Dirty Sixth Street – Short Story Review

 

Felipe Adan Lerma is a prolific author, having written numerous books in a number of genres ranging from short thrillers, as reviewed here, to poetry, photography, travel, and many more. He is also a prolific book reviewer, contributing to a number of online Indie author review and writing groups as well as offering help and advice whenever and wherever he can. On a personal note he has also proved to be an invaluable and valued member of my Indie Author Support & Discussion Fb group and website of the same name, having blogged a number of posts in support of the IASD anthology You’re Not Alone in support of the cancer charity, Macmillan Nurses. 

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Click IASD thumbnail for website:           Click thumbnail for Felipe’s blog post.  

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Dirty Sixth Street, Austin by Felipe Adan Lerma is the second of the author’s stories I have read and reviewed, the first being his novella One Night in the Hill Country

       Click on thumbnail for link to Blog Review:  

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Amazon Blurb:

Part of a series of short stories, Texas Shorts.

“Dirty Sixth Street, Austin”

This short story is a first of several shorts.

My first story that takes six of my cast of characters in my fiction, the young cousins traveling and hanging around with each other, down into one of Austin’s most well known party streets.

Another first, is their involvement in a minor, but nevertheless, scary crime.

And a mystery, also of a sorts.

Besides the six children, Antone, Cherise, Simone, Tabitha, Buzz, and Zilker, two new characters, from Vermont, are introduced. Sam (Samantha) and her brother Matt. They’re adults. 🙂

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Dirty Sixth Street, Austin

By Felipe Adan Lerma

(Available from Amazon in eBook format)

Nice little thriller … Moves along at a cracking and entertaining pace. By Rudders on January 10, 2016

Another short thriller from Felipe Adan Lerma but again one that packs a lot more into it than the relatively short word count would suggest. In his writing, the author strips away every superfluous word of needless padding, once again putting me in mind of Hemmingway. What’s left is a short hard-hitting thriller that moves along at a cracking and entertaining pace.

For a short story there are more than the usual two or the three characters, in this case there being six young cousins as well as police officer and child advocate Sam (Samantha) and her geeky brother Matt. At a little under eight thousand words the author manages well to bring to life the settings and busy atmosphere in which the story unfolds. The central character, Sam, is visiting Austin, Texas, to attend a law enforcement conference and job interview. Right from the start there are hints at Sam’s background, and some of the traumatic events she’s witnessed in the past. To relax and get away from things, she goes for walk in the evening along the busy Sixth Street. During that walk she encounters a group of six children of varying ages, the youngest being a boy of about eight who happens to be crying at the time. It turns out there have been a recent spate of robberies, one of which involves the children; being a police officer, and one particularly interested on the effects of crime on children, she sets about her own investigations, getting to know the children better along the way.

Another aspect of the author’s writing that impresses is the authentic characterisation and dialogue of the children and their interation with the adult police officer, Sam; quite often when writing children’s dialaogue, it can be difficult to get it just right or believable but the author succeeds in this area better than most, especially given the varying ages of the children in the story, a testament possibly to the author’s own extensive family background and interaction with his own children and grand children. The writing is actually quite enchanting, and though a thriller that doesn’t shy away from reality and the criminal undertones of the story, it does not rely on excessive violence, making it a suitable story for reading across most age groups and tastes.

An engaging and quick read, and one that will particularly appeal to fans of the crime, thriller, and short story genres. I won’t say more other than that as well as enjoying the story you may feel the urge to eat a spicy taco too… Why? You’ll have to read ther story to discover that ….

 

Author Profile:

Born and raised in Texas, and now a young senior living in Vermont, his wife Sheila’s home state, Adan brings a gentle infusion of yoga and fitness to bear on life long interests in writing, painting, dance, photography, and the arts in general.

Determined to learn about the ideas of Western Culture that have informed our civilization, Adan put himself through college with the help of his GI Bill benefits. More recently, he has added certifications in fitness and yoga.

His self stated mission on his website, reads, “a Beginner’s View : Integrating Yoga Fitness and the Arts.”.

NEW: Over 50 titles available FREE in Kindle Unlimited.

Fiction, photography, poetry. Family, mystery, and (new) thriller fiction. Set in Austin Texas, Paris, and Vermont.

Images and poetry from all three locations.

 

Further links to the authors numerous novels and poetry collections can be found at:

www.felipeadanlerma.com 

https://twitter.com/FelipeAdanLerma

Felipe Adan Lerma’s Amazon Author page

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And lastly, a few words from Felipe Adan Lerma himself …

As the oldest of six, a father of three, and a grandfather of five, and married over thirty years, I believe, in writing stories and poems, I’ve found a perfect outlet for my years of living.

I have been writing and creating pictures since high school in the sixties, and began writing more seriously in the late 70s and early 80s.

One of my more recent surprises has been to read a definition of Romance that seems to generally fit the majority of both my poetry and fiction: a central story involving the relationship of two people, and a generally optimistic and satisfying ending.

With that revelation, I now view Romance fiction in a whole new light. 😉

But if I had to give one word about most of my fiction and poetry, and even my images, it’s relationships.

The interactions of people, especially couples and among family, seem to have the strongest hold on me. That would also help explain why even in my poetry about teachers and nurses and others, it is the relationship aspect that usually is my focus.

The Processing my Fiction series on my site has more detailed specific articles that might be of interest.
http://felipeadanlerma.com/category/areas/arts-area/fiction/processing-my-fiction/

 I hope you can take advantage of the half dozen or so titles I offer free for downloads, and will also consider and enjoy my other work. Thanks so much!

Sincerely,
Felipe Adan Lerma