Greetings. Allow me to be serious for a moment. Some of you will laugh, I know, but I mean it. This book contains scenes of unimaginable tragedy loaded with pain and suffering. Look at the title… Life seemed good, but. Good, yes, for a season. People get hurt, and some end up in despair or death… Oh, where does it end? Life seemed good—but…isn't there always a roadblock to happiness? And why does the style sometimes resemble the ramblings of a simpleton? SMH. The cover art: chaotic madness…those maladjusted clowns…that stoned potato…and a poor lady. Looks like she's had the rug pulled from under her. A terror-stricken critter running for his life. The back cover is slightly better: a wise old owl in a tree. A big, safe tree. Overhead, a flying saucer wobbles downward, trailing smoke. That can't be good. Why would anyone read this? I guess many of you like laughing at the sad misfortune of others. But I say, stifle your morbid curiosity about this collection of horrible tales, and flee. For reasons I cannot understand, the official description follows: Life Seemed Good, But…. is a bizarre, funny, down-to-earth anthology of more than ninety original short stories. Anthropomorphized mind trip microfiction Bell began writing as therapy while caring for his wife after she was diagnosed with leukemia. What began as a way to cope later became a column for a local bar magazine, blending understated gallows humor with the author's warped sense of reality. Set in and around the subtly unstable Mystee Forest, the stories connect in unexpected ways, forming a world rich in esoterica that rewards attention and invites rereading. Every tale begins well, but sooner or later it goes cattywompus. One reviewer called it "e;shockingly amazing."e; A portion of the proceeds supports cancer research.
