A Box of Dreams

"Denis Bell's stories are short only in length; in insight, vision, humor and style they have a farseeing distance and depth that will keep you wedded to the page, either laughing, marveling, or scratching your head."

­­ David L. Robbins, author, War of the Rats



"A thought-provoking collection of flashes and longer stories: poignant, strange, humorous and humane. A Box of Dreams should be opened by all."

­­ Peter Blair and Ashley Chantler. Editors for Flash: The International Short:Short Story Magazine



"In A Box of Dreams, nothing is as it seems. For the characters caught up in Denis Bell's intricately interconnected world of flash fictions, up is down. Black is white. Indeed, only one thing is certain: by the time you're done with A Box of Dreams, you'll find yourself looking over your shoulder... These stories are cool as hell.

­­ Andrew Geyer, Fiction Editor for Concho River Review, author, Lesser Mountains and Whispers in Dust and Bone



"Denis Bell and flash fiction represent a marriage made in Heaven. The two dozen short works in his collection, A Box of Dreams, show him working at the top of his game. In each, the reader's mind is taken for a weird, wonderful walk that's by turns wryly humorous and darkly intriguing. Louise Brown's illustrations lend just the right atmosphere for an absorbing read." 

­­ Paul Blaney, Writer in Residence, Rutgers University, author, The Anchoress



Denis Bell's collection of short fiction A Box of Dreams, 2nd edition, centers itself in the tradition of Spoon River Anthology (minus the tombstones) and Winesburg, Ohio. A Box of Dreams is dark without a trace of cynicism: it invites empathy for even the least attractive of the characters; these protagonists commonly suffer from mangled memories, rightful guilt, and an inability to distinguish between delusion and reality, between past and present. The stories tease and tantalize: truth glimmers between the lines. Louise Freshman Brown's gorgeous images are haunting illuminations.

­­ Miriam N. Kotzin, author, Country Music, Spuyten Duyvil Press



Each piece in Denis Bell's A Box of Dreams is a work of magic that moves steadily along, pulling you in, and not letting you go... The stories are by turns haunting, heartbreaking and funny, and they never fail to surprise... Blending the real with the surreal, these stories, more than anything else, get to the heart of our humanity, our vulnerabilities, and they do so in a way that represents the best in flash fiction.

­­ Dennis Pahl, Long Island University, Editor for Confrontation Magazine