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Light Remains
Shadow Passes. Light Remains.Light Remains contains three short works of fiction that examine dark subjects with a touch of levity. In Celebrity-Prayers.net, a Boston teenager with an Adderall addiction hires a B-list celebrity to teach him how to pray as he tries to win the affection of a classmate. But even as the prayers seem to be working, the celebrity's depression causes the teenager to question the nature of fame.In Can You Hear Me Now?, a cellphone button designer treks though Seattle in search of his lost iPhone. And the longer he's away from his beloved device, the more he is overwhelmed by the isolation and alienation he experiences without it.In The Last Day on Earth of Zelta Jones, Starwoman, a middle-aged line cook from Blue Mountain, Alabama believes she's been sent from another planet to teach humans about space travel. After years of being ignored and ridiculed, she decides to take her own life. But her last day on earth proves much more complicated than she expected. Scroll up to grab your copy of these impactful stories today.
- GenresFictionShort Stories
71 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 8, 2017
24 people are currently reading
513 people want to read
About the author
A.C. Fuller
29 books141 followersOnce a journalist in New York, A.C. Fuller now writes stories at the intersection of media, politics, and technology. Before he began writing full time, he was an adjunct professor of journalism at NYU and an English teacher at Northwest Indian College.
He lives with his wife, two children, and two dogs near Seattle. For a free copy of one of A.C.'s books, check out: http://www.acfuller.com/readerclub/
He lives with his wife, two children, and two dogs near Seattle. For a free copy of one of A.C.'s books, check out: http://www.acfuller.com/readerclub/
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 14, 2018
The three short stories in Light Remains by A. C. Fuller serve as a writing sampler. If you like these stories, you might want to read other works Fuller lists following the short stories. Although this collection is listed on Amazon at a purchase price of USD 2.99, I received this novel for free with no obligation to submit a review. Fuller begins with a short preview of the content of each story. My take on each story follows.
Can You Hear Me Now? A somewhat scary story on the importance of a mobile phone in our everyday lives. The way Fuller equated the loss of a cellphone with recurring degrees and periods of separation as we die gave me a feeling of anxiety like the narrator’s anxious feelings about his cellphone’s “theft.” There is a lot of excellent description of everyday perceptions of the narrator. When eventually replacing his cellphone, the narrator did not go to the Apple store, he went to the Apple Cathedral. There is irony in that “The Feeling” (of loss) the engineer narrator felt was a creation of the narrator, a design engineer of cell phone buttons.
“They say that Facebook is where we lie to our friends and Twitter is where we tell the truth to strangers.” (p.15) is a modern day social media truth that I am sure I will repeat to colleagues (with attribution, of course). This very entertaining story makes me feel less guilty about having and carrying two cellphones.
And Gretchen is the new name for God.
Celebrity-Prayers.net Devon was in lust with April Morgan. He had even given up porn for her, so it had to be serious. At sixteen years old and without experience, Devon needed some sort of inspiration if he wanted to find a way to know April in a more biblical sense. Prayer seemed to be a possible answer and Devon had tried it on his own; he had appealed directly to God. There was no answering flash return message. Then an answer arrived somewhat accidentally by the internet. Devon needed to hire a celebrity helper.
Helpers didn’t come cheap. For just under USD 6000 Devon could have a certified celebrity come to his house and pray for Devon’s success with April. Thank (someone) for rich parents. The celebrity, aged and no-longer-a-celebrity Tyson, arrived, the prayer was done, school started, and April talked to Devon. April promised to play soon. Devon could not express his thanks enough to Tyson. Literally. Tyson would not accept Devon’s thanks. And he told Devon a secret. But that would be a spoiler. To find out the secret, read the story.
An exclusionary clue: It was not the drugs. Reading this story, it almost seems Devon is a pharmacist in training, but the secret has almost nothing to do with drugs. Almost.
The Last Day on Earth of Zelta Jones, Starwoman “The grits was good and smooth that mornin'. And the grease from the bacon was slickin' up the griddle for the eggs. Customers love bacony eggs.” (p.51). These first three sentences had me hooked on Fuller’s writing style. Grammar mavens would be apoplectic about the first few sentences of the story but luckily for me, I am not one of those creatures.
Ella was an unappreciated and possibly overworked cook in a type of diner that is a stereotype of a diner with an overworked cook, an unappreciative boss, Malcolm, and a colleague, Peg, who spent more time serving Malcolm than she did serving customers. But Ella didn’t care about all that. The cook job was just a time filler. Her real job was to remind Earth people about their abilities to travel in space.
