Mini-short stories are "bite-sized" tales comprising some 500-2,500 words. Due to their uniqueness and brevity, mini-short stories undoubtedly constitute a subgenre of the hollowed short story tradition. Certainly, they display some distinctive literary features: a highly-condensed narrative, brief but illuminating characterization, a single overarching incident, and a flash of symbolic meaning. Many classic authors of the past such as Tolstoy, Joyce, Crane, and Hemingway have richly contributed to the growing corpus of mini-short stories.
In "A New Assortment of Mini-Short Stories," author Leif E. Trondsen presents a new collection of 10 original "truncated tales" to his readers. This book is a follow up work to of his earlier "The Art of the Mini-Short Story," in which he provided an intimate "portal" into the creative process of one aspiring fiction writer at work with his chosen craft. Following this earlier attempt at defining and mastering the mini-short story format, Trondsen has matured greatly in his writing style and literary insights. Additionally, his stories have grown in length as well as in complexity and nuance. Trondsen has even ventured into new storyline topics, such as contemporary geopolitical issues and past historical events.
The 10 mini-short stories included in this volume cover a wide range of literary genres, such as drama, historical fiction, satire, and political commentary. All, however, conclude with Trondsen's tell-tale "twist" endings, in the style of his favorite short story writers Edgar Allen Poe, Ambrose Bierce, Saki, and O. Henry. A sampling of these new mini-short stories includes: "The Cyber Stalker," an unsettling tale of a deranged and obsessive woman as she stalks her ex-boyfriend online; "The Mannequin," an unusual story of a homely and reclusive man who finds the "girl of his dreams" made of silicon and metal; "The Color-Bearer," a harrowing Civil War story of a 12-year-old drummer boy thrust into the bloody maelstrom of battle; and "Business is Business," a contemporary tale of a ruthless Wall Street banker who is miraculously transformed by his burgeoning love for one of his clients - with disastrous results. These mini-short stories are intended to "entertain, inspire, enlighten, challenge, and, yes, even shock their readers."
Beautifully set in Perpetua type and illustrated with color photographs, "A New Assortment of Mini-Short Stories" is a "must read" for all readers seeking a "good read" beyond the common pale of most contemporary fiction.
About the Author: Born in Lillehammer, Norway (site of the 1994 Winter Olympics), Leif E. Trondsen received his B.A. in History from California State University, Long Beach and M.A. in History from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he was a doctoral student specializing in the classical world of Greece and Rome. Leif eventually hopes to complete a Ph.D. in History or a M.A. in Theology, depending upon where the Spirit leads. He currently works as a part-time writer and historian as well as a full-time caregiver for his 5-year-old grandson Dominic, who has autism. Leif lives in Orange County in Southern California - deep behind the conservative "Orange Curtain," an awkward home for a lifelong Democratic Socialist.
