ILL WINDS AND WILD WEATHER
Edited by Catherine Valenti & Laurie Gienapp
January 24, 2024
Smoking Pen Press
Reviewed by Brian “Skull” Lewis

Hello friends, It’s your old Pal Skull with a review of the very cool weather themed speculative fiction anthology Ill Winds and Wild Weather. Recently published by Smoking Pen Press as part of their Read On The Run series, this collection of 18 great stories includes work from both seasoned writers and those just getting started. This makes for a delightful mixture of voices telling stories in perfect-sized bites to enjoy throughout your day. Two thumbs up to Smoking Pen Press for this idea that helps people still enjoy reading in a world that continues to move faster with each passing year. Sometimes the idea of committing to a 500 plus page novel can be really daunting between all the smartphone alerts, having multiple jobs, and people just not being polite as they used to be. But a quick 15-minute story that packs a punch is perfect!

Care to take a peek inside Ill Winds and Wild Weather? Then put on your rain slickers, sunglasses, rubber boots, and helmets. There’s an Aggressive Mist heading our way! Cheryl Flinn tells us a tale of Irish magic gone wrong in this one. Molly had wanted to see Ireland and when a friend offered her son Dermot, as a guide, she took her up on it. Things had started well, but now she was waking up in a cave with giant cows walking about in a thick mist that was nearly impossible to see through and no Dermot. Something about the place with its giant stones and timeless aura seems wrong, so when an ancient looking woman arrives to lead her to Dermot and safety, Molly follows her. It’s the worst possible action she could take, but are there really any other options when one is trapped in an Aggressive Mist?

Well shiver me bones! There’s something about rain and especially lightning that can make for some truly terrifying times. Another good example of this is Stormy with a Chance of Murder by Alan Orloff. Meteorologist Mike Martell is TV weatherman whose forecasts haven’t been going so well lately and that’s not the only problem he has. In too many moments of weakness, Mike got involved with a much younger woman at the station and it was wonderful. Well, until recently, when she started blackmailing him for big bucks. If he doesn’t pay up, she’ll spill the beans to his wife and likely get him fired. Mike doesn’t have the money, still wants the mistress, and needs some kind of way to get out of the mess he’s in. Now he’s betting everything on his forecast of a MegaStorm that could help him get the hell out of dodge. But sometimes one can be too correct and that might be even worse. Great story with more twists than a cyclone!

Wet, wet, wet…I don’t know about you mortals, but too much rain makes your old pal Skull’s bones hurt, so for our next stop we’re going somewhere hot and dry. How about the dust bowls of Oklahoma? In Breathtaking by Warren Benedetto, Anabel and her brother Toby must stick close to the house because a dust storm can whip up any minute, turning a sunny day into gritty night within minutes. The dust is a terrifying killer that tries to get into everything it can, including the unfortunate neighbors who got caught walking home from the store. But there’s something else out there in the storm that looks like a woman in a billowing white dress and it screams. When Anabel tries to ask her parents about it, they clam up and say it was nothing. Still, there’s some kinds of nothing that can hurt a body real bad and you can’t ignore a banshee for long…

Ahhh! Well I’m all warm and toasty now, how about you folks? Oh right, I forgot flesh people still have to breathe! Sorry about that, heh-heh. That was just a tiny peek into this thrill-filled collection of weather themed stories that will make your days more exciting when you read them. Damaged Skull Writer and Reviewer rates Ill Winds and Wild Weather from Smoking Pen Press a brightly glowing 5 STARS! Your old pal Skull highly recommends this collection of 18 great speculative tales that are currently available for purchase in both e-book and physical format on Amazon.com and your favorite booksellers. For more information about Smoking Pen Press’ other fine titles and upcoming calls for submissions, go to: www.smokingpenpress.com.  As always, thanks for visiting the Skullcave, if you’re not yet a subscriber, please do so to help more independent writers be seen. We’re all in this together!

Brian James Lewis is a disabled poet and writer with PTSD who finds writing to be vastly important to his recovery. Working class to the bone, he writes inclusive, real-world stories and poetry that mirror real life. Most recently, Brian’s work has appeared in The Sunlight Press. His poignant piece “Flag In the Wind” can be read on their site free of charge. He’s also been featured in the Hook of a Book Poetry Project discussing mental health and the power of writing. A frequent contributor to Trajectory Journal, Brian’s short story, “Going To Be A Long, Cold Winter” will be included in upcoming issue #26. Besides writing, Brian enjoys bringing old typewriters back to life. Visit him at: www.damagedskullwriterandreviewer.com for news and independent book reviews, or on X/twitter@skullsnflames76