Footsteps in the Darkness is a collection of stories each playing on a variety of themes which surprisingly relate. I was quickly reminded of Will Entrekin or Paul Ciccone, both authors who have been reviewed here on Lulu. We all know that short story collections and poetry make difficult books to get attention to in the traditional markets. Just visit your local Barnes and Noble and peruse these sections. Chances are there aren’t very many shelves devoted to them and if there are, they are stocked loosely and with older well-known short story writers such as Flannery O’Connor or poets like Emily Dickinson.

But it can happen. Stephen King has been very successful with his short story collections such as The Night Shift, and take a look at what makes up most of the erotica and GLBT market these days. Entrekin, Ciccone, and now Matthew Kerry all prove that the art of the short story is alive and well. And it is indeed an honor to find such outstanding writing among us at Lulu.com.

Matthew begins his collection with a story called “The Bigger Picture.” It’s the story of an awkward meeting between a newspaper photographer and his chief editor. The author’s vivid attention to detail is what makes this story work.

Next is a piece called “Hard Copy,” which deals with plagiarism and which any writer can appreciate. It begins with the description of a nameless female taking time to enjoy nature and her surroundings outside a bustling city while making her own paper to bind into homemade books which she has written. Oddly enough, there’s a few lines about photography which resonates the meaning behind the first short story previously mentioned.

The story turns to a man in the city who has obviously acquired one of the woman’s self-published books. It’s a classic, and he intends on retyping it into an acceptable 8×11 Times New Roman formatted manuscript which he can sell to a traditional publisher as his own. But what he soon finds out is that it’s not always the words on the page that give a story it’s value. It’s how they are written.

Four more brilliant stories follow which are just as good, if not better, than the ones I’ve chosen to tell you about here so far. The last story is the one for which the book also takes its name. It is the story of four travelers seeking shelter from a violent storm. They come upon a church where an elderly priest offers them refuge. They repay the priest for his hospitality by doing odd chores the next day to aid the priest and fix up the church. The next day, more visitors arrive revealing the four earlier travelers may not have been as courteous as the priest mistakened them to be.

The abrupt ending, a foundation for all of Kerry’s tales here, leaves the reader to ultimately decide what comes next. Like the photograph theme in the first story, it’s only a snapshot of life which the reader gets to be a part of for a short while. And you will want to be a part of it. Treat yourself to the free download or support this Lulu author by purchasing the paperback edition of Footsteps in the Darkness. Either way, you will not be disappointed!

Read the full review at www.lulubookreview.wordpress.com!

Tackling the ever-contemporary themes of injustice and corruption, as well as love and loss, Matthew Kerry’s collection spans the world of the war-reporter, the renegade nomad and the writer. Interspersing these stories, we delve into a priest’s conscience, the end of a relationship, and a child’s retreat made of shoeboxes.

In The Bigger Picture, a photo-journalist unable to carry on with his work capturing scenes of conflict, is driven to question his position, ultimately clashing with his unsympathetic boss. Solomon is set in an Orwellian dystopia, with its hero using graffiti to express his unpopular views, finally making a desperate plea for freedom in court. And Hard Copy beautifully evokes the world of the writer’s imagination, and the distress of the would-be imitator, trying to capitalise on another’s talents.

These are just three of the seven stories that make up this thought-provoking and enjoyable collection. The style of Kerry’s writing is both succinct and evocative, tirelessly conjuring rich and vivid images, in stories of timeless and universal appeal. Highly recommended.