Dames & Doppelgangers
Published by Borda Books, November 2019
Available on Amazon here
Or in Santa Barbara, at Chaucer's Bookstore, the Book Den, and Mesa Bookstore
Dear Reader,
No writing is easy, but short stories are a particularly demanding art. To give the depth of a novel’s arc in the space of a long poem is no task for the timid. The inspiration for Dames & Doppelgangers, or the Onesie-Twosie, as it is known around the office, came from the idea of celebrating this often-anthologized genre. A friend gave me some copies of One Story, a longstanding series of single stories, published in rather modest design terms, small enough to fit in the pocket and contemplate on the subway to work.
I like the idea of featuring the short story as a standalone genre with literary merit, and also unusual design concepts. I don’t think inventiveness need be relegated to a bygone era before Kindles and E-readers. So I decided if a onesie was good, a twosie was better. And why not make it a 5x8", 70-page beauty that can fit in your pocket or your purse?
I'm happy, then, to present two stories by authors whom I respect, both of whom have been writing and publishing short stories regularly and with sharp, well-honed pens. “Struts & Frets” by Shelly Lowenkopf features a perplexing mystery for his character Matt Bender to waffle over.
And high-desert mystery can be found in “Santa Fe Psychosis” by Max Talley. One features a dame, the other a doppelganger. Max's painting, "Kim's Encounter," is featured as the cover art.
I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I do.
Best,
Silver Webb
Editrix