SYNOPSIS
REACH OUT
After a small coastal town is devastated by a hurricane, the survivors gravitate toward a long out-of-service payphone in hopes of talking out their grief and saying goodbye to loved ones, only for it to begin ringing on its own.
AND TOUCH SOMEONE
As more townspeople answer the call, friends and family believed to have been lost to the storm begin searching for a way back home.
This novelette features several new illustrations by Trevor Henderson.
REVIEW
Huge thank you to Shortwave Publishing for sending me a physical ARC, all opinions are honest and my own.
Stay on the Line feels like a modern Edgar Allen Poe. Straddling the line between poetry and prose, Clay McLeod Chapman paints a beautiful and terrifying portrait of grief and loss. And the demons that sneak in through the cracks left behind.
Set in a small coastal town in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane, loss permeates the air. So much, in fact, that the last payphone in town has become a link to the other side. As folks line up all day and night to speak to the loved ones they’ve lost, one person, a mother widowed by the hurricane, notices something isn’t quite right. What seems like a blessing quickly begins to turn sinister. But are the consequences worth it, for just thirty more minutes with someone you love?
Stay on the Line shows the danger in not letting go and why it’s important to honor those we’ve lost but not lose ourselves in their memory. To be present for the ones who are still here.
Sprinkled throughout are some truly creepy and incredible illustrations by Trevor Henderson. Moody and beautiful, Henderson’s illustrations add depth and atmosphere that serve the story tremendously.
A haunting tale told with lyrical prose, Chapman draws you in and doesn’t let go until long after the final page. Poetic, creepy and emotional, Stay on the Line packs a hell of a punch in 50 pages or less.
Check out CJ Daley’s review for Stay on the Line here: https://fanfiaddict.com/review-stay-on-the-line-by-clay-mcleod-chapman-w-illustrations-by-trevor-henderson/
Stay on the Line by Clay McLeod Chapman releases on July 30th from Shortwave Publishing, pre-order here: https://shop.shortwavepublishing.com/products/stay-on-the-line-a-novelette-paperback
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