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Scar Songs: Stories Paperback – February 1, 2023

by W Royce Adams (Author)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
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SCAR SONGS contains nine stories dealing with male protagonists at various life stages in life who experience events that leave either a psychological or physical memory scar. The stories cover dilemmas such as struggles with family loyalties, guilt after catching a shoplifter, suffering the loss of a loved one, the inability to forgive, and the breakdown of a professor while teaching his class. The stories reveal the ways people deal with their hurt.

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  1. Print length
    138 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Rjk Books
  4. Publication date
    February 1, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.3 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-13
    979-8986488523
  7. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Prolific author Adams plumbs the needs, desires, joys and troubles of male protagonists within these nine tales, beginning with a teenage grocery store clerk reluctantly monitoring a possible shoplifter in "Thief Catcher." The challenge is heavy for a young person—to balance job retention while expressing compassion for the economically disadvantaged shoppers in his store. The tale expertly mines themes of humanitarianism, morals, and grace. While "The Last Tequila Run" may sound like it's set at a frat party, it's anything but. Two drunken friends with "tequila-bloated brains" illicitly venture into Mexico, get stopped by aggressive border patrol, and divulge secrets that blow apart their longstanding friendship. Some stories address the toll of creating art; in "The Music Messiah," a journalist is obsessed with interviewing a tenor saxophone jazz legend who just returned from a Zen monastery where he'd hoped to exorcise his demons. In "Winter Break," an English teacher struggles to keep distracted, entitled students interested in discussing James Joyce's Dubliners (1914). There are other scars to witness and life lessons to be learned throughout Adams' memorable collection, like the drastic consequences of keeping family secrets in "Ever After," in which a husband hears a lifetime of crushing confessions divulged by his wife on her deathbed and then finds sympathy and grief impossible to fathom. The titular tale is perhaps the most affecting. It recounts the history of two brothers—one mourning the death of the other—in a sparsely formatted story suffused with melancholy and anchored by the indelible love of family. There's lots to savor and ponder here. While Adams' seasoned storytelling entertains, it also explores fraternity, family, and the challenge of navigating life's pains and pleasures. Brimming with resounding themes and notable characters.
Kirkus Reviews

A thought-provoking collection of stories
W. Royce Adams' Scar Songs is an engaging collection of short stories that showcase characters coping with life events and the residual feelings stirred by those happenings, including loss, regret, jealousy, betrayal, and even an ultimate breakdown. The author's narratives are succinct and well-crafted, with credible dialogue. Most of these stories are explored through a narrator's first-person point of view. For short story lovers, Scar Songs proves a thought-provoking collection of tales that encapsulate human frailties. Although all the selections here feature a male protagonist, this small, yet enticing volume with its universal sentiments should attract both male and female readers alike.
Blue Ink Review

Worth your consideration -BookTrib.com
All in all, Scar Songs: Stories is a work highly worthy of your consideration. The stories will make you think, make you wonder, make you reminisce and help remind you of your own experiences and what made you feel the way you did at the time — a time long gone by but with lasting consequences for sure. Many of the poignant moments Adams writes about are sparked by death, or someone close to it. It is at these moments that people tend to look back at their actions, their feelings, their lives. Reflection. Guilt. Confusion. Sentimentality. Uncertainty. Love. Pain. Scars. Adams's work covers them all.

These stories move the emotions.
They are like a swing that does not stop swinging. Each one I have read has been meaningful. There are not too many characters. The dialogue is easy to follow. With all of that goodness, the stories stab our reality. It is like a piece of our heart has been taken and measured for pain and joy. BLUE NORTH

These stories move the emotions.
They are like a swing that does not stop swinging. Each one I have read has been meaningful. There are not too many characters. The dialogue is easy to follow. With all of that goodness, the stories stab our reality. It is like a piece of our heart has been taken and measured for pain and joy. Blue North

About the Author

W. Royce Adams has published over a dozen college textbooks, academic journal articles, fantasy middle-grade chapter books, three juvenile novels, a short story collection, Against the Current, and a novel A Time Goes By. He won the Haunted Waters Literary Magazine's 2016 Grand Prize Short Story Contest, Honorable Mentions from Glimmer Train, and for a notable essay of 2016 by Best American Essays, 2017. His works have appeared in The Rockford Review, Black Fox Literary Magazine, Catamaran, In the Depths, Coe Review, Chaffey Review, Adelaide, bosque, Evening Street Press and others. He is Past President of the College Reading and Learning Association and a member of The Authors Guild. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BTJTPCF1
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rjk Books (February 1, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 138 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8986488523
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.3 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

About the author

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W Royce Adams

W Royce Adams

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I'd like to thank those readers who take the time to write reviews of my books. It's very helpful to hear your comments. I hope you'll enjoy my latest work, "Scar Songs: Stories" and I hope you've had a chance to read my novel, "As Time Goes By." I can be reached at: www.wroyceadams.com where you will find reviews of other of my books. I'd be happy to hear from you. Watch me read from "As Time Goes By" on Chaucers Bookstore YouTube.

Over the years, I have published over a dozen college textbooks, academic journal articles, fantasy middle-grade chapter books, three juvenile novels, a short story collection, "Against the Current," and a novel, "As Time Goes By." I won the Haunted Waters Literary Magazine’s 2016 Grand Prize Short Story Contest, Honorable Mentions from Glimmer Train, and for a notable essay of 2016 by Best American Essays, 2017. My works have appeared in The Rockford Review, Black Fox Literary Magazine, Catamaran, In the Depths, Coe Review, Chaffey Review, Adelaide, bosque, Evening Street Press and others. I am Past-president of the California Reading and Learning Association and a member of The Authors Guild. I live in Santa Barbara, California. Visit me on my web site: www.wroyceadams.com.

