Harvey Stanbrough
2) The Storm
In one possible future there is a game show called The Suicide Watch. With teen suicide rates soaring so high even the government can no longer sugar-coat them, that same government teams up with their Hollywood pals to find a way to make money out of the deal. After all, sensational beats tragic, eh?
These five stories run the gamut from one foolish man to another through an incredible future to a morgue to a pastoral home.
In "The Unfortunate Life of Thomas Mercer," led astray by a woman, a young preacher wrests his mind from the silly to the serious to give his death the dignity it deserves.
"There's No Fool" like an old fool, as is proven again by Reginald Cranston in this short story excerpted from the novel The Advent of Simon
...These stories run the gamut of Eric Stringer, from SF to horror, the mafia to humor, a retrieval in outer space to dementia in inner space. There is murder, mystery, terror and psychopathy. Even a twisted psychiatrist and a helpful mob guy.
Three of the first five stories feature Charlie Task, the title character from the novel, Confessions of a Professional Psychopath.
Ever wonder what goes into making a psychopath? Find out in "The
...8) About Town
These five intense short stories will have you on the edge of your seat.
"The Old Jenkins Place" is an odd compound on the outskirts of a small, religious community. Very fitting for all sorts of rituals.
In "Paper Hearts," a story reminiscent of Hemingway's work, a waiter works his way through a shift at an all-night café. On the table in the back booth he finds a pair of paper hearts. But when exactly did he find them?
In
...These ten stories slide from the near erotic to pure romance, from the wild west to an incredible future, from murder for hire to a pastoral home to a morgue. The common thread? The women who drove them.
In "Paper Hearts," a waiter, now an older gentleman, finds a pair of paper hearts. But when exactly did he find them?
In "About Mrs. Featherberry," we learn what spoiled sardines have to do with homemade pie.
In "The Laborer,"
...10) Deadline
In the first of these five intense short stories, "The Maransky Nature Blot Test," the character (or maybe the reader) endures a new kind of ink blot test.
In "The Curious Events Surrounding Thomas Pilsen," a man more than absorbed by his fantasies takes a cab to the airport. Along the way he becomes a mobster, and after he arrives he remembers an alien invasion, discovers a spaceport, and finds himself on the way to a mine on an alien planet.
In
...11) Strainge Times
In the first of these five stories, "Needful Things," a woman is drawn to a shop that looks like an antique store. She's looking for furnishings for her home in the French Quarter, where, it turns out, she also lived a very, very long time ago.
In "Saving the Grenlow," Jim Cable has been sent to stabilize the Grenlow, a Morgan-class interplanetary transport, and bring it home. Unfortunately, the engine room holds a mystery he didn't bargain
...12) Granny Mose
In "Jumper," a professional writer at a conference meets a wannabebutneverwill, and this one apparently is one over his limit. Maybe.
In "Theorem," on a porch out in the deep woods a couple watch a storm roll in and debate what happens at the momen of death. Janie is a collector, but a collector of what?
In "Shattered," a hard-luck woman gets mixed up with the mob but pays an unusual price.
In "This is Not a Mosquito!" a man —
...13) Desecration
This is a short description because it's a short story and I don't want to give away the story. Only a god could walk forever without leaving anything behind or approaching anything else. But how? And why? Come along to find out.
14) Finding Harold
Mavis sets out to find her husband, who's been gone longer than she thinks he should. Who can blame Harold for wanting to disappear? But she finds him. Boy does she find him.
15) Rare Women
These stories run the gamut of Eric Stringer, from SF to horror, a hit man to humor, outer space to street gangs.
There is ego, a coffin and a very strange baby, murder, mystery, terror and psychopathy. Even a twisted psychiatrist and a helpful mob guy.
"But Babies Are Just So Cute!" is the first story in this intense collection. It's a touching story of how human beings react to babies. All babies. Just remember that in Eric Stringer's
...18) Paper Hearts
In a story reminiscent of Hemingway's work, a waiter works his way through a shift at an all-night café. On the table in the back booth he finds a pair of paper hearts. But when exactly did he find them?
19) Elegant Gestures
In Elegant Gestures: A Collection you'll discover "A Vanilla Shake for Martha," a story in which an elderly woman and her husband take a journey through a small west-Texas town and her memories.
In "A Settled Grave," having just buried one child, how far a young mother and her doting husband go to get another one?
In "Ivan Hogue," an interplanetary hunter storms into a tavern on a mining outpost on Andula. He's looking for a beast.
...These tales range from the merely odd to the fantastic, from the tragic to the magical.
In one story you'll accompany a Cajun on a single-minded mission into the backwoods of Louisiana on a deep, humid night. In another, you'll witness the life or death struggle between a fifteen year old boy and the mean drunk who's been his oppressor for years.
There's also a story about writing and the writer stalking his mentor; another about a
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