"Ghostwriter" by Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill

Discuss the May 2015 book of the month, Holding Fire.
User avatar
Scott
Site Admin
Posts: 4068
Joined: 31 Jul 2006, 23:00
Favorite Author: Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
Currently Reading: The Unbound Soul
Bookshelf Size: 340
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-scott.html
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 960
fav_author_id: 248825

"Ghostwriter" by Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill

Post by Scott »

Please use this topic to discuss the second story in Holding Fire, "Ghostwriter" by Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill.

What do you think of this story? What do you like most about it?

I like this scourge-style story, by which I mean one where the terrorized victim is himself a nasty man.

I think the writer does a great job of keeping the reader wondering what's going on and what will happen next. This is no easy task because it's hard to strike the balance between not being too confusing while still keeping the suspense.

The writer demonstrates a great sense of a certain subtle but very poetic irony, such as when the wife uses the motel cards from her husbands cheating to break into his office. The story also does a great job leaving a couple different interpretations. First, it could be that the murder victim is a real ghost (pun most likely intended!) punishing the murderer. That's an interpretation I do not like much. Secondly, it could be that the murderer is suffering from guilt-induced hallucinations. This of course adds an element of The Tell-Tale Heart. This story definitely has many elements and layers to it which makes it a very great short read! I would have loved to see more of this excellent writer playing with these themes and characters. For that reason, I would say that the ending was a little abrupt. But then again endings are like breakups—they are always hard if you liked the story.

What do you think?
"That virtue we appreciate is as much ours as another's. We see so much only as we possess." - Henry David Thoreau

"Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco." Virgil, The Aeneid
User avatar
khudecek
Posts: 507
Joined: 18 Nov 2014, 15:45
Favorite Author: Depends on Genre
Favorite Book: The Angel and the Outlaw
Bookshelf Size: 12
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-khudecek.html
Latest Review: "See Bride Run!" by Charlotte Hughes

Post by khudecek »

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss my story. :)
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
.

~~
"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
Latest Review: "See Bride Run!" by Charlotte Hughes
User avatar
SparklingOne
Posts: 479
Joined: 20 Jul 2014, 16:24
Favorite Author: Stephen King
Currently Reading: A Breath of Snow and Ashes
Bookshelf Size: 163
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sparklingone.html
Latest Review: "I AM GOD" by Shawn Dall
Reading Device: B00GDQDRPK
fav_author_id: 2376

Post by SparklingOne »

Great Story! A real what goes around, comes back around kind of story, with a little supernatural twist. Our villain in story could have avoided this whole thing if he had made his fortune off his own work. I felt sorry for the wife, she put up with his endless philandering, only to find out he was worse than she could have imagined. Wish the story had been longer, would have loved to see this little drama play out a little farther.
Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Latest Review: "I AM GOD" by Shawn Dall
User avatar
memory
Posts: 88
Joined: 08 Apr 2015, 13:23
Bookshelf Size: 21
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-memory.html
Latest Review: "Rogue & Royal" by Alan S. Blood

Post by memory »

I enjoyed this one a lot. The author did a good job making the villain totally unlikeable and the story kept my attention and read quickly. I also would have like the story to be a bit longer to see how much payback the wife could get in the end.
Latest Review: "Rogue & Royal" by Alan S. Blood
User avatar
Michelle-lit
Posts: 104
Joined: 22 Sep 2014, 19:49
Currently Reading: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
Bookshelf Size: 24
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-michelle-lit.html
Latest Review: "Take Her" by Midnight Taylor

Post by Michelle-lit »

I thought the play on the title "Ghostwriter" was clever, whether or not Lucy was really a ghost or just part of Colton's guilty conscience. For me, I didn't buy Colton murdering over a book. The whole thing seemed to escalate too fast. Also, I felt that it didn't seem right that Colton's wife decided to confront Colton about the murder before calling the police. If he could murder her sister, I couldn't see a reason why he wouldn't lash out at her too.
Latest Review: "Take Her" by Midnight Taylor
User avatar
ananya92
Posts: 669
Joined: 29 Dec 2014, 00:46
Favorite Author: Jeffrey Archer
Favorite Book: Pride and Prejudice
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 111
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ananya92.html
Latest Review: A Passover in Peshawar by AM Sardar
fav_author_id: 4949

Post by ananya92 »

This was a really interesting read and for some reason I kept thinking of karma getting back at people.
User avatar
debo9967
Posts: 489
Joined: 15 Feb 2015, 21:52
Bookshelf Size: 64
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-debo9967.html
Latest Review: "Self Examination" by VK Grover

Post by debo9967 »

I found the story really engrossing and dramatic.
Latest Review: "Self Examination" by VK Grover
zeldas_lullaby
Posts: 5980
Joined: 27 Mar 2013, 20:01
Favorite Author: ---------
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... =3452">The Thorn Birds</a>
Currently Reading: The Last Stonestepper
Bookshelf Size: 79
Signature Addition: View official OnlineBookClub.org review of Forever Twelve

Post by zeldas_lullaby »

I could not stop reading this story, and it was probably the longest in the lot. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

As Scott was saying, I found a lot of subtleties in there, such as the fact that the victim was killed with a letter opener. Fabulous irony, being that she withheld the letters (in her writing) that he wanted to steal from her!!

I also found this story to be incredibly well-written sentence-wise--great editing, great structure, no mistakes, etc. It even read as less short-story, more small novel. (More irony, 'cause that's what the bad guy wanted--his novella!)

