Trending: eShorts

A relatively new trend in Christian fiction caught my attention recently. Electronic short stories—or eShorts—are popping up everywhere you turn. The neat thing about these miniscule books is that their authors have discovered several different ways in which to use them.

Some writers pen novellas intended for eReaders. JoAnn Durgin’s Meet Me Under the Mistletoe and Starlight, Star Bright are great examples of this type.

Others choose to give their readers a bonus book to share more details about a supporting character the readers fell in love with in a full length novel. Roseanna M. White gave us a glimpse of Isaac Fairchild’s life beyond Ring of Secrets with her eShort, Fairchild’s Lady.

In an upcoming eShort, available for pre-order now at only 99 cents on Amazon.com, You Made Me Love You delivers the much anticipated (at least by me!) bonus story of what happened to Seth Rayner after Beth K. Vogt’s Wish You Were Here.

 

Another style in this growing trend took me by surprise, mostly for its uniqueness. Joanne Bischof’s Heartfelt Recipes is part cook book, part mini-story. Both accompany her Cadence of Grace series. She’s called it a cookbooklet, which I think is a cool term.

Then there’s a series of novellas written by different authors, all with similar themes. A prime example is the Year of Weddings series. It features authors such as Deborah Raney, Rachel Hauck, Katie Ganshert, and Denise Hunter, among others.

Still another type of eShort I’ve enjoyed is the stand-alone connector. Authors of this kind use them to connect two non-series books (a.k.a. stand-alone novels). Kim Vogel Sawyer released one recently, called Just As I Am, that fits between her novels What Once Was Lost and Echoes of Mercy.

With such variety in this new trend, I’m sure authors of all styles of writing will be able to find one that works for them. And I’m sure their readers will love getting their hands on these bonus books. I, for one, am eager for the next one to come across my Kindle!

Which of your favorite authors has tested the eShort waters? Are you a fan of this growing trend? What trends have you noticed lately?



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