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<div>By Jan Whitford (Jamestown, Rhode Island)<br /><br /></div><div>The book jacket claims these tales will exercise our emotions, capture our imagination,</div><div>and challenge us to think in new directions. Well, I'm here to tell you all that the author</div><div>delivers on all that plus much, much more!</div><div>These novellas and short stories are definitely page-turners, but what impressed me the</div><div>most was their character-driven force. Potter skillfully intertwined succinct narrative and</div><div>some natural, fast-paced dialogue to present characters so real, they leapt right off the</div><div>page and captivated me immediately.</div><div>Lighting the Dark Side is a collection of three novellas and three short stories, including</div><div>plenty of action, thrills, suspense, mystery, and even romance. We start with an engaging</div><div>story of an improbable romance between an obsessive-compulsive geek and a drop-dead</div><div>gorgeous woman, seemed doomed from the start. Next, there's an artist trying his best to</div><div>thrive and find love in spite of overbearing, cruel parents. Following that, Potter changes</div><div>directions and we're treated to a well-done, hard-boiled police procedural with a nice</div><div>twist. An end of the world by approaching comet thriller is on tap after that, with some</div><div>great flash-forward writing as well as another ingenious plot twist. Now, these are all</div><div>wonderful tales, but I believe Potter saved the best two for last.</div><div>The title, Blessing or Curse is self-explanatory, referring to a big lottery win. A</div><div>kidnapping for ransom follows and we're treated to some of the author's best dialogue. It's</div><div>hugely entertaining and there are virtually no wasted words Elmore Leonard style. And</div><div>finally, Potter ends (all too soon) with a heart-warming tale of a wayward teenage street</div><div>whore and a gentleman with a rescuer complex. It's a great, intertwined plot where all the</div><div>characters come together, in the same spirit of the Academy Award winning movie,</div><div>Crash. Once again, Potter showcases his writing talent, this time with skillful</div><div>interspersing of critical back-story in such a way as to avoid slowing the plot.</div><div>Well, by now you've probably guessed that I am highly recommending Lighting the Dark</div><div>Side. As I said, all the stories are captivating but more than that, I urge you to take note of</div><div>the writer's talent for character development and I'm sure you'll be impressed. In fact, I</div><div>shouldn't think it'd be long before a major publishing house snaps Mr. Potter up because</div><div>he belongs on the bookshelves with the likes of Jeffery Deaver and Peter Abrahams.</div>