Sean & Jen talk Flashy Fiction and Other Insane Tales – Guest Post

click on cover to buy

I am very happy to have Jen Wylie and Sean Hayden here to talk about their latest joint effort:
Flashy Fiction and Other Insane Tales.

The Short Truth Behind Flashing

Jen: Greetings peepsies, this is Jen and Sean here to speak about a very important topic.

Sean: Spaying and Neutering your pets and relatives. Just kidding. Today we shall be discussing FLASH FICTION and SHORT STORIES.

Jen: Though Spaying etc. IS important. Help control your local pet population folks! (And ya, don’t get me started on people…)

First off let’s make sure you know what flash fiction and short stories are, since some people tend to be confused about this.

Sean: Okay. Good call. Well, flash fiction you write while wearing a trench coat and nothing else.
Okay, I’m teasing again. Flash fiction is, you’re given a topic. Say, oh i don’t know, FIREFLIES. You take that topic and write a very short story incorporating the topic into your story.

Jen: The main point being you write it quickly, and it’s SHORT.

Sean: Yeah. Just like I said. I write my flashies in one sitting

Jen: If you want to get technical, flash fiction is generally under 1000 words, usually about half of that or less, depending on who you ask.

Sean: Yes, but also depending on who you ask determines whether there are eight or nine planets in our solar system.
I make my own rules and I say PLUTO is a planet people. Deal with it.

Jen: Back to the topic… short stories, on the other hand, are well… short stories.

They are longer than flash fiction and they tell a tale, with a beginning, middle and end

Sean: Definitely. Short stories are generally under ten thousand words. Anything over that is considered a Novella. I’ve actually had some of mine take longer to write than novels.

Jen: People not used to reading these short works often end up disappointed. Which is sad. There are many wonderful short works out there, and they are wonderful for a variety of reasons. Many people used to novels will complain its too short, or that it was only part of a story, or not detailed enough. Which is all true. THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BE.

Sean: As authors, we try to label them as such. I can’t even begin to tell you how many nasty reviews I’ve received based upon the length of the story. “It was incredibly well written, I just felt that there was enough story to make it a full length novel.” Um….Yeah. Short Story. Why do you think it’s so cheap? We price our novels considerably higher.

Jen: Which is a very good point. Also, a lot of times an author might try out a story idea as a short, or write a short to accompany something else they have written. Or the story was only ever meant to be short. The point of reading is enjoyment, to get your brain and imagination working. If our story gets your gears a-turning and what-ifing…then our job is well done.

Sean: I for one have written short stories that I intended never to revisit again. I wrote them as an experiment so to speak, to see if I liked writing in a particular unfamiliar genre. Because of POSITIVE feedback, I now have both pre and sequels planned for that short story.

Jen: Let’s use Flashy Fiction and Other Insane Tales as an example. It has some quickies, a wide range of genres and even different writing styles. I was all over the place in my selections for it. I like to try new things and see not only what I like to write, but what readers like to read.

Sean: And it was the peoples thirst for something a little longer that we decided to put a whole bunch of them together for a longer, meatier, bigger, stronger, faster, something for them to enjoy. We went for crazy, paranormal, fun, and exciting. This is just the first one of a whole series of them we have planned. Hope you enjoy them!

Jen: So on that note, thanks for stopping by! Please comment away about what you think about flash fiction and short stories. Feel free to ask us any questions too!

Sean: Try the veal and don’t forget to tip your waitress.

About the Anthology:

An anthology of the strange, bizarre, and just plain weird.

Zombies, vampires, ghosts, and …crickets? Try a taste of writing from two very different fantasy authors. Flash stories are super short and perfect for when you ‘just have a minute’. This anthology contains 15 stories from authors Sean Hayden and Jen Wylie. Run the rampart of emotions in this exciting mix of tales. From humor to twisted, there is something for everyone.
Note: Some stories contain adult language.

About Jen Wylie

Jennifer Wylie resides in rural Ontario, Canada with her two boys, Australian shepherd a flock of birds and a disagreeable amount of wildlife. In a cosmic twist of fate she dislikes the snow and cold.

Before settling down to raise a family, she attained a BA from Queens University and worked in retail and sales.

Thanks to her mother she acquired a love of books at an early age and began writing in public school. She constantly has stories floating around in her head, and finds it amazing most people don’t. Jennifer writes various forms of fantasy, both novels and short stories. Sweet light was her debut novel published in 2011 by Echelon Press. She also has a number of fantasy short stories out, including a YA short story series called Tales of Ever. Coming Oct 2012 from Hadley Rille Books is another YA fantasy, Broken Aro.

About Sean Hayden

Born the son of a fire chief, Sean naturally developed a love of playing with fire. His family and friends quickly found other outlets for his destructive creativity. Writing is his latest endeavor.

Always a fan of the macabre, mythical, and magical, Sean found a love of urban fantasy and horror. After writing several novels in this genre, he found, fell in love with, and immersed himself in steampunk. He has always wanted to rewrite history and steampunk gave him that opportunity.

Sean currently lives in Florida as a fiber-optic engineer as well as an author. He was blessed with the two most amazing children he could ever hope for, has met the absolute love of his life, who coincidentally is his partner in everything. His hobbies include grand designs on world domination as well as a starring role in his own television sitcom.