I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this interesting until the end I highly recommend.

This was a really interesting concept for a short story collection. I enjoyed the stories would probably read this again or revisit a few of the stories.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting collection of stories with some good writing.
An OK read.

I usually don't go for short story collections, but this one attracted my eye and it was just a gem! I absolutely loved it!
Erica Winchat, a young writer who is on a deadline to complete a book contract after winning a grand prize in short fiction, is searching for the next great idea for her writing. Overwhelmed, she tours Scotland in hopes of finding inspiration. Traigh Lar Beach proves to be the perfect spark to ignite her writing passion. There, she finds thirteen objects that inspire stories from Prince Edward Island to North Carolina.
Each story starts with a flower drawn on the first page, a definition of the flower and the item that inspired the story in parentheses, giving an additional detail to the story which I found to be really great. The plot twists in each story left me wanting more and thinking about what could happen next. Gripping and captivating, Dianne Ebertt Beeaff demonstrates her gift for writing in this collection of short stories.
The only critique I have to give is that there was a lot of name dropping of places in Scotland during Erica’s story at the start and not enough descriptions. It got me to search up the places and discover Scotland, which was great, but I did wish that there was a bit more descriptions of these locations. Otherwise, I had no problems with this book.
I must mention the TRIGGER WARNINGS within this book that show up in one story or another: drug use, suicide, physical/mental abuse, rape and a shooting. These subjects were approached respectfully and in my opinion, were not glorified, which I really appreciate.

Once again the scenery is marvelous, but other than that the book left me cold. No matter how hard I tried I could not engage.

The author's concept of interconnecting various objects and pieces of the story held my interest. Not only were things connected to each other, but they also somehow were independently part of a story. I am going to look for more by this author, as I truly enjoyed this book.

#OnTraighLarBeach #NetGalley
Published on 13 Oct 2020...5 Solid stars
Thanks NetGalley, She Writes Press and Dainne Ebertt Beeaff for a copy to review.
I have never read a book like this before. Its structure is unique and interesting. The first book's idea is so intriguing, I loved how every little item portrayed a life story of its own varying from just a single shot like Melody Rose and the empty ketchup holder to emotionally intense The handle of a child's bucket passing by shocking like The packet of Arthritis pills and The disposable syringe. So creative and original.
Then comes the fan girls novella, starting with Plato's words " Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything".
Annie, Emily, Dana, Chelsea and our narrator are a group of hardcore devoted fans of Datha band, the novella follows how the band with its music, lyrics and band lead singer affected their lives. Since we first witness them in April's concert till they gather again in September's concert. We monitor the changes through their own account of their life related to favorite lines from the music they are passionate about.
I loved this book and will definetly seek more of Dianne's books.