Bad Motel: 100-Word Stories by Robert Scotellaro


Bad Motel: 100-Word Stories
Title : Bad Motel: 100-Word Stories
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0996988769
ISBN-10 : 9780996988766
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 84
Publication : Published October 6, 2016

"Like perfectly crafted dioramas, Robert Scotellaro's micro stories are tiny keyholes, tableau glimpses into fully formed worlds, entire lives implied with the barest swipe of words said, and more importantly not said." Nancy Stohlman, The Vixen Scream and Other Bible Stories "There are no vacancies at the Bad Motel. Every room is occupied by characters we recognize, interacting in exactly a hundred words, in provocative ways that are probing and prophetic. Behind every door there is word magic being performed, and here are the desk clerk's keys. Welcome! Come on in and see for yourself." James Thomas, editor of Sudden Fiction and Flash Fiction anthologies "With grit and pathos, and at times sparked with humor, these intricate 100-word stories in Bad Motel travel far and daringly beyond their very short borders." Paul Beckman, Author of Peek "You can't be complacent when you read Robert Scotellaro's stories. Each line, each word, demands attention. He's a master of the miniature tale, wielding concision like a sculptor's knife. He uncovers those strange moments of life that haunt, bewilder, and reveal with a poetry that is daring. These 100-word stories are both barbed and beautiful." Grant Faulkner, author of Fissures and co-founder and editor of 100 Word Story

Bad Motel: 100-Word Stories Reviews

  • Ray Nessly

    Robert Scottelaro's latest is a collection of one-hundred word stories—not one word more, not one word less. I read each story, slowly, at least twice: enjoying, & studying, for Scottelaro is a master of this form. Here's an example. It opens with a hook, closes beautifully, and all that falls between is essential, contains nothing extraneous, and in so few words, conveys so much back story and foreshadows future events.
    New Light
    If their leader said he could lasso a fly from the air with dental floss, she'd believe him. Drove those long miles to the desert. New Light they called themselves. She sounded different on the phone. Said it would be the last I'd hear from her. How she didn't miss TV, booze—any of it. Something metaphysical about "potholes." Hoped Baxter, her old Pomeranian (mine now) wouldn't be much bother. Baxter was happily licking his balls. When I told her, and she didn't laugh (that huge laugh that made the house bigger), I realized I'd been speaking to her ghost.

    I also loved Scotty's two previous collections, What We Know So Far & Measuring the Distance. See my reviews, and those of other fans, here:
    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

  • Meg Tuite

    Scotellaro is a master of flash and micro-fiction. I am a fan! Buy any collection he has written. Here is a sample of one of his 100 word stories in 'Bad Motel':
    Sewn In
    'Outside the diner it was raining. Periodically, a truck's air brakes would add its hiss to the mix. The trip had been tough. Talk, cracked as some of those roads. There were miles yet. Rain shadows ran down that dress you got in Mexico. Little mirror pieces sewn in. You said, "We are all prisoners of our own momentum." I passed the salt. Didn't know what else to do. The waitress poured coffee like she invented it. Had a wet rag that did little more than reconfigure the table grease. When she flipped her pad page over, we looked up."
    It has all the elements. Visceral and depth sewn into every sentence. Exceptional! Buy a copy!
    Published by 'Big Table Publishing'.

  • Robert Vaughan

    Scotty is a treasure, his short fiction is stunning, and succinct. Words sting, insinuate, promise. His characters are just flawed enough, story after perfect story. I read this in several sittings, about four to six at a time. I recommend doing the same, letting his mastery have its dazzling effect. He is a consummate truster of the reader's capacity to interpret. I am constantly in awe of his prose.