Food on Their Table by Diane Morrison
I can’t rate this one because I wrote it, and naturally I think it’s awesome, but I have a conflict of interest here.
This dystopian novelette was written for the Kindle Storyteller competition. It’s based somewhat on a dream I had as a pre-teen. I wrote a version of the story then that was precisely true to the dream I had, and a school guidance counselor wanted to know if everything was all right at home! (I was a weird kid, very mature for my age, and read a lot of adult-level books, such as Stephen King.) The second version is a bit more complex and realistic. Which makes sense, because about thirty years separate them.
It’s a very grim future world that is quite possibly beyond hope. It is a worst-case scenario. It’s intense and I hope creepy. I listened to creepy post-apocalyptic music soundtracks while I was writing it and I don’t really care to stick my head back in this world any time soon because it was downright depressing and more than a little scary. I hope that comes across in the writing as clearly as I saw and felt it in my head.
Suggested readership: New Adult or older. I would definitely not recommend this for children or even for teenagers.
Diane Morrison 