Pieces of Me by RJ Roles, self published.

 

Pieces of Me by RJ Roles, self published.

If you haven’t heard yet, RJ Roles has his own collection of short stories coming out tomorrow, February 17th. There are 15 stories in all; from baking to the apocalypse. A wide variety of awesomeness. I’ve reviewed each story to lure you in to picking this one up. 

The introduction is written by M. Ennenbach. It is very cool to read how these two met, through the Books of Horror Facebook group. There is a lot of respect in BoH and RJ Roles plays a big part in it. Ennenbach reminds us that not only is RJ an awesome person and great friend, he is also a fantastic author. 

Firefly Light. A group of kids are playing tag at night and whoever is “it” has a jar of fireflies to use as a light to hunt for the others. A neat little twist at the end. A highly entertaining story to start off this anthology.

The Happiest Nightmares on Earth.  ZOMBIES!!! Enough said. I freaking love zombies. That this little story is in this selection, Chef’s Kiss!

The Wishing Well. Oh man what a fantastic turn of events in this story. Wishing well wishes turned up a bazillion degrees. It was so much fun to read this one!

Dream Vacation. This is more science fiction like, but ends up being horror in conclusion. A man is given the gift of having lots of dream vacations, but as always, these things come with a price! How does RJ come up with these twists on a basic story? This one is really good.

Leviathan. I don’t know if you are like me, but when I think of a Leviathan, I always think of a nasty sea creature that can think logically and has reasoning. Just kick that thought up a few notches and RJ goes there. A few sailors are stranded on an island with no way off. Yikes!

Secret Recipe. So this one is hilarious but also dreadful. Grandma likes to make cookies and certain people get a super special cookie to fix their bad behaviors permanently. I would definitely try to stay on her good side. 

Sinner’s Holiday. A family has a tradition they hand down to each generation. When the next generation's son kinda goes off script, chaos ensues and all hell breaks loose! A cute little love story. *wink*

Hag’s Hollow. I think this is a kind of historical horror story that could be written into a novella. It’s about a town in the 1500’s that all but vanished, leaving behind questions as to what happened to the town and its citizens. I got a Roanoke vibe from it, I loved it.

In the Deep Dark. This story pulled at my heart-strings in conclusion. A brother and sister are going on a hike in search of treasure, but they end up lost in the woods until they stumble upon what appears to be an abandoned cabin. This is probably the most classic-esque story I’ve read by RJ. A very enjoyable story.

Man of the House. During the apocalypse, a family is just trying to survive what is left of the world. All the death, unbearable heat, and finding the next meal. Told in both journal and first person point of view. 

Swine of Another Kind. A retired cop takes on the corrupt cops with some wholesome sweet revenge. I really enjoyed the twists and turns this took all throughout the story!

Pennies for Santa. What a hoot! I laughed while reading this one. I don’t know if I wasn’t supposed to, but sometimes the bad guys are downright stupid and funny. Highly entertaining story of a good guy turning bad guy during the holiday season.

Until That Day Arrives. This story is quite unique and completely wonderful. I don’t know how RJ came up with this story, but it is a true testament to what his imagination is like. It is unlike any story I have read before. A young boy loses his parents and is sent to an orphanage. The orphanage is everything but nice. Evil with a creature feature. Completely absorbing.

Old Soul.  A woman experiences different  peoples deaths over and over again off and on throughout her life. It gets to be too much for her after years of it. 

Something Wrong With the WIFI. Another funny and entertaining story. A husband and wife are enjoying their own hobbies when the WIFI goes out. He is tired of it always dropping so he heads to the shop. And boy, the loopholes he has to go through for WIFI! 

I enjoyed all these stories with quite a few of them being my favorites. RJ Roles is a gifted author with a unique imagination and shares a whole lot of humor! His writing is anywhere from bleak sadness to evil destruction to entertaining day-to-day horrors. You get a wonderful variety of stories in this anthology.