An award-winning writer, editor and designer, Allyson Longueira has worked in fiction and nonfiction in multiple media, including newspapers, magazines and books. She holds a BA in English from Rutgers University and an MA in design and editing from the prestigious University of Missouri School of Journalism. As editor, she led her newspaper to three general excellence awards in three consecutive years from the Society of Professional Journalism and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. She has taught writing and design at the college and professional levels, including a post as adjunct professor at the University of Oregon as well as teaching professional workshops and lectures through WMG Publishing. In 2016, Allyson launched Fiction River Presents, a new series of reprint anthologies, published bimonthly. She is also currently editing a volume in the original Fiction River line. She is the publisher of WMG Publishing, Inc., headquartered in Lincoln City, Oregon.

Fiction River Presents: Racing the Clock edited by Allyson Longueira

The latest volume of Fiction River Presents makes the heart race. From one woman's desperate attempts to escape her kidnappers to another woman's attempts to escape a doomed space station, this volume takes off at a pulse-pounding pace and refuses to let go until the very end. Including a short story from Kristine Kathryn Rusch's bestselling Retrieval Artist sf thriller series, this volume proves why Adventures Fantastic says the Fiction River series "is one of the best and most exciting publications in the field today."

Table of Contents
"The Chair by" JC Andrijeski
"Tower One" by Thomas K. Carpenter
"The Good Brother" by Brendan DuBois
"The Elevator in the Cornfield" by Scott William Carter
"The Red-Stained Wishing Tree" by Eric Stocklassa
"The Scent of Amber and Vanilla" by Dayle A. Dermatis
"Play the Man" by Dan C. Duval
"Eyes on My Cards" by Dean Wesley Smith
"H-Hour" by Steven Mohan, Jr.
"Sole Survivor" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

 

REVIEWS

  • "[Fiction River] is one of the best and most exciting publications in the field today. Check out an issue and see why I say that."

    – Keith West, Adventures Fantastic

  • "… fans of the unconventional will be well satisfied."

    – Publishers Weekly on Fiction River: Pulse Pounders
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

Introduction

The Suspense is Killing Me

Allyson Longueira

Thriller. The word alone evokes strong emotion: excitement, anticipation, suspense… And in the short form, thrillers can grab you from the start and leave you breathless.

Each of the stories I've chosen for this volume kept me at the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. Starting with "The Chair" by JC Andrijeski.

The moment I started reading "The Chair," I knew I was in trouble. It's dangerous, you see, working with great fiction. I have to get that fiction out the door to you, the readers. And if I keep getting sucked into a story, well, let's just say that my busy schedule doesn't allow for such distractions.

But sometimes, I must accept the inevitable. Every time I come across certain stories, I have to read them. "The Chair" is such a story.

Now that I've built up the suspense, let's talk about some of the other thrilling offerings contained within this fourth volume of Fiction River Presents.

As I assembled this volume, I realized that certain elements of suspense draw me more strongly than others. Loss is chief among the criteria. The possibility of losing one's own life, or worse, the concept of losing someone you love.

This volume is deliberately bookended by stories about women fighting to escape with their lives. Both stories—"The Chair" and a pulse-pounding standalone from Kristine Kathryn Rusch's bestselling Retrieval Artist Anniversary Day Saga—speak to that most basic instinct for survival. Even more so, they feature strong women determined to save themselves.

Many of the other stories center on the concept of family—specifically, family members in trouble and in need of rescue. But who really needs rescuing and how that rescue will play out often proves far from predictable, as you'll soon find out.

The remaining stories involve countdowns, one literal, one figurative. But that's all I can say without giving too much away.

So, let's get going. The suspense is killing me.

—Allyson Longueira
Lincoln City, Oregon
June 13, 2016