Scary Kisses by Liz Grzyb

Scary Kisses Reviews

• 
  Matthew Tait

  Already garnering a lot of high praise in the community, Scary Kisses is a dark fantasy anthology that was released in early 2010. It features a huge chunk of authors from the entire Australian speculative league and the impact of its success has guaranteed a sequel of sorts with the upcoming More Scary Kisses. Beginning with the title of each tale, let’s have a look at all the stories individually:
  
  The Anstruther Woman by Nicole R. Murphy
  
  Set among wilds of the Australian outback, this is the story of a small community who bands together under the threat of an unknown assailant attacking livestock. Rumours abound of the elusive big-cats haunting the rough country. Ally, local wise woman and head of the Anstruther farm, works together with local legend Tynan to solve the mystery. What I liked here was the almost gothic flavour Nicole imbues into the story - although set in Australia it has a decidedly New England feel.
  
  Fade Away by Ian Nichols
  
  After a sea change to an island off the mainland, Emily is haunted by something like a transparent lover. We are then greeted with revelations pertaining to a convicts past. A small ghost story with an unsettling ending of immortality.
  
  Bread and Circuses by Felicity Grey
  
  Probably the most notorious story to come out of Scary Kisses, Bread and Circuses is a brutal and unrelenting excursion. To be honest, after all the hype, this reader’s first reaction was: It’s only a simple Zombie tale? But simple stops after the first page. This is the narrative of Susan, a star-crossed lover living amid the hell of a bored and jaded community of cemetery survivors. It unfolds at a rapid clip with the duel themes of love and death parked behind the gates of a Zombie horde. The prose is a bit like the authors nature: wicked, unflinching and with a subtle hint of dry humour underneath. The title here is Scary Kisses … and there is a literal kiss at the end of this one seldom brought about in horror fiction.
  
  Black Widow by Shona Husk
  
  This wouldn’t be a Paranormal Romance compilation without a subset of vampire stories. Black Widow tells the story of an incarnate vampire who is made flesh as a prostitute in Las Vegas and begins the hunt afresh. Simple but fun.
  
  The February Dragon by Angela Slatter and L.L Hannett
  
  This writing duo has been behind many stories in the past – and it’s easy to see why the collaboration continues. Set entirely in the world of Sepphoris, you have to hand it to the writers for condensing and world-building in such a short space. In this realm, Casco is a startling hybrid of human and Dragon living in the confines of a feudal House. Her talents as an artist see her as prize possession, and soon an unwanted marriage ensues. Primarily a love fable, this is the story of a young woman willing to cross the borders of the human to be with the creature she truly desires.
  
  Growing Silence by Matt Tighe
  
  One that left a confusing imprint. On the second read-through I ascertained the story is perhaps the poetry of a serial killer … one whose local environs and their silence are like a metaphor for the white noise of his mind.
  
  The Hidden One by Astrid Cooper
  
  It’s always a good thing when a tale resonates on a personal level. Tez is a midnight cleaner in museum of Egyptian artifacts in Adelaide. (I have actually worked in a Museum – and, of course, I reside in Adelaide). With a fellow employee acting as a kind of guide and mentor, aspiring writer Tez sees her world flip upside down when the wizard Ammon awakes from his slumber. Regrettably it slides somewhat into a furor of Hollywood clichés and weak special effects – but ultimately a small piece of entertainment and worthy of its inclusion.
  
  A Darker Shade of Pale by David Bofinger
  
  Much like the previous story Black Widow, this is another vampire tale – this time with an adventurous female model in the middle. Not exactly revelatory or filled with anything new, but it delivers what it intends to be.
  
  The Valley by Martin Livings
  
  Another confusing one that is oftentimes bleak; I will admit to not knowing exactly what was transpiring here. It’s a kind of sojourn featuring a man caught in a netherworld on the cusp of Heaven and Earth. He seeks redemption. The narrative seems to be a modern take on an old fable, but one I cannot put my finger on. I imagine it has a different meaning for different readers.
  
  Cursebreaker: The Welsh Widow and the Wandering Wooer by Kyla Ward
  
  With a word count running into novella territory, readers will be split in two minds with this one. On one hand it is a completely original gothic parable of a Doctor and a Cursebreaker sent to the estate of a blighted family whose wedding celebrations take a macabre turn. At times whimsical and hair-raising; at other times simply impenetrable and hard to nail down, a reader can’t help but be swept away by it all. One thing I do know: author Kyla Ward has lived previous lives.
  
