Mr Christian and the Bag Lady: An Anthology of Prize-Winning Stories [Paperback]

John Howard Reid (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (December 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0557022983
• ISBN-13: 978-0557022984
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,172,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Howard Reid is the creator of Merryll Manning, the Miami-based police sergeant who made his debut in "Merryll Manning: Trapped on Mystery Island". This book was followed by "Merryll Manning: The Health Farm Murders" and "Merryll Manning: Beachfront Holiday". Next up is "Merryll Manning On the Rim of Heaven."

All 12 books in the series were published overseas from 1985 through 2001. All, except "Merryll Manning: Trapped on Mystery Island", were runaway bestsellers and ran through many editions, including hardcover, paperback (both trade and mass market) and Large Print.

All 12 novels except "Merryll Manning: Beyond Vengeance", on which the critics were divided, attracted highly favorable and indeed overwhelmingly enthusiastic reviews. The author was favorably compared with both Agatha Christie and Graham Greene.

Reid's historical novels, especially "In All His Glory" (set in Ancient Egypt), have also won wide acclaim. His short stories and poems have gained many prizes and commendations. Published prose collections include "Mexican Autumn" and "Micaela Morris in Jo's Heaven". Poetry anthologies include "Anyone for Love?", "Escape to Paradise and Other Poetic Fancies" (published under his "Tom Howard" pseudonym) and "A Salute to Spanish Poetry: 100 Masterpieces from Spain and Latin America rendered into English verse."

Reid is also a widely acknowledged expert on Hollywood movies. His latest book in this field is "Mystery, Suspense, Film Noir and Detective Movies on DVD: A Guide to the Best in Cinema Thrills".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 15 Thrilling, Evocative, Witty, Imaginative Short Stories!, December 17, 2008

By 

John Howard Reid (Wyong, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr Christian and the Bag Lady: An Anthology of Prize-Winning Stories (Paperback)

As the most recent anthology of winning entries from the prestigious, annual Tom Howard Short Story, Essay and Prose Contest -- namely WATCHING TIME: Anthology of Prizewinning Essays & Short Stories -- moved closer to at least a temporary "out of print" status, it seemed appropriate to re-publish this earlier collection, which first appeared in a limited edition in 2004, was then re-printed in 2005, but has since been unavailable. Fifteen prize-winning stories are presented in this collection, including First Prize winners, "Bag Lady" by Elaine Fell, "Happy as Lari" by Fiona Price, and "Ash" by Peter Job. Second Prize stories include "Mr Christian" and "Lord Tony's Deal", both by Roger Vickery. Third prizes were awarded to "Dearly Beloved" by Robyn Hukin, "His Majesty's Guests" by Margaret Harrison, and "Freedom's Just Another Word" by Michael Hunt. Kurt von Trojan, Jim Kent and Mark Hodgetts won awards for their "Best Science Fiction" stories. Other awards went to Trisha Dunning, Brennan O'Shea, John Ryan and Peter Appleton.

Reading these winning entries is not only a highly pleasurable encounter in itself, but a useful exercise that will help many budding writers overcome some of the problems imposed by the essay and short story form. For example, a short story is generally allowed only one, single-stranded plot line. Peter Job cleverly overcomes this restriction in "Ash" by his brilliant use of both "flashback" and "letter" devices. Similarly, Robyn Hukin has most skilfully couched her whole tale in a letter format. Another pitfall for budding authors, lies in the difficulty of presenting foreign locations in a clear yet exotic manner without loading the reader with lots of boring descriptions and explanatory material. Roger Vickery most astutely sidesteps this pitfall in both his highly engaging, winning entries. Yet another trap for inexperienced players is posed by the classic historical essay. How do you flesh out the bare bones of history, make them attractive and appealing, yet stick to the facts? Margaret Harrison demonstrates her very effective method in "His Majesty's Guests". Other genres like humor and science fiction also carry their own special problems, but these present no threat to Peter Appleton, whose account of "Writing Wrongs" is so devastatingly funny, it's guaranteed to make a cynic laugh; while the three science fiction stories represented in this anthology are likewise so forcefully yet unassumingly composed, they engage both fans and general readers right from the start.