First Chapter Review: ST. JAMES INFIRMARY by Steven Meloan #firstchapterreview @stevenmeloan #StJamesInfirmary

Thanks for visiting Literarily Speaking! Today's post is a first chapter review for ST. JAMES INFIRMARY, Steven Meloan's latest short story collection. First, a little about the book....

Title: St. James Infirmary

Author: Steven Meloan

Publication Date: April 20, 2023

Pages: 80

Genre: Short Fiction

A book of short stories by Steven Meloan.

Steven Meloan’s writing has been seen in Wired, Rolling Stone, Los Angeles, BUZZ, the San Francisco Chronicle, and SF Weekly. His fiction has appeared in SOMA Magazine, the Sonoma Valley Sun, Lummox Press, and Newington Blue Press, as well as at Litquake, Quiet Lightning, and other Bay Area literary events. He has regularly written for the Huffington Post, and is co-author of the novel The Shroud with his brother Michael. He is a recovered software programmer, and was a street busker in London, Paris, and Berlin.

“Reading these stories, I felt like I was hearing an original voice for the very first time. They are surreal, cinematic, poetic, and have real punch-with everything I could want in a collection of short fiction. Set in California and Europe, from the 1960s to the 1980s, they vividly capture lost times and lost places. They have echoes of Jack Kerouac and Paul Bowles, and can be read again and again with a sense of wonder and pleasure.”-Jonah Raskin, Author of Beat Blues, San Francisco, 1955

“St. James Infirmary is a captivating collection of stories that takes readers on a dark and uncanny journey through everyday life. Meloan’s writing has a haunting subtlety that draws one in, as if witnessing the events in real-time. With sharp insights and unexpected twists, these stories explore complex human relationships and the often-mysterious forces that shape them. Meloan vividly captures the gritty reality of each setting, throwing a column of light into the underground of the ordinary. For fans of evocative writing that stays with you long after the final page, St. James Infirmary is a must-read.”

– Roadside Press

St. James Infirmary is available at Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/fv3zr2hn and Roadside Press at https://www.magicaljeep.com/product/james/129 .

FAVORITE QUOTE FROM FIRST CHAPTER:

The final stretch had seemed an eternity of highway - parched plains, tin-badge sheriffs wanting payments for (we suspected) manufactured infractions...and then the haunted moonlit expanse of the Mojave Desert. My parents had purchased an after-factory A/C for our new car - a rare luxury for the time. But because of it, the car was endlessly overheating.

BOOK COVER:

I think it's rather fun and quirky myself. Having dived more into the book, I realize the cocktail glasses on the cover has a personal meaning to the author. That only makes the cover more special.

FIRST CHAPTER REVIEW:

Love this first chapter coming of age feel. It was like I stepped back in time and it had a feel good aura about it. Whose family didn't have a station wagon and if they didn't, wished they did? My uncle next door had one and I know how much fun to a kid they were. In this story, though, it's a sixties Mercury cruiser. Same thing almost. Huge.

So this first chapter is titled "Goonies," which brings to mind a movie I loved when the kids were younger. But, it's nothing like that. In this case, it's a diner and I can almost picture it in my mind having done the cross country road trip when I was a young kid. I loved these diners. Every one of them had some kind of appeal to it.

The story continues as they head for their room. The next morning, the dad and kids went sightseeing leaving the mother alone in the room. When they return, they find the mother's clothes stuffed in a trash can and a bunch of men have taken over the room.

KEEP READING?

I especially loved Meloan's writing style so I definitely would keep reading. So what I am gathering is this first story is one of many in this collection and I can't wait to get started with the 2nd.

You can pick up your own personal copy below!

Steven Meloan has written for Wired, Rolling Stone, the Huffington Post, Los Angeles, BUZZ, the San Francisco Chronicle, and SF Weekly. His fiction has appeared in SOMA Magazine, the Sonoma Valley Sun, Lummox Press, Newington Blue Press, and Roadside Press, as well as at Litquake, Quiet Lightning, Library Girl, and other literary events. His short fiction collection, St. James Infirmary, was released in 2023 on Roadside Press. He is a recovered software developer, co-author of the novel The Shroud with his brother Michael, and a former busker in London, Paris, and Berlin.