Tripping the Light Fantastic by Allison Symes

Val Penny ♦ September 24, 2020 ♦ 1 Comment

At long last, the second collection of Flash Fiction by Allison Symes is available now. I thoroughly enjoyed the clever twists in the tiny stories told by Symes in her debut book, From Light to Dark and Back Again. That book was a joy to read and inspired many young writers to try their hand at this very disciplined form of writing. It was therefore a great pleasure to receive an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Blurb

Allison Symes loves reading and writing quirky fiction. She discovered flash fiction thanks to a Cafélit challenge and has been hooked on the form ever since. In this follow-up to her From Light to Dark and Back Again, Allison will take you back in time, into some truly criminal minds, into fantasy worlds, and show you how motherhood looks from the viewpoint of a dragon.  Enjoy the journey!

The Review

Tripping the Light Fantastic is a special little book, the right size to keep in a pocket or a hand bag with stories and poems to entertain while on a bus trip, train journey or just relaxing with a cup of tea.

There are various examples of flash fiction. I had not realised that poems could be considered to be flash fiction until I read this book. The book contains some very short stories with good twists in the tales, longer pieces (still under 1000 words) including Symes’ trademark fairy tales and several neat poems. Tripping the Light Fantastic is varied, clever and entertaining. I highly recommend it to readers of all age groups.

The Author

‘m Allison Symes. I write flash fiction and short stories and describe what I write as fairytales with bite/quirky fiction.

I have been published online and in print by Bridge House Publishing, Cafelit, Iron Press and Chapeltown Books, who published my first flash fiction collection, From Light to Dark and Back Again in 2017. I’m currently working on further flash fiction collections and a novel.

My most recent story to be published was the 1000 worder The Professional, which has just been released in ebook form by Bridge House Publishing as one of the 15 winners of the 2019 Waterloo Arts Festival Writing Competition. The theme was Transforming Being (also the name of the ebook) and the 15 writers took the topic in 15 different ways!

Two of my flash fiction stories, Dignity and Injustice, and The Art Critic will be appearing in The Best of Cafelit 8 due out in December 2019.

I also blog for Chandler’s Ford Today, an online community magazine, and usually on topics of interest to other writers.

Val Penny