| Title | : | Off The Record 2At The MoviesA Charity Anthology |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 364 |
| Publication | : | First published September 22, 2012 |
Following the Spinetingler award nominated 'Off The Record', the charity anthology featuring stories based on classic song titles, comes the highly anticipated sequel.
This time, inspiration arrives in the form of classic film titles. With an introduction penned by Chris Ewan and featuring some of biggest and brightest names writing today including... Will Carver, Steve Mosby, Helen FitzGerald, Adrian McKinty, Matt Hilton, Stav Sherez, Claire McGowan, Sean Cregan, David Jackson, Mel Sherratt, Maxim Jakubowski, and many more - forty-seven writers from around the world.
All coming together to raise money for children's literacy charities.
In the UK, National Literacy Trust. In the US, Children's Literacy Initiative. From Crime to Fantasy, Taxi Driver to Weekend at Bernie's there's something for everyone in this collection of 47 short stories.
And all proceeds from the sales of this anthology go directly to charity!
Off The Record 2At The MoviesA Charity Anthology Reviews
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Congratulations to Luca Veste and Paul Brazill for giving us another Off The Record collection. As in the case of last year’s all the proceeds from this compilation will go to two charities dealing with children’s literacy. Last year’s OTR collection dealt with popular songs, this year’s focus is on the cinema. In each case, the anthologies feature many different styles, but the predominant ones are new crime fiction.
Most of the writings are by British writers, who give a UK feel to their world. Those of you who are Cockney impaired may want to brush up by watching The Crew, or some of the new British crime movies. I’ve watched too many licorice movies over the years. Ditto with reading British authors. Sometimes I want to call the swamps around my borough “The Moors”.
It’s difficult to pick the best ones out of such an esteemed collection, but here are my favorites:
David Jackson’s “The Time Machine” begins as an amusing tale of a young boy meeting a door-to-door salesman. After the salesman fails at his initial pitch, the boy wants to know what he is selling that’s special. The salesman has time for sale and the boy buys all he can afford. But he gets more time than needed. The ending had a very bittersweet feel.
Richard Godwin’s “Once Upon A Time In The West” is one of the few stories to link to the movie of the same title. He examines the mind of Harmonica, the character played by Charles Bronson in the original film. This is a very fascinating idea as Harmonica had very few lines in the movie.
I choose Patti Abbot’s “Mermaids” as a favorite because it takes place one county over from where I live. There is a famous park known as “Mermaid Lake” many companies have their annual picnics. Abbot’s story concerns three young women who hitchhike their way up to the park after cutting school. The ending is very creepy and could be the start of a horror novel.
It would take me more space than I can devote to praise all of these tales. There are 47 short stories in this collection! Do purchase the book. And the money is for a good cause. -
Purchased this book for two main reasons, these being that it features a short story by one of my favorite authors and also that the proceeds go to charity.
I was exceptionally impressed with the high quality and variety of the stories that make up this anthology. There is literally something for everyone in this book and the clever premise of each story being named after a movie title is a great concept. Will be purchasing the first in this series and hope that a third installment eventuates.
A great cause and a great read.
