MADISON – Madison author Bradley Sides will soon release his latest collection of short stories themed in magical realism, “Crocodile Tears Didn’t Cause the Flood,” but his work already has received positive reviews in ‘pre-release.’

Sides works as an English professor at Calhoun Community College in Huntsville, where he advises the Book Club and Sigma Kappa Delta, the English honors society for two-year colleges. He also serves as Common Read Programming Chairman for Calhoun.

His first book, “Those Fantastic Lives,” had a story featured on the “LeVar Burton Reads” podcast series. This book received positive coverage at numerous venues, including “Electric Literature,” “Southern Review of Books,” “Strange Horizons,” “Horror Obsessive” and “Nashville Scene.”

The official synopsis of his book offers this overview: “In ‘Crocodile Tears Didn’t Cause the Flood,’ Sides merges the South with the weird in this latest collection of short stories in the genre of magical realism.”

And continues . . . “A boy creates a guide to his beloved pond monster. A parent weighs the consequences of the coming apocalypse. A man protects a jar of delicate moths. A test taker fearlessly faces death. A young woman rejects ownership of her vampire family’s farm. A father leaves a letter for his ghost daughter. A flood of broken robots sparks pure joy.”

These fantastic stories boldly and tenderly explore the complexities of humanity . . . full of grief, loss, and, somehow, even hope, Sides said.

Sides’ latest book has received glowing reviews from acclaimed writers, including Alexander Weinstein, author of “Universal Love” and “Children of the New World.”

Becky Hagenston, author of “The Age of Discovery and Other Stories” describes Side’s latest work as “a wildly entertaining ride. I loved reading about monsters, a vampire who doesn’t want to take over the family garlic farm, ghost children, the apocalypse and a prehistoric birdsister in stories that are hilarious, unsettling, tender and wise.”

Sides’ writing has appeared in “Chicago Review of Books,” “Electric Literature,” “Los Angeles Review of Books,” “The Millions,” “The Rumpus” and other sources. His fiction has been nominated for Year’s “Best Weird Fiction.”

Sides earned a master’s degree of fine arts from Queens University of Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C., where he served as fiction editor of “Qu.”

The official release of “Crocodile Tears Didn’t Cause the Flood” will be Feb. 27, 2024. However, the book is available now for preorder at Bookshop, Amazon and other bookstores.

For more information, visit bradley-sides.com.