Kiss Shot by Collin Kelley

Award-winning author Collin Kelley ("Conquering Venus" and "Remain in Light") explores his Southern roots with this collection of four short stories set in the town of Cottonwood, Georgia. In "How Fanny Got Her House," a devoted maid recalls the hijinks surrounding her employer's death from a brain tumor, while a teenage boy comes to terms with his sexuality during an unexpected game of pool in the title story, "Kiss Shot." A woman escaping an abusive relationship arrives in New Orleans during a rain storm and wanders into the famed "Clover Grill" on Bourbon Street, and "I Got A Name" follows the trials and tribulations of an overweight woman looking for love at a community theater company.

This is the second book by Collin Kelley that I’ve reviewed.  Mr. Kelley’s characters are complex and his stories are frequently deep and thought provoking, as are a couple of the stories in this book.  “How Fannie Got Her House,” however, is fun.  Yes, it’s an indictment of the Jim Crow South, but in a delightful way.  The story I found most poignant was “I Got a Name.”  I rather resemble the woman in the story, in that I joined a community theatre group when I weighed three-hundred pounds.  Fortunately, I wasn’t looking for love.  I simply was looking for fun and an outlet for my creative energy.  However, I ran into similar weight prejudice from some of the members of the group.  At three hundred pounds, who did I think I was, thinking I could act?  The woman in Mr. Kelley’s story doesn’t even try to act.  Yet she experiences similar prejudice.  There’s no chance for the fat lady to sing in this story.  I was a caroler in Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” thanks to my ability to harmonize by ear and to provide my own Victorian-style XXXX-L cape.

But, I digress.  Once again, Mr. Kelley has written a great book.  I read it at the mall while my granddaughter was shopping.  Yup—all four stories.

Length:  @ 57 Pages

Price:  $0.99

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Shot-Stories-ebook/dp/B0092WI3QU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352149522&sr=1-1&keywords=Kiss+Shot+Collin+Kelley

NOTE UPCOMING BLOG FORMATTING CHANGE:

In the past if you clicked on the cover art in the right column, a link took you to the book’s buy page.  In 2013, I plan to change the links so they take you to the book’s review on this site.  The buy links are always included in my reviews.  That way, if you’ve missed one and the cover looks intriguing, you can see what I said about it and still follow the buy link in the review.  Thanks for visiting.  RIW.