Far Cursed Shores and Other Short Stories

The first story of the month is Malcom Mandalay's Far Cursed Shores-a genre-hopping story combining pirates, enchantments, and zombies hungry for brains. Here we follow the kidnapped Nathaniel Hatchett, an aspiring law student and intrepid hero mistaken for a privateer as he wakes up on the deck of The Devil's Luck with no memory of the events leading up to his present predicament. His situation goes from bad to worse when he and his pirate abductors arrive at their destination and...
More Description

The first story of the month is Malcom Mandalay's Far Cursed Shores-a genre-hopping story combining pirates, enchantments, and zombies hungry for brains. Here we follow the kidnapped Nathaniel Hatchett, an aspiring law student and intrepid hero mistaken for a privateer as he wakes up on the deck of The Devil's Luck with no memory of the events leading up to his present predicament. His situation goes from bad to worse when he and his pirate abductors arrive at their destination and they reveal what they have planned for him. Hatchett's misfortune turns into a reader's treasure as pirate hijinks ensue and we follow our hero swashbuckle his way out of danger. Not all is fun and games in this set of stories though. Patricia Crandall's The Heirloom is a lesson about value and the inherent worth of family. And When the Darkness First Fell by Danny Webster is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi tale which follows a dutiful private security guard as he narrates what could be the end of the world. The collection also has a string of social consciousness stories. If you feel yourself constantly looking forward to the holiday season look no further than Stealing Baby Jesus by D. M. Jones-a heartwarming story about the Christmas spirit and a church who has lost the savior in their storefront nativity. On the darker side of the coin is A Quarter by Bastian Sarh, a story which shows how perspective changes everything and how delicate the balance of life and death can truly be. Rod Chappell demonstrates that while all humanity on earth lives under the same sun, the same cannot be said when rebels come to town Beneath The African Moon. In The Transient Connection by Henrik Olson, set in an anonymous southern California beach community, a strange father/son relationship emerges between two men as a couple of down-and-out fellows learn to take care of their own. Raising Jack by Melba Pena is a tale of simple times, classic American images (family farm, small town, and man's best friend), and the mischief that just sort of comes up when living with a dog. James Fox's story Aura of Authority describes a young woman, of diminutive stature, with big dreams: to work as a lifeguard at the local lake. This is a story about persistence paying off, developing confidence, and a fortunate coincidence. In the mood for something a little more strange than sundry? Katherine Uber's About My Sister might interest you: a haunting flash fiction piece about two sisters, a puzzling illness, and a coming of age... of sorts. It is hard not to enjoy The Necropediologist by Leonard Treman-a witty glimpse into a possible tomorrow-land where medical science has even cured the common death. When a prominent death-doctor's daughter dies, we are left wondering: is this a dream of utopia or a nightmare? Or maybe your tastes run more toward The Drunk by Chad Sellmer. Through the haze of alcohol, a mysterious man struggles to remember how he happened to arrive at his current situation and what sorts of nefarious activities perspired earlier in the day-all while talking with a sultry vision at the bar. Rounding out this month's collection we have Another True Story by Jonathan Cutler who shows us the world of the 60s through the eyes of a Junior High boy. When he can't afford the $18.95 shoes to differentiate himself from the crowd, he realizes there isn't much his hometown, or parents, have left to offer him and he packs up like Tom Sawyer to the lonely road with nothing but a broom handle and a bandana full of clean underwear. Finally, we find an invitation from Wayne L. Wilson to A Holy Ghost Party and we meet a young boy who becomes interested in charismatic religion under the influence of his older babysitter who is one of the faithful. But when he witnesses the revival firsthand it turns out to be more than he bargained for. Still skeptical? Read on and discover some of America's great emerging authors.--Clive Lyons, Guest Editor