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<p><strong>Lighting the Dark Side</strong> contains a collection of six refreshingly different short stories.- Each one is very unique and cannot be compared to the others.- I really enjoyed reading the stories.- They are about human nature and how we deal with hardships.- Sometimes we overcome them, sometimes we obliterate them and sometimes we just make adjustments in ourselves to live with them. </p> <p>What I discovered really interesting is that in almost every story, I found aspects of myself in the characters.- This allowed me to feel like I could relate to what they had going on inside themselves.- Some of these aspects ranged from a desire for vigilantism in situations with no other way out; a desire to help others by going way beyond what is expected; and that need to ask myself why I allow things to happen when I know the outcome ahead of time.- Kind of like, why did I do that again?- The examples in the stories are so much more interesting than any story that I have possibly lived.</p> <p>Each short story or novella is very complete within itself, however, I found myself wishing that the stories would go on longer.- I wasn-t ready to leave the lives of these interesting characters.- This is what made the book even more fun because I found myself thinking about the stories later on, wondering what happened to people that never even existed. The characters are very well developed and intricately woven into their plots that they seem very real.- Their humanity is expressed through their shortcomings, and their need to change their situations.--- </p> <p>This book, -Lighting the Dark Side,- by William R. Potter, will definitely be enjoyed by all fans of fiction.- I think that it would make an excellent selection for a reader-s group or for a college course.- I would love to hear the interesting discussions that will be held about these stories<em>. Reviewer, Paige Lovitt.</em></p><p>The book jacket claims these tales will exercise our emotions, capture our imagination, and challenge us to think in new directions. Well, I'm here to tell you all that the author delivers on all that plus much, much more! These novellas and short stories are definitely page-turners, but what impressed me the most was their character-driven force. Potter skillfully intertwined succinct narrative and some natural, fast-paced dialogue to present characters so real, they leapt right off the page and captivated me immediately. </p><p><br />Lighting the Dark Side is a collection of three novellas and three short stories, including plenty of action, thrills, suspense, mystery, and even romance. We start with an engaging story of an improbable romance between an obsessive-compulsive geek and a drop-dead gorgeous woman, seemed doomed from the start. Next, there's an artist trying his best to thrive and find love in spite of overbearing, cruel parents. Following that, Potter changes directions and we're treated to a well-done, hard-boiled police procedural with a nice twist. An end of the world by approaching comet thriller is on tap after that, with some great flash-forward writing as well as another ingenious plot twist. Now, these are all wonderful tales, but I believe Potter saved the best two for last. The title, Blessing or Curse is self-explanatory, referring to a big lottery win. A kidnapping for ransom follows and we're treated to some of the author's best dialogue. It's hugely entertaining and there are virtually no wasted words Elmore Leonard style. And finally, Potter ends (all too soon) with a heart-warming tale of a wayward teenage street whore and a gentleman with a rescuer complex. It's a great, intertwined plot where all the characters come together, in the same spirit of the Academy Award winning movie, Crash. Once again, Potter showcases his writing talent, this time with skillful interspersing of critical backstory in such a way as to avoid slowing the plot. </p><p><br />Well, by now you've probably guessed that I am highly recommending Lighting the Dark Side. As I said, all the stories are captivating but more than that, I urge you to take note of the writer's talent for character development and I'm sure you'll be impressed. In fact, I shouldn't think it'd be long before a major publishing house snaps Mr. Potter up because he belongs on the bookshelves with the likes of Jeffery Deaver and Peter Abrahams. <br /><em>Highly recommended by reviewer: Jan Evan Whitford, Allbooks Reviews</em> </p>