Book Review: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE FUNNY (Sherry D. Ramsey) by Dave Wolff

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE FUNNY

Authors: Sherry D. Ramsey, Kerry Anne Campbell, Devin J. Meaney, Jo-Ann D. MacDonald, Micheal Magnini, Nancy SM Waldman, Kyle MacNeil, Roberta Fraser, Samantha Grandy

Published by Sherry D. Ramsey, 2018

“The Good, The Bad, and The Funny” is a collection of short stories and poems from the Story Forge Writers Collective, a network of authors based in Canada. It basically consists of writers who have met and shared ideas independently since 1998. The group was organized by publisher Sherry D. Ramsey, who has published a host of fictional works including “The Seventh Crow,” “Toil and Trouble,” “The Girl in the Stones,” “Dead Hungry: An Olympia Investigations Novelette,” “The Goddess Problem: An Olympia Investigations Novelette,” “Waiting to Fly: A Nearspace Novella,” “Dark Beneath the Moon (Nearspace Book 2)” and “The Murder Prophet.” In twenty years this group has seen members depart and return, but their purpose of discussing new and inventive methods of writing has persisted throughout. Every author who comes to a meeting has free reign to offer input and feedback to the other authors, and brainstorming often happens between all the authors so plotlines and story development runs more smoothly. From reading about this I get the feeling Ramsey takes her group and colleagues seriously, whether they are unknown or known on a large basis, and she’s open to anything and everything they have to contribute. From sharing their interests came the idea of crossing over their genres under a common humorous theme. I was given a promotional copy of “The Good, The Bad, and The Funny” by Devin Joseph Meaney who has two of his pieces included, ‘The Slick Pastor Flax’ and ‘George: A Tale of Feathers and Fun.’ Some of the writers who contributed (Ramsey, Nancy SM Waldman, Jo-Ann  D. MacDonald) also went on to design illustrations for their work. The foreword by Ramsey states all revenue it receives through internet outlets (Amazon and Goodreads) will go to the Wilfred Oram Centennial Library, the group’s unofficial meeting place. -Dave Wolff

CONTENTS 
'Big Enough' by Nancy SM Waldman
'Mr. Malcolm's Folly' by R. Micheal Magnini
'Sausage, Eggs and Bacon' by Jo-Ann D. MacDonald
'Switch' by Kerry A. Campbell
'Snack Raps' by Kyle MacNeil
'The Slick Pastor Flax' by Devin Joseph Meaney
‘George: A Tale of Feathers and Fun’ by Devin Joseph Meaney
'Gram and Gramp' by Roberta Fraser
'Special Delivery' by Roberta Fraser
'The Care and Feeding of Superhero Pets' by Samantha Grandy
'Come-From-Aways' by Sherry D. Ramsey