In Great Distance

By David Joseph Contreras

For the first time ever, In Great Distance collects fifteen short stories and novellas ranging from the absurdly comical to the deeply personal, political, and spiritual. The first story, "Before the Moon," is without dialogue, meditative and playfully melancholic in its depiction of James - a World War II soldier - as he attempts to return to his wife, who still lives amongst the startling beauty of the Swiss Alps he once called home. Other stories include, "Loveless" (a retake on vampire lore), "Rita Repulsa's Last Laugh" (a semi-autobiographical account of two primary influences on any eleven year old boy - his father, and Power Rangers), "Pale Blue Iris" (the only science fiction piece here, in which a young boy discovers his past with the unlikely help of an outdated, but curiously human robot), and the novella, "Breaking" (as Phillip, a rising independent film director, struggles with fame, inspiration, and as sudden as all those things can be - blindness). But it just might be the centerpiece, "In Great Distance," which wraps up the book's strong theme of duality. In the title story, an arrogant news reporter clashes heads with a seemingly estranged surfer. The only problem: that surfer wants to die, and by a great white shark no less.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1456312545
• ISBN13: 9781456312541
• Release Date: November 2010
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 374 Pages
• Weight: 1.11 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.9" x 5.3"