WATCHING TIME: Anthology of Prizewinng Essays & Short Stories [Paperback]

John Howard Reid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2006

This anthology includes 15 prizewinning essays and short stories by the following authors: Jennifer Antonacci, Fred McGavran, Jan Breen, Ned Condini, Laurie Gough, Rebecca Marshall-Courtois, Lissa Byers, Vicki Conte, B. Lynch Black, Kay Beth Avery, Noreen Braman, Debbie Camelin, Melissa Lassor, Craig Rondinone, and John Howard Reid.

Product Details

• Paperback: 207 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184728969X
• ISBN-13: 978-1847289698
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,096,000 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 Fifteen Fine Prose Pieces, July 30, 2008

By 

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

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This review is from: WATCHING TIME: Anthology of Prizewinng Essays & Short Stories (Paperback)

Selecting short stories and essays for this anthology was pretty easy. I had before me a large number of prizewinning entries from three of the annual Tom Howard Short Story, Essay and Prose Contests. This contest usually attracts well over a thousand entries each year, so the quality of prose that reaches even a Commended status is extremely high. Therefore, starting at the top, the First Prize entries -- all three of them -- were must-have inclusions: "Watching Time" by Fred McGavran, "Chocolate Covered Crickets" by Jennifer Antonacci, and "Geraldine Fitzgerald & St Patrick's Day in Pittsburgh" by Jan Breen. The Second Prize winners were "The Guernsey Doll" by Rebecca Marshall-Courtois, "Cell Block" by Ned Condini, and "Naxos Nights" by Laurie Gough. Third Prizes were won by Lissa Byers for "Phantom Feelings" and Kay Beth Avery for "Homesteaders".
"Salesman of the Decade" by Vicki Conte won a richly deserved Fourth Prize, while B. Lynch Black's cleverly plotted "Sitting at the Gate of the Temple" won Fifth. Among the Most Highly Commended entries represented are "The Dead Zone" by Craig Rondinone, "My Mother's Table" by Noreen Braman, "Out of Darkness" by Melissa Lassor, and "The Meal" by Debbie Camelin. A bonus essay, "Fan-Fan", which won First Prize in the prestigious Southern Cross Literary Competition 2002, is also included in this first-rate anthology of both fiction and true-life encounters.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Collection of Winners, November 19, 2006

By 

F. McGavran (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: WATCHING TIME: Anthology of Prizewinng Essays & Short Stories (Paperback)

The title story of this anthology of prize-winning essays and short stories from the Tom Howard Contest is a beautifully evocative monologue of a man who loses contact with reality when his watch breaks. Instead of despair, dementia leads the narrator to the farthest reaches of time and space. Other pieces range from Jennifer Antonnaci's reminiscence of 9/11 to Jan Breen's story of a musician who can make the deaf hear her sing. I highly recommend this fine collection.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Collection of Award Winners, November 9, 2006

By 

Emanuel Dinone (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: WATCHING TIME: Anthology of Prizewinng Essays & Short Stories (Paperback)

You know the stories in this collection are the best of the best because they are all award-winning, and the collection does not disappoint. I enjoyed all of the stories, some more than others, but none were below-average.