The venue for educating Earth people was a small town, population 485, in Alabama. The effort had to start somewhere but Ella wasn’t sure about why it had to be in such an insular location with such a disinterested population. She would ask her boss about that after she returned. Now, after working at the diner for twenty-six years, she felt it was time to go home. She said goodbye to Malcolm and Peg then prepared for her death. Finally, she would be rid of Ella and return to her almost actual name of Zelta. On Earth, people would think she had committed suicide. Zelta knew death as the vehicle which would take her home. She just had to find a hose.
The rest of the story is her final journey. Along the way there is this excellent line, a product of Zelta’s final reflections: “Nothin' hurts more than feelin' a question, feelin' how big the mystery is, then lookin' out at a world of wrong answers to wrong questions.” (p. 61). Then there is the final paragraph of the story which is the reader’s reward for reading the story. It is worth waiting for.
I gave this five Amazon stars and highly recommend it for its superior description of characters. Fuller does not describe a character completely all at once. Instead, he paces the description throughout a story and lets the physical description illustrate the why of character personality and actions.
Did I mention I highly recommend this?
Can You Hear Me Now? A somewhat scary story on the importance of a mobile phone in our everyday lives. The way Fuller equated the loss of a cellphone with recurring degrees and periods of separation as we die gave me a feeling of anxiety like the narrator’s anxious feelings about his cellphone’s “theft.” There is a lot of excellent description of everyday perceptions of the narrator. When eventually replacing his cellphone, the narrator did not go to the Apple store, he went to the Apple Cathedral. There is irony in that “The Feeling” (of loss) the engineer narrator felt was a creation of the narrator, a design engineer of cell phone buttons.
“They say that Facebook is where we lie to our friends and Twitter is where we tell the truth to strangers.” (p.15) is a modern day social media truth that I am sure I will repeat to colleagues (with attribution, of course). This very entertaining story makes me feel less guilty about having and carrying two cellphones.
And Gretchen is the new name for God.
Celebrity-Prayers.net Devon was in lust with April Morgan. He had even given up porn for her, so it had to be serious. At sixteen years old and without experience, Devon needed some sort of inspiration if he wanted to find a way to know April in a more biblical sense. Prayer seemed to be a possible answer and Devon had tried it on his own; he had appealed directly to God. There was no answering flash return message. Then an answer arrived somewhat accidentally by the internet. Devon needed to hire a celebrity helper.
Helpers didn’t come cheap. For just under USD 6000 Devon could have a certified celebrity come to his house and pray for Devon’s success with April. Thank (someone) for rich parents. The celebrity, aged and no-longer-a-celebrity Tyson, arrived, the prayer was done, school started, and April talked to Devon. April promised to play soon. Devon could not express his thanks enough to Tyson. Literally. Tyson would not accept Devon’s thanks. And he told Devon a secret. But that would be a spoiler. To find out the secret, read the story.
An exclusionary clue: It was not the drugs. Reading this story, it almost seems Devon is a pharmacist in training, but the secret has almost nothing to do with drugs. Almost.
The Last Day on Earth of Zelta Jones, Starwoman “The grits was good and smooth that mornin'. And the grease from the bacon was slickin' up the griddle for the eggs. Customers love bacony eggs.” (p.51). These first three sentences had me hooked on Fuller’s writing style. Grammar mavens would be apoplectic about the first few sentences of the story but luckily for me, I am not one of those creatures.
Ella was an unappreciated and possibly overworked cook in a type of diner that is a stereotype of a diner with an overworked cook, an unappreciative boss, Malcolm, and a colleague, Peg, who spent more time serving Malcolm than she did serving customers. But Ella didn’t care about all that. The cook job was just a time filler. Her real job was to remind Earth people about their abilities to travel in space.
The venue for educating Earth people was a small town, population 485, in Alabama. The effort had to start somewhere but Ella wasn’t sure about why it had to be in such an insular location with such a disinterested population. She would ask her boss about that after she returned. Now, after working at the diner for twenty-six years, she felt it was time to go home. She said goodbye to Malcolm and Peg then prepared for her death. Finally, she would be rid of Ella and return to her almost actual name of Zelta. On Earth, people would think she had committed suicide. Zelta knew death as the vehicle which would take her home. She just had to find a hose.
The rest of the story is her final journey. Along the way there is this excellent line, a product of Zelta’s final reflections: “Nothin' hurts more than feelin' a question, feelin' how big the mystery is, then lookin' out at a world of wrong answers to wrong questions.” (p. 61). Then there is the final paragraph of the story which is the reader’s reward for reading the story. It is worth waiting for.
I gave this five Amazon stars and highly recommend it for its superior description of characters. Fuller does not describe a character completely all at once. Instead, he paces the description throughout a story and lets the physical description illustrate the why of character personality and actions.
Did I mention I highly recommend this?
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February 14, 2025DNF @40%. Too much swearing for me.
April 8, 2017
A.C. Fuller's new three-story collection, Light Remains, is a departure from his media thriller series. Fuller's spare, tight style handles this genre well. The works are infused with dark humor, but not to the point they become black holes sucking brightness out of one's reading enjoyment. Enough light remains to be the common theme across the three stories.
The first story is an ironic take on our technology-addicted culture. The brightest spot in the main character's world is the white glow from his iPhone screen. The day he loses it is the darkest day in his 34-year-old life.
In the voice of Devon, a privileged drug-abusing sixteen year old, the second story has the teen attempting to bring a spark into his own life in the only way that makes sense to him -- by absorbing reflected light from his favorite celebrity, a has-been who gets hired to pray for others through the website Celebrity-Prayers.net.
The third story is, for me, the stand out in this solid group. Wanting to see the flashing lights of the star system she thinks is her true home, a breakfast cook in a tiny Alabama town makes plans for her last day on Earth. Fuller brings a sweetness to this tale through Ella, who like many of us by midlife, wonder if the light from distance stars can really be enough for us stuck here in this world.
The first story is an ironic take on our technology-addicted culture. The brightest spot in the main character's world is the white glow from his iPhone screen. The day he loses it is the darkest day in his 34-year-old life.
In the voice of Devon, a privileged drug-abusing sixteen year old, the second story has the teen attempting to bring a spark into his own life in the only way that makes sense to him -- by absorbing reflected light from his favorite celebrity, a has-been who gets hired to pray for others through the website Celebrity-Prayers.net.
The third story is, for me, the stand out in this solid group. Wanting to see the flashing lights of the star system she thinks is her true home, a breakfast cook in a tiny Alabama town makes plans for her last day on Earth. Fuller brings a sweetness to this tale through Ella, who like many of us by midlife, wonder if the light from distance stars can really be enough for us stuck here in this world.
April 11, 2017
Light Remains is a very brief book (73 pages), containing three short stories:
• Can You Hear Me Now?
• Celebrity-Prayers.Net
• The Last Day on Earth of Zelta Jones, Starwoman
I found each of these stories to be incredibly unique, well written and highly entertaining. Although the author has written about some dark subjects – suicide and drug abuse to name two – he’s managed to do it in such a way that readers can easily identify and sympathize with the characters, regardless of their own situation.
Although these stories are short, the author weaves an intricate tale each time. The stories are short, yet they’re filled with deep meaning, and likable, relatable characters.
Short stories are a great way to sample a writer’s work. Light Remains has convinced me that it would be worth reading more from this author.
5 of 5 Stars, Susan Barton, https://ebookreviewgal.com
• Can You Hear Me Now?
• Celebrity-Prayers.Net
• The Last Day on Earth of Zelta Jones, Starwoman
I found each of these stories to be incredibly unique, well written and highly entertaining. Although the author has written about some dark subjects – suicide and drug abuse to name two – he’s managed to do it in such a way that readers can easily identify and sympathize with the characters, regardless of their own situation.
Although these stories are short, the author weaves an intricate tale each time. The stories are short, yet they’re filled with deep meaning, and likable, relatable characters.
Short stories are a great way to sample a writer’s work. Light Remains has convinced me that it would be worth reading more from this author.
5 of 5 Stars, Susan Barton, https://ebookreviewgal.com
April 2, 2017
A.C. Fuller’s book, Light Remains: Three Stories, is an intriguing, thought-provoking set of three short stories. Though the stories are relatively short, you feel immersed and engrossed in the characters and the storylines as if reading a full-length book.
The Last Day on Earth of Zelta Jones, Starwoman story was very touching. It was my favorite of the characters and the message of the story itself. What is great about the writing and how the author portrayed the deeper meaning is that between each story, I sat back and said, “Hmm” thinking about what the message was for the reader.
I will definitely check out his other books. I would highly recommend this book.
The Last Day on Earth of Zelta Jones, Starwoman story was very touching. It was my favorite of the characters and the message of the story itself. What is great about the writing and how the author portrayed the deeper meaning is that between each story, I sat back and said, “Hmm” thinking about what the message was for the reader.
I will definitely check out his other books. I would highly recommend this book.
January 26, 2018
Delightful quick read!