To the author--the bad guy's "man issues" was a nice touch! ;-) WAA HA HA HA HA. :lol:

You're a great writer!!
User avatar
khudecek
Posts: 507
Joined: 18 Nov 2014, 15:45
Favorite Author: Depends on Genre
Favorite Book: The Angel and the Outlaw
Bookshelf Size: 12
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-khudecek.html
Latest Review: "See Bride Run!" by Charlotte Hughes

Post by khudecek »

Thank you for the comments. I appreciate them all and took them all to heart. Remember, there's always a little truth in fiction. ;)
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
.

~~
"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
Latest Review: "See Bride Run!" by Charlotte Hughes
User avatar
avid reader28
Posts: 109
Joined: 10 May 2015, 21:29
Bookshelf Size: 65
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-avid-reader28.html

Post by avid reader28 »

Ya :D
The old theme. what goes around, comes back around. but in a twisted interesting way .
The wife is easy to relate to and I sympathized with her a bit.
And the story overall was well-written, enjoyable old tale :)
User avatar
calfurshoney
Posts: 22
Joined: 27 Sep 2014, 18:34
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 8
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-calfurshoney.html

Post by calfurshoney »

Don't you just love Karma? I enjoyed the heck out of this story. I wish we could have heard more as to why she was withholding the ending of the book. Coltan was horrible and I was hoping for a different ending. Surprising story change at the end. Loved the ending sentence. Perfect! Great job Kristi
User avatar
khudecek
Posts: 507
Joined: 18 Nov 2014, 15:45
Favorite Author: Depends on Genre
Favorite Book: The Angel and the Outlaw
Bookshelf Size: 12
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-khudecek.html
Latest Review: "See Bride Run!" by Charlotte Hughes

Post by khudecek »

Thank you, calfurshoney :)
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
.

~~
"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
Latest Review: "See Bride Run!" by Charlotte Hughes
User avatar
kstockard
Posts: 65
Joined: 04 Jun 2015, 23:03
Currently Reading: The World at Night
Bookshelf Size: 34
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kstockard.html
Latest Review: Audible Book of your Choice by Amazon
Reading Device: B0051VVOB2

Post by kstockard »

SparklingOne wrote:Great Story! A real what goes around, comes back around kind of story, with a little supernatural twist. Our villain in story could have avoided this whole thing if he had made his fortune off his own work. I felt sorry for the wife, she put up with his endless philandering, only to find out he was worse than she could have imagined. Wish the story had been longer, would have loved to see this little drama play out a little farther.
I agree 100%. The story was great, but I found myself wishing the story had a little longer to develop and play out. That way we could have seen more from his wife and, of course, their interactions together. However, the author did a fantastic job developing the story with little time to do so. Overall, "Ghostwriter" was one of my favorite stories in Holding Fire. I am honestly looking forward to the next thing from Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill.
User avatar
khudecek
Posts: 507
Joined: 18 Nov 2014, 15:45
Favorite Author: Depends on Genre
Favorite Book: The Angel and the Outlaw
Bookshelf Size: 12
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-khudecek.html
Latest Review: "See Bride Run!" by Charlotte Hughes

Post by khudecek »

Thank you so much for the reviews. I appreciate them. :)
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
.

~~
"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
Latest Review: "See Bride Run!" by Charlotte Hughes
User avatar
H0LD0Nthere
Posts: 445
Joined: 18 Jan 2014, 23:04
Favorite Book: Til We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
Bookshelf Size: 52
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-h0ld0nthere.html
Latest Review: "Adventures in space & fiction fantasy" by Robin G Howard

Post by H0LD0Nthere »

When I first started this one, I thought, "Hoo boy, a short story being discussed in a forum full of writers, and it's about an aspiring author and his ghostwriter. How self-referential." I soon changed my opinion!

My very favorite thing about this story was how deftly the author sketched in Colton's horrible character, even though the story was written from his point of view, and he was unaware of his own character. For example: he refrains from cussing out his sister in law, because Jesus wouldn't like it ... just a few moments before he accidentally murders her! Later, he notes in passing that "singing and writing were his fortes." That made me laugh. Also, I love how he imagines that writing a novel will lead to instant fame and fortune, and how he has only the vaguest idea of how he wants his novel to go, just a specific wish about how the heroine should look. There are definitely people like that out there. I have seen their adverts. I always think, "If you want to write a novel, why would you look for someone to write it for you?"

To Michelle-lit: I hear you about "murdering over a BOOK?" I got the impression that Colton was ambushed by his own greed and bad temper. He did not initially realize that he'd done the murder, and even afterward, he does not seem to realize how serious it was. If he had thought it out, he probably would have realized that the risks weren't worth the rewards. But he wasn't thinking, just reacting.

I also loved that the ghost writer was literally a GHOST writer. Her vengeance is to drive him crazy. I'm not sure I'm with you, Scott, in thinking that she is just a hallucination, since I'm not sure Colton's conscience is strong enough to bother him without a little help from the universe. But either way, the author does a great job of portraying how the sightings of the ghost were just one of a number of factors - the rest of them natural consequences flowing out of the murder - that conspire to make Colton less and less functional, and to "punish" him for what he did.

Certainly makes a person think twice about taking a ghostwriting job, I'll say that!
Latest Review: "Adventures in space & fiction fantasy" by Robin G Howard
Post Reply

Return to “"Holding Fire: Short Stories of Self-Destruction"”