A review by karlakayjenniges
Influence: #horrorstories by Lucy Leitner

fast-paced

5.0

This newest release from Lucy Leitner includes 6 short stories and a sneak peak of her upcoming release. Lucy has become one of my favorite author's. I enjoy her writing style, her focus on transgressive fiction and satire. 

These stories have a focus on societal trends that twist into horrifying entertainment but are also thought provoking. 

The dark side of society!

News stories that send people into a panic, social norms and the influence of the internet, wanting to be the sensation, the trends that seem to influence others to give it a try even though it's not always safe but everyone is doing it so I will too mentality. AI trends, viral fads, and the entitled, demanding "Karen". 

"They Say the Sky is Full of Snakewolves"~ Sometimes the monster that is on the inside is worse than the monsters on the outside. "How do you defend yourself from monsters you've never seen when you're cowering in a bedroom from a monster you promised to marry."

"Get Me Out of This Shimmering Oasis"~ @wellnesswarrior497 is extreme, she wants the likes, the recognition, to be an IG sensation. She has been invited to a wellness retreat, and she posts almost every moment, sharing her total experience. She quickly learns that nothing in her world is as it seems.

(I read this one last year and it was one of my favorite of the year: It captured the essence of Social Norms, Mental Health, and the blindness to facing to what some may call "our inner demons.)

"Karen"~ Karen is a really big pain in the backside. She is the lowest, most annoying human. She has no respect for anyone, she sets herself as superior to everyone. She is rude and violently brutal to anyone who gets in her way and she especially hates anyone who she deems as overweight. She is a nightmare upon humanity.

(I also read this one last year as this is a story included in "F*cking Scumbags Burn in Hell"  eBook series on Godless which then was published by Blood Bound Books as a paperback "Call Me Hoop"- a totally unique form of horror narrative where eight different authors bring you twelve entwined stories that will change everything you know about heaven… and hell!)

"The Shoebox Challenge"~ Everyone else is doing it so we should too. It doesn't matter is it's safe, what could possibly go wrong? "Probably some combination of insecurity, desperation for acceptance, and desire for attention. In other words, adolescence. What inspired everyone else to watch it, well, that should be the real story." 

Viral challenges that many want to try as the world watches and if you missed it, well, you can always get it on a streaming service.

"Xorcize.Me"~ Podcasts, TikTok, adverts, and the new sensation of an AI program created to exorcise demons. (Why not order a kit, you never know when you might need it!)

"The People Around You"~ Viral fads and fever dreams. "You can't change the people around you. But you can change the people around you." Can you? Is it a possibility? One may never know unless they try!

Bonus: A sneak Peak of Lucy's next novel "The Girl With the Lollipop Eyes". An adventure in Slacker Noir! (Keeping an eye out for the rest of the story, for sure!)