those that can speak to your mood at any given time, and which can lay on the coffee table waiting for your houseguests with divergent tastes to strike up a conversation about their favorites. From Elvis, to giant spiders, to the unexpected twist of fate, you won't be disappointed. Dive in.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews