Status Updates From One Buck Horror: Volume Two

The 5th and final story, The Afterlife of Ellen Easterling by Michael Penkas, starts off really good, about a tortured victim now a ghost living in the house she was murdered in. Written pretty well, I thought it ended in a typical manner and would give it a better rating if it hadn't have ended so abruptly and had concluded with a more clever, crueler revenge-style ending maybe involving the 2 victims. 3 ½ stars.

The 4th story, 3 Monkeys by Adam Howe -one of my Top Ten favorite writers. Not really about monkeys but nevertheless a clever name to be sure and one you would understand once you got into it. Not at the level of his absolutey F'ing brilliant crime fiction horror novel, Die Dog or Eat the Hatchet or his crazy enjoyable crime fiction follow-up, Tijuana Donkey Showdown but good. 4 stars.

The 3rd story, Beastie by David Bischoff, reminded me a little of Stephen King's Cat's Eye and the littlest bit of a story called Heirloom by Zane Marc Gentis I read in the anthology, The Root Cellar and Other Stories about a guy, his cat and some tiny suspectedly evil like creature. Had a couple moments I liked. 3 stars.

The 2nd story, Holes by Sean Logan, surprised me. What starts off as a story about addiction took a twist and turn into something better. Well written, dark but fitting with an ending that wound around my thoughts and imagination and one I was ultimately very happy with. Gonna need to check out more by Sean Logan.

5 horror stories. I would give the first one What Swims These Waters by Daniel Ausema 3 stars if it were written in either first person or third person. Though I never finished writing any of my own stories I can confidently advise, when writing never write in second person. Unless you want to jolt your audience right out of the story and take them away from any emotional connection they've made don't do it. 2 stars.