A Man of Few Words is a collection of 50 flash fiction stories by Stephen L. Thompson. How does a teenager work up the courage to call a girl? What would happen if a "T-Rex on steroids" attacked a city? Why do science fiction writers make the best lovers? How does a company get to Second Base with VIPs? These questions and more are explored by Stephen using less than 1000 words and in various genres from humor to horror and general fiction to science fiction.
The majority of the stories have been previously published (most by Stephen himself on his website) but all have been revised for this collection. In addition, each piece is accompanied by some background information giving a fuller story experience.
Book excerpt - story "Until the End"
Anne moved her chair next to her husband Gregory. From her purse she took a thick paperback, bought just over a week before. Putting on her glasses, she studied the glossy cover and read the blurb on the back. Shaking her head, she said, "I never did see why you read these sorts of novels." She opened to the receipt used as a bookmark and said, "You only had forty-some pages left."
Without knowing anything about the characters or plot, she began reading the end of the story to her husband as he lay silently in his best suit.