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Babou
5.0 out of 5 stars Painful memories served with beautiful, fluid and engrossing prose.
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2023
Verified Purchase
In beautifully flowing prose, the author transports you into perhaps familiar scarring memories:
_You finally decide to contact a beloved, neglected friend from the past. His wife answers the phone. You are too late. _ A fellow professor mysteriously believes that you had an affair with his wife and repeatedly sends anonymous accusatory notes to your wife attempting to erode her trust in you. He dies, and is profusely praised by students, faculty and the college community in general. You plot revenge…. Your adult children beg you to grant their mother’s deathbed wish to see you. But your ex-wife’s lies and infidelities destroyed two great male friendships and drained you of sympathy for her. You acquiesce …_In teaching literature for years you have tried to engage students socratically while competing with cell phones, shirking students and questions such as “will this be on the test?” You flip into hallucinations …_Your adventuresome larger-than-life young buddy is killed in war and your mind struggles to accept this sad conjunction of exuberant life and youthful death. _You help trap a raggedly poor woman who shoplifts a trivial, cheap item. The police arrest her. She haunts you._Your brother whom you have not contacted for years suddenly and repeatedly sends you multiple items shared in youth, including a car. Sensing the worst, you go to his dying side and both of you regret not nourishing the relationship. You reminisce about your shared youth including a love of singing. So you start singing…A supremely gifted saxophonist mysteriously joins a small, mediocre band. After playing several sets, he vanishes at 10:30pm each night. A reporter follows him and uncovers a story of love and loss....
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SPReviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent short story writing
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2023
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Reviewed by Viga Boland

It was a nice change to tackle a collection of short stories like those written by W. Royce Adams in Scar Songs: Stories. Once I finished reading these nine tales featuring male protagonists, each one of whom engaged me psychologically and moved me emotionally, I found myself debating whether it’s harder for an author to write a novel or short story. My conclusion? Short stories…and here’s why. With no time for wasting words, or detailed descriptions and backstories to slow down the pace, W. Royce Adams gets us quickly inside his protagonists’ heads, hearts, and souls. If that sounds easy, it isn’t. Take the last story in this collection: Adams expertly captures exactly what is happening in an old professor’s head as he tries to stay focussed on the lesson he’s teaching. His mind wanders between analyzing his students’ appearances to undressing his female students while barely hearing answers to the questions he just asked.

In another story, one to which I immediately related, a son cannot bear to look upon the now-painted but lifeless face of his mother in the open casket. Why? He needs and prefers to remember his mother when they sailed together in his boat. She had a special place for him in her heart that his father didn’t. Then, there's the story about a husband struggling with his children’s request that he visit his ex-wife on her deathbed. He cannot find forgiveness for her failure to be honest with him about her past. Their marriage was a sham. But, now, in hindsight, was the fault all hers? Through story after story, W. Royce Adams invites us to examine ourselves through his characters. Regardless of our genders, backgrounds, and experiences, we can all relate to the universal themes Adams explores. Without wasting words, he somehow compresses his characters while epitomizing their true essence. This is excellent short story writing and recommended reading.
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Diamond H
5.0 out of 5 stars Add it to your TBR
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023
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I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this read because it’s male focused. I’ve never read a male focused book or short story compilation before, so I came to this book fresh.

It’s well paced, intriguing, informative, and enticing. Each story has significance and opens the eyes of the reader to mental and emotional quandaries. From the story of men dealing with the pressures from adulthood and family, to standing up for oneself, to understanding one’s father after so much discontent. The book also gives perspective on mother - son relationships and how our opinions of other family can be shaped based on our nurturer.

Adams did a great job with making this a cohesive work. It is well structured and well organized. The pacing in each story also allots for you to read the book bit by bit. Some books are rushed, or fast paced where you just have to get it all in one sitting, but this was a slow burn.

I highly recommend this read. Male or female because it offers a lot of perspective and gives you the opportunity to explore different situations outside of yourself. This also can be read from as young as 9th grade (high school age) and up. The themes discussed can be grasped and easily digested, but they make you think as well.
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Kathrin Spinnler
5.0 out of 5 stars Well-Written Short Story Collection
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2023
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Scar Songs: Stories by W. Royce Adams is a well-written and engaging collection of nine short stories. Each one features a male protagonist at a different life stage. While some characters are dealing with the death of a loved one, others are trying to process past events or struggling with a mental breakdown. Each story is unique and vivid. Although there is a lot of emotional depth, Adams' writing is clear and easy to comprehend, which makes this book stand out from other literary short story collections.

I enjoyed diving into the different stories and experiencing various points of view. The author makes extensive use of flashbacks, so we learn about each character's past and present. I think this book is suitable for a wide range of readers because many of the themes are universally applicable. It's quite short, so it can easily be read in a few days. I read each story separately and took a break in between because this allowed me to process them and absorb the ideas.
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S. J. Main
4.0 out of 5 stars A collection of interesting stories
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2023
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This is a collection of stories. Each to their own stand to be very meaningful and has something to say. While this book is perfect for the light speaker, it also embraces all the enjoyable factors people will find intriguing as well. I recommend this book.
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