The latest review of Insanity By Increments

Here is the latest review of Insanity By Increments with credit from Susan V. of Blogcritics.org:

Insanity by Increments: Stories is a collection of short stories by Alaric Cabiling that call to the darker rudiments of human existence. InsanityByIncrementsThe stories range from morose to vicious, to just plain sadness and desolation, as the characters deal with the inequities and trials of life.

The author takes his readers on an unnerving ride through nine different stories, with a haunting look into the duality of goodness and evil presiding within every human being. One man makes the ultimate sacrifice for his brother after their parents die within a few months of each other. A father mundanely trudges through the motions of life after the death of his only child. A boy is abandoned, first by his alcoholic father, then by his mother, as her plans for a new life don’t include him. Beauty queens long buried deep into the earth will pose for a final photo shoot at the whim of a madman. Cruelty is dosed out by one man in strangled silence over the years, after a tragic accident renders a “normal” life to be just out of reach.

A four-star review for Insanity By Increments

Earl Messer (Reviewer) has just completed feedback for Insanity By Increments.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Full Text: Insanity By Increments is a collection of stories by Alaric Cabiling that is dark yet also thought-provoking. From what seems like nothing more than a summer visit with relatives to a story of a macabre photographer (or perhaps his employer is the macabre one? Or the wife?).

What is particularly effective is the way that the darkness (and there are definitely different shades of darkness here) can inhabit both obvious places, say a room with a few corpses in it, as well as the common places of everyday life such as a family home. Perhaps what Cabiling really shows us is that the darkness resides within us, all of us to some extent. It is when that darkness tries to enter the material world that things can go from strange to downright horrific.

Highly recommended for those interested in the short story form as well as character driven stories. Perhaps one line from "Frailty" sums it up for me when reading Cabiling's words: whatever was not being said...couldn't be pretty.

Reviewed from an ARC made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Announcements

Insanity By Increments is still available at Barnes & Noble at a reduced price of $0.99 for Nook owners.  It is available at Amazon.com for a reasonable price of $2.99.  Please support indie writers who want to leverage the playing field with major publishers.  Insanity By Increments has yet to receive a bad review from various review outlets and fans.  Reviewers coming up to weigh in on Insanity By Increments includes Kirkus Reviews and Reader Views.  I will post them when ready.

I also wanted to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who supported Insanity By Increments. The paperback version is coming shortly to address the demand for fans of paper medium.  Stay tuned. The paperback version will be available at major online retailers soon. 

Another promo video is in the works for Insanity By Increments.  On it, I will read some excerpts to accompany the visual video editing treats.

I am also set to make appearances in the coming months.  First off is the James River Writer's Conference in October 2015.  Hope to see other writers and book fans there.  For future announcements, follow me here at InsanityByIncrements.blogspot.com

An Excerpt from Insanity By Increments, Stories

Edward could have stayed to chat longer. Instead, he took out his wallet and proceeded to motion Danny over to tip him. Edward handed it to Danny, and Danny smiled as usual, thanking Edward and wishing him a safe trip. Edward walked out the door, seeing his BMW in its usual space. He got in, and turned the key in the ignition, but saw the silhouette of a woman hailing down a cab without much success, preventing him from leaving.

Isabel was flagging a taxi cab down. One by one, they drove past. Isabel saw an empty slow-moving cab approaching. Suddenly, the cab sprinted past, splashing her with standing water from the street. She took a little time gathering herself before looking for another cab, but every single one seemed to be occupied. Edward suddenly felt a wave of compassion come over him. She almost looked like a woman he dated a long time ago ... someone he had loved and lost. It stung to have remembered. During that relationship, love hadn’t been enough.

He called out to Isabel. “I’ll take you home, if it’s ok?” he asked her, his offer stunted by another splashing of the standing water.

She hesitated, but the downpour wasn’t getting any better. He seemed trustworthy enough. She weighed the pros and cons of letting her favorite author take her home in the midst of bad weather. He might have been her favorite author, but he was also a total stranger, a handsome articulate one no less.

It wasn’t a difficult decision to make. ”Sure. That would be wonderful,” she said with a smile.

- Dulcinea, Insanity By Increments, Author: Alaric Cabiling

Excerpt Taken from Insanity By Increments

One October night, Marcela came home late, close to midnight. Saul was asleep in his room. I’d spent the greater part of the day with him, looking after him in the afternoon, cooking supper and feeding him, reading to him before bed. The street lamp sent a hazy light through the curtains, and I watched Marcela undress, ready to slip into her side of the bed, beside me. I waited patiently for her in the darkness.

“Where have you been?”

“Grant, I’m sorry. I thought you were asleep.”

She slid into the sheets quietly, facing the window outside, never once looking at me.

“I had something I needed to take care of,” she said. 

“What was it this time?”

“Just work. Go to sleep, honey.”

She might have expected me to stop there, but I pressed further. She was lost to me then. She had been for a while, seeing the man she'd met on one of her trips to Paris. I had even seen them in my dreams, their naked bodies, their smooth skin, making the kind of love that I had never known from her. She whispered sweet nothings to him and she had meant them, the way she never had with me, and never would.

“I know you’ve been unfaithful,” I told her, looking up at the ceiling, never once at her. She continued to face the window. She has resigned herself to this marriage, I thought to myself, eyes hot with anger and hurt. All she ever had to do was tell me she wanted out.

“Yes, I have been,” she said.

New Review of Insanity By Increments by SPR

Here is another glowing review of Insanity By Increments care of Henry Baum of Self-Publishing Review.  Please click the link below to read the entire review.  I have also attached an excerpt below.  Thank you.

http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/2015/07/insanity-by-increments-by-alaric-cabiling/

"The title is very apt: this collection is a slow burn. It’s not horror in the traditional sense, with jump scares and obvious terror, but it’s harrowing all the same. The stories are recommended for fans of Poe, Hawthorne, Lovecraft and Maupassant, but with a more modern sensibility. To this reviewer, that’s a very potent combination for a work of literary short fiction." - Henry Baum, SPR

An Interview with Author Alaric Cabiling

Recently, blogger and proprietor of Donovan Literary Services, Diane Donovan, spoke with me about Insanity By Increments, my short career as a writer so far, my creative process, and my plans for the future.  Please check it out.  Thank you.

http://donovansliteraryservices.com/a1july1.html