A man whose job is to feed 1,000 bats in a laboratory. A collector of upper lips and their mustaches. The sighting of a giant slug-like creature poking its head out of a baseball stadium tunnel. A young man awakening to find a butcher knife at his throat. These are just a sampling of the eclectic stories found in Craig Reeves' latest anthology. This welcome new collection of over sixty short stories by the seasoned raconteur offers fresh, innovative, and challenging fiction for discerning readers.

What is Flash Fiction? Flash Fiction is a work of fiction of extreme brevity. This book is a funny, entertaining, imaginative compilation of my flash fiction with a mix of science fiction and commentary. It is a look at the world through the eyes of the author with a unique world view that is offbeat and provocative through an unusual perspective. Many of these stories and essays were written during the Covid-19 pandemic, as were the stories in my first publication: Flash Fiction. The pandemic is still with us, but we do have vaccines and booster shots. Maybe the end is in sight. I hope so. While not all of these stories are pandemic stories, many are. I am not sure how one writes stories at this time and does not write about it. I know I can't. Still, many of my stories are about other things. Some funny, some science fiction, some fantasy, and some fiction. I hope that these stories entertain you and let you think about other things besides the pandemic. Things like living one's life through this pandemic. One day it will be over, and we can all say we lived through it. If you have enjoyed these stories in this Flash Fiction II book, please consider reading my first book: Flash Fiction. I am currently working on a CIA spy novelette: Dead Drop. I hope it will be finished later this year.

FEATURING ESSAYS FROM: Barrie Jean Borich • Jenny Boully • Norma Elia Cantú • Rigoberto González • Philip Graham • Carol Guess • Jeff Gundy • Robin Hemley • Barbara Hurd • Judith Kitchen •Eric LeMay • Dinah Lenney • Bret Lott • Patrick Madden• Lee Martin • Maggie McKnight • Brenda Miller •Kyle Minor • Aimee Nezhukumatathil • Anne Panning • Lia Purpura • Peggy Shumaker • Sue William Silverman • Jennifer Sinor • Ira Sukrungruang • Nicole Walker Unmatched in its focus on a concise and popular emerging genre, The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction features 26 eminent writers, editors, and teachers offering expert analysis, focused exercises, and helpful examples of what make the brief essay form such a perfect medium for experimentation, insight, and illumination. With a comprehensive introduction to the genre and book by editor Dinty W. Moore, this guide is perfect for both the classroom and the individual writer’s desk—an essential handbook for anyone interested in the scintillating and succinct flash nonfiction form. How many words does it take to tell a compelling true story? The answer might surprise you.

Ten years ago, Jerome Stern, director of the writing program at Florida State, initiated the World's Best Short Short Story Contest. Stories were to be about 250 words long; first prize was a check and a crate of oranges. Two to three thousand stories began to show up annually in Tallahassee, and National Public Radio regularly broadcast the winner. But, more important, the Micro form turned out to be contagious; stories of this "lack of length" now dot the literary magazines. The time seemed right, then, for this anthology, presenting a decade of contest winners and selected finalists. In addition, Stern commissioned Micros, persuading a roster of writers to accept the challenge of completing a story in one page. Jesse Lee Kercheval has a new spin on the sinking of the Titanic; Virgil Suarez sets his sights on the notorious Singapore caning; George Garrett conjures up a wondrous screen treatment pitch; and Antonya Nelson invites us into an eerie landscape. Verve and nerve and astonishing variety are here, with some wild denouements. How short can a Micro be, you wonder. Look up Amy Hempel's contribution, and you'll see.

Amazing is a collection of two flash fiction stories. 1. Monster of Monsters: First Delivery Of The First Day Type: Flash Fiction and the word count is about 370 words This short-short story in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Flash Fiction series visits a Brown Deliveries person as they start a new and very unusual job. 2. Monster of Monsters: The Elevator Ride Down Down Type: Flash Fiction and the word count is about 220 words This short-short story in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Flash Fiction series visits a Brown Deliveries person as they take an elevator ride to an interesting delivery. New to Flash Fiction? Flash Fiction are very very short books to tickle your fancy. They are a great way to see a writer's style and be introduced to the worlds they create and envision. My novels, novellas, short stories, and flash fiction range from science fiction, fantasy, action-adventure, horror with elements of mystery, thriller, suspense, dark fantasy, gothic, a mix of fairy tales, legends, and epic fantasy. Explore my worlds of magic, tech, werewolf, sword and sorcery, killer robots, UFO, witches, dragon baby, undead, demented games, vampires, villains, flying saucers, dungeons and dragons, werewolves, ghosts, mummies, assassins, monsters, androids, leviathan, aliens, curse of the mummy, mutants, warlocks, dragon riders, sorcerer, superheroes, zombies, mutant creatures, warriors, sorceress, etc.

Contains 75 short fiction stories by M.D. Smith, IV