Stone Princess - A Collection of Short Stories

De: Michelle Smith

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Honest, disturbing, raw - and yet somehow still funny and strangely beautiful - Michelle Smith's collection of short stories, Stone Princess, is a revelation. This first work from a totally original and strongly compelling voice pulls the reader in quickly; you are grabbed by the throat and Smith simply does not let you go.

As Kristin Brumm writes in her advance review, “Michelle's stories draw you in and place you immediately beside the protagonist as she moves swiftly towards the cliff’s edge.” In the title story, a rape and murder victim speaks to us from beyond the grave, and offers a unique perspective on fairy-tale princesses. In the taut and deeply haunting ‘This One Guy’, a night out descends rapidly in to a nightmare, one which changes the entire trajectory of the narrator’s life. In ‘Rising’, a wronged housewife turns to her garden for a solution to her domestic problems.

An almost-defeated woman struggling to find herself and her own happiness finds inspiration in a 100-meter race; a young woman who finds understanding of her brother in the stars; a scarf which represents something different to three different women; a former prostitute desperate to escape her past; a woman struggling with alcoholism and addiction – these are just a few of Smith’s unforgettable female protagonists. They are fragile and fierce; hard and human. They are women who are determined to survive and thrive, at any cost.

They are imperfect and controversial and fighters - they are real women, and they are worth getting to know.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR 'STONE PRINCESS' “Michelle Smith's 'Stone Princess' stories are an entertaining and heartfelt read. They are stories about fierce women struggling with addiction, abuse and betrayal. They are stories about overcoming obstacles. From clever metaphors to one chilling account of a disastrous night out on the town, Smith's protagonists speak of taboo subjects with an impressive depth of emotion.” - Jowita Bydlowska, author of 'Drunk Mom'

“Michelle's writing is powerful and succinct. Her stories draw you in and place you immediately beside the protagonist as she moves swiftly towards the cliff’s edge. In each story you sense the electric pulse of a woman struggling against her own history and the confines of a life too narrowly drawn. Michelle is not afraid to explore the darker themes in life with prose that is raw, emotionally intimate, and ultimately woven with a thread of hope." - Kristin Brumm, writer at Wanderlust. She works with victims of domestic violence, and assists women and their children escape and heal from their violent experiences.