I love short stories, and these three jewels did not disappoint!. They are really short, independent, unrelated stories; not novellas masquerading as short stories. Each is complete, in and of itself. Fuller is masterful in developing characters that draw you into the storyline, in just a few concise, precise sentences. And like all good short stories, they make you feel for the characters, even the minor ones. They also make you think: about who you are, where you come from, how you treat others, what's important, and what's not; but they don't preach. From a lost iPhone, to the spark of humanity, to the universal longing for "home", these sparkling stories poke and prod and cajole, and maybe make us more appreciative of the foibles of our fellow humans! If you like short stories, such as Ray Bradbury or Stephen King have written at their best, you'll appreciate this lovely, little book!
Thanks A.C., I thoroughly enjoyed them!
I love short stories, and these three jewels did not disappoint!. They are really short, independent, unrelated stories; not novellas masquerading as short stories. Each is complete, in and of itself. Fuller is masterful in developing characters that draw you into the storyline, in just a few concise, precise sentences. And like all good short stories, they make you feel for the characters, even the minor ones. They also make you think: about who you are, where you come from, how you treat others, what's important, and what's not; but they don't preach. From a lost iPhone, to the spark of humanity, to the universal longing for "home", these sparkling stories poke and prod and cajole, and maybe make us more appreciative of the foibles of our fellow humans! If you like short stories, such as Ray Bradbury or Stephen King have written at their best, you'll appreciate this lovely, little book!
Thanks A.C., I thoroughly enjoyed them!
July 22, 2022
Thought Provoking And Enjoyable
These three stories were as diverse as could be. One concerns getting celebrity prayer support, another of an average woman in Alabama who "knows" she's a space traveler and the third of - wow, I'm drawing a senior moment - I can't remember the third. 😬
While enjoyable reading they seemed like they could have been A. C. Fuller's early writing. Not necessarily riveting prose, but not shabby either.
These three stories were as diverse as could be. One concerns getting celebrity prayer support, another of an average woman in Alabama who "knows" she's a space traveler and the third of - wow, I'm drawing a senior moment - I can't remember the third. 😬
While enjoyable reading they seemed like they could have been A. C. Fuller's early writing. Not necessarily riveting prose, but not shabby either.
February 24, 2018
Three short stories with a distinct but different twist to them. I was a little disappointed with the abrupt ending of the first, but the other 2 made up for it. A quick, fun read. This trio of stories is separate from A.C. Fuller's suspense/thriller series. As with his other writing, these stories are a very satisfying read. No spoilers here, but three unique subjects. Enjoyed them very much!
April 14, 2018
The three stories are very different in specifics but have a thread that unite them. I have enjoyed the stories that lends to searching for where the stories will lead. This book tapped into my imagination toward areas that enhance the stories.
These unique stories have such original plots, characters, and imagery that I couldn't put the book down.
A.C, you have a fan 😍!!!
These unique stories have such original plots, characters, and imagery that I couldn't put the book down.
A.C, you have a fan 😍!!!
May 10, 2017
Too short. I'm intrigued.
May 10, 2017
3 unique, short, and interesting stories that present mental and dependency issues in probably the most hopeful way possible.
February 4, 2020
I loved these three stories. I found each of them well written and thought-provoking. The first one Can You Hear Me Now? was my favorite. I’ll be looking for more from Mr. Fuller.
December 10, 2017
Weird. Three weird short stories.
I only read this for my book club. I hate short stories. And these were not good ones. At all.
I only read this for my book club. I hate short stories. And these were not good ones. At all.
April 23, 2017
Will be Kindle Unlimited, got it as freebie {ARC} so wanted to do the review even tho on pre-release kindle. *Insert review, free will, blah blah
In Can You Hear Me Now?, Celebrity-Prayers.net, In The Last Day on Earth of Zelta Jones, Starwoman; the last was my favorite.
Also writer of
Series List:
The Cutline (An Alex Vane Media Thriller, Book 0)--Available Now
The Anonymous Source (An Alex Vane Media Thriller, Book 1)--Available Now
The Inverted Pyramid (An Alex Vane Media Thriller, Book 2)--just OUT
The Mockingbird Drive (An Alex Vane Media Thriller, Book 3)--Coming July 2017
In Can You Hear Me Now?, Celebrity-Prayers.net, In The Last Day on Earth of Zelta Jones, Starwoman; the last was my favorite.
Also writer of
Series List:
The Cutline (An Alex Vane Media Thriller, Book 0)--Available Now
The Anonymous Source (An Alex Vane Media Thriller, Book 1)--Available Now
The Inverted Pyramid (An Alex Vane Media Thriller, Book 2)--just OUT
The Mockingbird Drive (An Alex Vane Media Thriller, Book 3)--Coming July 2017
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews