Bent, Not Broken is a modern romance about an obsessive compulsive man who falls in love. Dee-Dee challenges Dwayne to experience life instead of hiding from it. Nevertheless, Dwayne’s disorder puts a severe strain on the relationship. Jealousy, low self-esteem, anxiety, and an increasing sense of violence engulf him until he pushes his new love away and falls into old habits of avoidance. Will he overcome this dilemma for love? Or will his problems continue to impede his happiness?

Aaron Wilson of The Soulless Machine Review said,

I just got Lighting the Dark Side: Six Modern Tales in a mail a few days ago. It is a collection of short stories and novellas that focuses on relatively normal people in strange situations. I really want to tell you about “Bent, Not Broken,” a story that should not be missed.

Dwayne suffers from OCD. I think that after finishing the story that some of my own compulsive tendencies have flared, but I’m not Dwayne. Dwayne must live in a world of odd numbers preferring 3s, 5s, and 7s. One of the more touching moments is when Dwayne is out on a date and he needed an extra chair and place setting at the table in order to feel comfortable, and I think that I’m hard to live with.

Dwayne is excellent at his job. He is calls people that he reefers to as “marks” and asks them about their preferences, surveys them about food, TV, etc, and rewards those who answer them with valuable coupon books. He holds the record for the most completed surveys in one shift. He is loved by his boss; hated by his co-workers. To Dwayne, his co-workers are the terrible trio. They play games with this desk, putting an extra pen in his up so that they number 4 or 6 or 8. These games make it impossible for Dwayne to focus.

The one thing that Dwayne has going for him is a mysterious woman that he calls Black-Coat Girl who is at the bus stop everyday at the same time he drives by on his way to work. Dwayne has made up several stories about Black-Coat Girl, who she is, what she does, why she takes the bus.

What is really nice about this story is that it has a very Punch-Drunk Love romantic twist that takes a seven car pileup on a snowy day to kick off. Dwayne has to take the bus, the very same bus that Black-Coat Girl takes. And on that day, Black-Coat Girl sits down beside him and admits that she thinks of him as her 20-Second Boyfriend.

The writing is really well done. The descriptions of Dwayne’s inner experience are strange and wildly detailed. They have a bumpy start to things, but their story ends well, not the happily ever after kind of ending, but an ending that suits the characters and left me wanting for more.  by Aaron Wilson www.soullessmachine.com

Jan Evan Whitford, Allbooks Reviews.com said,

Lighting the Dark Side is a collection of three novellas and three short stories, including plenty of action, thrills, suspense, mystery, and even romance. We start with an engaging story of an improbable romance between an obsessive-compulsive geek and a drop-dead gorgeous woman, seemed doomed from the start.

I urge you to take note of the writer’s skill at character development and I’m sure you’ll be impressed. In fact, I shouldn’t think it’d be long before a major publishing house snaps Mr. Potter up because he belongs on the bookshelves with the likes of Jeffery Deaver and Peter Abrahams. www.allbookreviews.com/Default.aspx

Readers enjoy Bent, Not Broken

Lighting the Dark Side is an excellent read!

By Warren C. Reider

Lighting the Dark Side is a fiction-short story collection from author William Potter. This book hooked me from the opening title; "Bent, Not Broken" and I couldn't put it down. "Bent N B" is a modern romance taught with suspense where an OCD man meets a Goth love interest that will have you fearing for the girl's life.

Engaging Stories

By Cassandra Mae (Wisconsin)

The author (Potter) has written an engaging book. The characters are so well-developed that you can "feel" them.

My favorite short story is the first one (Bent, Not Broken). It captured me as I see a lot of the main character's actions the same as my own. Thankfully, as I read on more and more I found out I am not as OCD as he is.

For the life of me, I could not put this book down until I finished it in one day! This is only the second book in my 43 years that that has happened to me.

A Captivating Read

By Heather Shockney (Greensboro, PA USA)

William Potter has done an excellent job of writing six short stories that draw you in from the beginning. Mr. Potter makes you feel so connected to the characters. You feel like you are right there with them, going through the same things they are.

My favorite story was Bent, Not Broken. I have dealt with OCD my whole life and I could relate so much to the way Dwayne felt each day. Dee-Dee was such a special person for accepting Dwayne as he was.

I would recommend Lighting the Dark Side to everyone. They will be hooked from the start. It takes a great author to keep my attention when reading a book. Mr. Potter has done that wonderfully. I was not able to put the book down until I was done reading the last page.