it's hard to classify this book..it's not really horror although there are some ghostly and supernatural elements...I guess a grouping of supernatural short stories? But who needs labels...all the stories were very good..they range from a story about a vampire that just wants to play baseball to a few stories that are intertwined about the 'Makers'..people that makes astrological things happen...they make it rain, they make the sun go down at night, they make the wind blow, they make the moon rise...The highlights:The Vampire Shortstop--probably my favorite and best in the bunch...it's about..well a vampire who wants to play in little league! But the story is really about being different, wanting to fit in, and what happens when people just want to stick with the status quo...a surprisingly human story considering the focus is on a vampire...Thirst, The Night the Wind Died, Luminosity and the Boy Who Saw Fire--these are about the 'makers' I mentioned before..each one focuses on a different young boy or girl who are burdened with making, essentially, the world go aroundInvisible Friends and In the Heart of November--Two related stories about a girl and an imaginary friend...but she's not imaginary..she's a ghost...this isn't a horror story though..it's about friendship..All the stories were entertaining but I found these to be among my favorites. Another really good collection by Mr. Nicholson!
Thank You for the Flowers is a book of short stories from Scott Nicholson. My favorite poem is Thank You for the Flowers which is right after the table of contents.The Vampire Shortstop is my favorite story followed by Dead Air, Thirst, The Three-Dollar Corpse, Metabolism, Constitution, and The Boy Who Saw Fire. I won't tell you what they are about so you won't lose the anything out of the story. I don't want to give anything away. There are a total of thirteen stories in the book and Scott gives you some insight into the stories later on in the book. (Which I really liked.)All in All, it was a wonderful read and would recommend it to anyone who likes the paranormal and horror. Scott is very good at getting you very close to the characters in the short amount of time that it takes to write a short story. He actually gets you to feel like you are there experiencing what they are while you are reading. Kudos Scott.. Scott Nicholson
What do You think about Flowers (2014)?
Thanks to the godS this is not a print on demand book (POD) as so many of today's trade paperbacks tend to be (and an ever increasing number of hardcover books).The Stories in this collection from 2000 are:Haunted - 5The Vampire Shortstop - 17Skin - 41Dead Air - 55In The Heart Of November - 73The Three Dollar Corpse - 85 Thirst - 99 Do You Know Me Yet? - 111Homecoming - 123 Kill Your Darlings - 133 Metabolism - 145The Boy Who Saw Fire - 157Constitution - 173Afterword - 185Generally pretty well written. Some stories were more enjoyable than others. I will try one day to read one of Mr. Nicholson's novels.
—Karl
Nicholson applies imaginative slants in this collection of interesting and thought provoking short stories. Don't skip it because you think the author writes only horror. My favorites were "Haunted", a ghost story with a twist,and "The Vampire Shortstop", a baseball story of how children and adult react when a talented young vampire joins a team. As a writer, I could relate to the paranoia of the writer in "Do You Know Me Yet?" "Skin" is a creative way to imagine the connection between organ donor and recipient.
—Janet Hartman
