My first impression upon visiting Dazzle’s Original Fiction was pretty good, easy to read, nothing jumped out at me and it certainly didn’t take long to load (in Netscape or IE, but I would certainly use IE).
Let me start out by saying as a ‘weblog’ this one stinks. I have no idea when each entry was made, and outside of knowing that the authors name is Paul Millar and he is from the United Kingdom I know zip about the author. Okay, now I can move onto what this site is really about.
Paul Millar’s site is a collection of his short fiction writing. You are greeted with his most recent story on the front page, five others are linked to the right. There is an archive section with an additional eleven stories. I can’t say that I read much anymore (fiction), and when I started reviewing Dazzles’s I was kind of bummed out because I knew I would have to read a whole lot of fiction, which I am just not into. Well, Paul Millar took my disappointment and tossed it out the door. I think I realized that I was hooked on the writing when I was a paragraph or two into the story “Give It Away”. The author describes a group of youths (in youth attire; skate boards, hooded tops) as; “Each one thinking they are individual, not knowing they are uniformed.” And “Many stare at him – barely disguised snears – look at the grown-up infiltrating, invading, OUR space.” I was in the same uncomfortable situation not two weeks ago, passing some teenagers outside of a record store as well.
“Memories Of A Dead Woman” spooked me pretty good (and while I was at work yet). My favorite would have to be “Sounds From Within”, about an out of body experience. I’ve heard stories about such things, in this story the author makes you feel like you are the one having the experience. At the end of this one you take a deep breath and feel glad you are alive, just as the main character does. I wish I had the kind of talent it took to write that story.
I was tempted at first to classify this site as ‘adult’, there are certainly stories that have adult like content. “Distractions Of A Beautiful Stranger” is one. Had the author not made me the person looking at “A Beautiful Stranger” through his writing, I probably would have classified it as such. After all, this is literature (real writing), and you can’t put that into an age group. I would not recommend having this site on your computer at work though. This is best read at home with a hot cup of tea in hand. I will say (because really, I am quite the critic) that I thought “Dead Loss” really stunk because it was hard to read. Maybe its some weird type of ‘prose’ thing, but if you are going to write something and put it in paragraph form, you better gosh darn have some type of punctuation. Reading that story was like running a sprint while holding your breath.
The author also has an e-book you can buy, for only $2.88. My pay day is Friday, and I am seriously considering buying it. You’ll have to follow the links on the right side of the site to find it. Look under “The Jesus Christcafe”, for it.
In summary, this is a well designed site. There are archives (to older stories), a link to where you can buy the author’s book, and a comments feature at the bottom of the entry page. I have to say though, as a weblog it stinks. I loved the writing, but Paul Millar is a mystery to me. Two and a half stars, check it out, if you are into a good read. Dazzle