Skin: Short Fiction [Kindle Edition]

Alex Owens (Author), Karen Fowler (Illustrator)

Book Description

SKIN: Short Fiction

This collection is built around a common theme of "skin" and it crosses genres. The updated version of this collection weighs in over 12,500 words, including the bonus material. Readers have called it disturbingly fascinating, wicked fun and have given SKIN great reviews across numerous platforms.

Featured stories include:

• The Tanner: A social outcast, Ari spends his days honing his craft. He is a Taxidermist, a Tanner, and quite possibly a Madman. One sweltering day, he takes his art to a new level by creating unique leather goods using the most exotic medium- Human Skin. *Warning- this story is graphic and contains brief nudity/ themes not suitable for children!

• The Terminal: A short work of fiction about the reality of aging, as told by the observant nursing assistant who spends 8 hours a day watching skin turn to paper. 

• The Tattooist:  Claire has been through a series of major life changes while attending a business conference in Orlando. On her last night in the steamy city, Claire goes in search of something to remember the time by- a tattoo. Little does she know, her journey of self-discovery isn't quite over yet.  (A unique short featuring the main character of the newly released novel Kill Me.)

Bonus Material includes an excerpt from the collection Still Life Paintings, an excerpt from the novella Phone Play, and an essay from the collection Reflections on Motherhood.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I predict great success for Alex Owens, a genuine storyteller in the best traditions of the art form." - Karen Wodke, on SKIN --LibraryThing.com

"The reader will like the descriptive way the author writes as well as the succinct manner... Some of the stories may be a little gross... there is a story in this novel for every adult reader." - Krystal at GoodReads.com --Goodreads.com

From the Author

If you read this book and have thoughts about it, please consider leaving a review so that other readers may be helped by your experience. Thanks!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 132 KB
• Print Length: 32 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Quirky Gurl Media; 4th Edition edition (May 19, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0051VG7VE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #593,500 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast Easy, Excellent February 3, 2012

By K. Hillman

Format:Kindle Edition

Three very different short stories about skin: The Tattooist about a newly turned Vampire getting her first tattoo. The Terminal: Nurse reflecting on her patient as she prepares her for bed. The Tanner: a tanner who takes his skin obsession to the next level.

I was a little disturbed by the "The Tanner" and were that obsession went and the process the tanner took to get there. The Tattooist, was interesting and got me excited for the upcoming novel Blood Chord. The Terminal was well written and gave insite into how those in the medical profession really fill about helping use. All in all the shorts were well written and were very intertaining.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a Reading Good Books review. August 4, 2011

By Catrina T.

Format:Kindle Edition

These three short stories revolves around the topic of skin, as the title suggests. Unlike the other short stories that I've reviewed so far, this collection spans different genres from paranormal to mystery. As always, it's hit or miss but they're still pretty good, a very rounded collection.

"That Tattooist" serves as a preview piece for the author's upcoming novel. It is about a woman named Claire who goes to get a tattoo to commemorate her time in the city. But it's not only that, she's a newly turned vampire. I didn't like it as much as I did the other two. It had a chick lit feel to it, a genre that I don't particularly like. It says as a note that this short story happens after the novel. If this was meant as a preview to the longer work, I don't think it was very effective. There was no introduction to Claire, no development, thus, I did not care for her. This piece needed the novel to be effective. Sure, it was trying to be sassy and sexy but it fell flat because no one knew what was going on.

"The Terminal" is told from the eyes of a CNA working at a nursing home. She observes how fragile the skins of the old people are, how the skin deteriorates in time. It is a good monologue piece and I really liked it.

The final one is "The Tanner", my favorite of the three. Ari works as a taxidermist and... a tanner. He skins dead animal and turns them into accessories. After years of working with animals, he decides to try out a new medium. Human skin. This one was definitely freaky. He's like a serial killer in the making. I wanted more of this one. It was quite graphic and I loved it.

Rating: 3.5/5.

Recommendation: Got a few minutes to spare? If you can read a multi-chapter fanfiction in one sitting, this will be no problem for you.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars title fits perfect June 11, 2011

By R. Laney

Format:Kindle Edition

The Title does fit perfectly. There are 3 short stories. The first deals with Claire who's husband doc. told to get a divorce. Just because she is a newly made vampire and has sex with both females and males. So Clair decides she needs a tatoo to mark the change. So the rest talks about tatoos.
the second is a nurse in care center giving old lady a bath and talks about old skin and describes getting her in shower.
the third is guy who does tanning of animal skinners and talks about tanning which is interesting till he starts working on a stranger and than dreams about others types of people skins.
The stories where fine but not really to my taste especially the last one, Not a subject that i enjoy.
I was given the ebook in exchange of review.

More About the Author

Alex Owens is a woman with little free time, which means she stays up all hours of the night putting pen to paper. By day she's June Cleaver in jeans, and by night she writes. Somewhere in the middle of all that she finds time to tend 'dem babies, fry up the bacon and curl up with a good book (or ten), much to the chagrin of her family. She's currently at work on her Blood Chord Series, with book one just released and book two due out in early Spring 2013!