  Heat by Donna Maree Hanson
  
  Probably my least favourite of the collection, Heat is mainly for the romantics out there … but it also has a smattering of high-toned sex. Once again we deal with the paranormal of Vampires.
  
  Phaedra by Bruce Golden
  
  After the often intense previous stories, Phaedra was the perfect balm to take a break from it all. Simply a story of a voluptuous cartoon that breaks out of her realm and into the real world of our protagonist to fulfill his sexual desires. Light on substance but very easy on the eyes.
  
  Date with a Vampire by Annette Backshawl
  
  One of the better vampire stories here, Annette has constructed a homely tale filled with pop culture and internet references that almost makes it meta vampire fiction. An entertaining girl meets vampire allegory.
  
  Pride and Tentacles by D.C White
  
  Symmetry is served with this perfect little ditty as the creatures from Lovecraft’s mythos get together as a bookclub to talk about some of the more popular romantic genre fiction. With this, we go out with a grin.
  
  Long-time readers might be somewhat surprised to know I found a lot to like here in this gargantuan sub-genre that is often maligned. But sometimes we must take a step back out of comfort zones and peruse what lies on the other side of the fence. One thing that probably doesn’t get mentioned enough in the reading experience is the typesetting and font. Scary Kisses is my first Ticonderoga publication and it has both these boxes ticked to make for a dark but nimble read.
  
• 
  Narrelle

  Liz Grzyb has compiled a fabulous collection of paranormal stories about love. Vampires, zombies, ghosts, elder gods, witches, dragons and unnamed evil all get a place to shine, or lurk. Some of the stories worked better for me than others, as always happens in any anthology, but the whole ensemble is a fine dish of literate goodies!
  
  Standouts for me were:
  
  * Felicity Dowker’s “Bread and Circuses”, a dark, disturbing, moving story of love after the zombie apocalypse
  * Ian Nichols’ “Fade Away” pleased me by delivering an ending I wasn’t expecting
  * I find I want to read more set in the world created by Angela Slatter and L.L. Hannett in “The February Dragon”
  * Kyla Ward’s “Cursebreaker: The Welsh Widow and the Wandering Wooer” demonstrated a refreshing and lively prose style, and is another one with potential for a whole universe of fascinating stories
  * My fondness for “Date with a Vampire” by Annette Backshall bloomed the instant the heroine refused to play her part, and the Perth setting was nice. Let’s see more paranormal fiction set in Australia, folks!
  * D.C. White’s “Pride and Tentacles” is just the right fluffy bit of fun to round off the collection and for some reason I find I’m not the least bit surprised by Cthulu’s choice of book.
  
  There’s a lot of great work coming out of Australian small presses at the moment, and Western Australian seems to be leading the charge with its SF and fanasy publishers, like Twelfth Planet Press and Triconeroga Publications. The latter has published Scary Kisses and it’s worth checking both publishers out for their back catalogue and upcoming books. In the meantime, buy Scary Kisses and support Australian small press, not because it’s Australian, but because it’s great.
• 
  Martin Livings

  I don't think I'm the target demographic for this book somehow, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. A few stories were a bit twee for me, too many kisses, not enough scary, but I enjoyed Matt Tighe's "Growing Silence", Kyla Ward's "Cursebreaker: the Welsh Widow and the Wandering Wooer", "Date With a Vampire" by Annette Backshall (one of a number of vampire stories) and DC White's "Pride and Tentacles". The standout story for me, though, was definitely Felicity Dowker's "Bread and Circuses", which deserved all the praise it's been garnering from all quarters. It'll definitely be shortlisted for a lot of awards this year, and pick up some too, I'd imagine.
• 
  Eleni Konstantine

  I enjoyed the range of stories in this collection but I must say my favourite a were the ones where love won out in true paranormal romance fashion. Darksiders Shona Husk, Nicole Muphy, Donna Maree Hanson and Astrid Cooper are included.
• 
  Samantha

  Love love this book. Amazing short stories
  
• 
  Ticonderoga Publications

  Standard Ticonderoga Disclaimer: We published this book because we loved it!