One More For The Road

ALL THAT REMAINS by Joshua Scribner is more bizarro fiction than horror, even with a zombie scene. Pretty sure the main character has lost her mind, but she makes her crazy work for her.

The interesting aspect of this story is the setting. For some reason, I'm not convinced the post-apocalyptic tale takes place on Earth. In fact, this could very well have taken place on Mars, in the past. then again, maybe I'm losing my mind, and my dog will soon be speaking to me as well.

As of today, I've read over 120 Scribner stories, including flash fiction, anthologies and novels. With a few exceptions, I've read just about everything he's written, so here's hoping he writes more stories in 2020.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Stay At Home With Scribner: Day 7 of 7

CORYANNA by Joshua Scribner is full of suspense. A nurse named Lori begins seeing the ghost of a young girl hanging around the babies. She eventually comes to an understanding with the haunting spirit, but she takes a big risk. The ending is sweet.

Very different from Scribner's usual ghost stories.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Stay At Home With Scribner: Day 6 of 7

HELL AND BACK by Joshua Scribner is a mix of John Wick, The Suicide Theory and Haunter rolled into a cautionary tale about a career decision. I can't help if any of the story actually took place, or if the main character had a massive what-if moment.

Great example of "you reap what you sow."

As always,
AstraDaemon

Stay At Home With Scribner: Day 5 of 7

THE PAUSE GHOST by Joshua Scribner is the tale of two boys being raised to believe rock music is evil. Despite this, the dad buys them a boombox, with the mother vehemently disapproving.

Not long after they begin using the stereo at night, something keeps pushing the pause button. When one brother decides to unpause the stereo, all hell breaks loose.

---

This story is a trigger for me, and I don't care who thinks I'm crazy for writing this: I had a possessed stereo in college. Now, let me be clear, I am NOT blaming Rob Zombie, but I was playing a White Zombie CD when the disc was suddenly ejected. I took out the CD, and looked over the player, AFTER I TURNED IT OFF. Everything seemed fine. AND THEN IT TURNED ITSELF ON.

I unplugged it. There were no batteries inside of it. AND IT TURNED ITSELF BACK ON AGAIN. Understand, I am not one of those people who gets curious about supernatural events. I decided to give away the stereo.

No one believed me. My friends thought I was crazy for getting rid of a perfectly good CD player, until it began turning itself on, EVEN WHEN IT REMAINED UNPLUGGED. The portable stereo kept getting passed onto the next person, only to be immediately passed onto someone else because everyone decided the damn thing was possessed.

I have no idea what happened to the CD player. Maybe it crossed paths with Joshua Scribner and inspired this story.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Stay At Home With Scribner: Day 4 of 7

OKLAHOMA DUST by Joshua Scribner is a brief story about three people: one has lost a friend, one has lost a boyfriend, and the third has lost himself. Interesting, but somewhat haphazard.

No real explanation for the ghost in the field, other than opportunity. Very abrupt ending. While not as good as the author's more recent work, I don't think this story is a bad as other readers are making it out to be.

This is flash fiction, after all.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Stay At Home With Scribner: Day 3 of 7

SIDEWALKS by Joshua Scribner is a brief story about a young man transitioning from one stage of life to another. Mark purchases a bicycle to explore his new surroundings, excited about his decision to go to graduate school. His cousin David keeps calling him though, telling Mark he would like it better with him.

I thought maybe David had made a deal with the Devil in California. The ending is a huge surprise.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Stay At Home With Scribner: Day 2 of 7

REPLACED by Joshua Scribner is not what I expected. For some reason, I thought this flash fiction would have a touch of sci-fi, but the author surprised me with something supernatural instead.

As far as love stories go, this one is pretty complicated. The main character Greg asks a good question, "Could I love the woman who killed the woman I love?" The ending is perfect.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Stay At Home With Scribner: Day 1 of 7

This week we will be self-quarantining with Joshua Scribner and his short stories...a great way to get in the habit of reading every day.

PULSING by Joshua Scribner is a flash fiction piece about man who exposed to something nasty at his workplace. Without realizing it, he becomes a carrier and infects the children in his apartment building. The ending is horrific.

As always,
AstraDaemon