Family dinner somehow becomes more mundane after Uncle Colin does a fatal face plant into the plum pudding. A lonely old widower sits at home and participates in conversations he records whilst riding the bus. Curled up like a comma, a woman liesin bed and remembers the exclamation-mark man her partner once was. These brief, vivid glimpses into the lives of others lay bare the ugliness and absurdity - but also the beauty - of existence. In his flash fictions Gary Duncan explores what it means to be human with insight, compassion and humour. Paul Beckman, author of Peek, wrote of this book, "Trigger warning! After you read one, Duncan has you hooked. Don't read this collection in one sitting - parcel these stories out and take time in between to reflect on what just took place. These stories are headshaking original, funny, fascinating, at times chilling, and no subject is sacrosanct - all things a 5-star collection should be. Buy two copies - you won't want to lend your only one out."

About the Author
Gary Duncan was born in Northumberland in 1967. He is a freelance writer and editor, and has worked in Hong Kong, Milan and Brussels. He edits Spelk, the flash fiction magazine, and his stories have appeared online and in print.

Reviews
"In his expertly crafted collection of flash, Gary Duncan offers us a 20-20 glimpse of postmodern society with its quirkiness and deviance. A must read that you can't put down." - Pulitzer nominee Niles Reddick, author of Drifting Too Far From the Shore; "Wide-ranging and wise, You're Not Supposed to Cry is a wonderfully human and often humorous exploration of the timeless and the everyday. A thoughtful and engaging collection of flashes that is sure to become part of the flash fiction canon. It is very good." - Peter Blair and Ashley Chantler, Directors, The International Flash Fiction Association; "Gary Duncan's stories will tickle you one moment and slap you in the face the next. They'll bite, scratch, caress, and hold you. Whether Duncan's stories leave you shocked or amused, you will remember them." - Santino Prinzi, author of Dots: And Other Flashes of Perception; "Gary Duncan's stories are sharply incisive slices of life, sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, sometimes both." - Paul D. Brazil, author of The Last Laugh and Guns of Brixton



Book Information
ISBN 9781908251800
Author Gary Duncan
Format Paperback
Page Count 152
Imprint Vagabond Voices
Publisher Vagabond Voices