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Shady Tales by Tony Headman and James Hunter; co-published with Archer and King 223 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-2432; ISBN 1-4120-1954-0; US$21.00, C$22.87, EUR17.00, £12.00 A selection of seventeen entertaining stories ranging from the macabre to the spiritual, from the fantastic to the mundane, and from the past to the future.
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About the Book
Shady:-
offering shade, situated in shade, overspread with shadow, shadowy, shunning light, disreputable, of dubious honesty, probably dishonest
by the authors of 'Dark Tales': "Shady Tales are not so dark."
'Shady Tales" are a selection of seventeen short stories that cover a spectrum from the macabre to the spiritual, from the fantastic to the mundane, and from the past to the future. In general the stories are much lighter than the previous volume from the same authors- DARK TALES.
There is human endeavor, both criminal and honest, with a range of emotions from young love to the frustration of being unemployed and the lonliness of old age. The Tales tell human stories which are inventive, exciting, different and each in its own way just a little bit shady.
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About the Authors
The authors met in the 1960s as engineering graduates. They embarked on careers which included technical research, scientific development and information technology. Both have travelled widely and their technical knowledge and wide experience are apparent in the subjects and locations they have chosen to write about.
Their common interest in writing fiction did not emerge until the 1990s although both had been writing for several years before that, and both have had technical works published. As well as jointly writing two volumes of short stories, the authors have written novels individually, and have recently collaborated on a novel set in the late twenty first century.
Tony Headman and James Hunter are pseudonyms.
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Sample Excerpts or Table of Contents
When the Fat Lady Sings
'The Natives discovered that if it is chewed it acts as a powerful aphrodisiac, enhancing their relationships.'
Joe paused.
'They also discovered that it acts as a very effective laxative, so a good sense of timing is essential.'
As expected, this got Joe his biggest laugh of the evening so far and he revelled in the glow of being an entertainer.
Inheritance
Samantha knew that now she would have to do everything to prolong the life of her father, a man whom she had so recently grown to hate.
Penelope controlled her inner rage magnificently. Outwardly she appeared calm, but inside she was wrestling with new emotions that she had never thought it would be possible to experience. Although it was a dreadful thought, she knew that she had to try and murder her father, the man whom she had loved, and still loved, with all her heart. And she had just eleven months in which to do it.
Last Wish and Testament
'I shouted at her to stop wishing. I was fed up with her wishing. I begged her to stop wishing. She said she wished I hadn't shouted like that. I grabbed a kitchen knife from the table and plunged it into her chest quickly two or three times. She screamed very loudly once, then said 'I wish you hadn't done that' and dropped dead on to the floor.'
A Tale of Two Bars
'Calls me from a pig to a dog, then we both scream abuses at each other 'till he pisses orf to the garage to get more valves. 'e comes back twenty minutes later and tries to screw the valves in, 'cos they won't go in will they, bleeding superglue sees to that, don't it? By now 'e's gone barmy, 'e's all gone bright red and I laughs all the more at him. Orf 'e goes again, this time to ring the garage and they comes out with a new set of wheels and takes the old ones away. I doesn't know wot they had to do but it took 'em an hour before they brings the wheels back. Anyway 'es stopped shouting now, writes a check or somefin' and he gets into the car and drives orf. As 'e drives orf I shouts down to 'im to bring it back the next 'ome game if 'e likes'.
Tiny
Just at the moment Tiny was in trouble: big trouble: worse than ever before. Lasslo wanted him because he owed him twenty-one hundred pounds, and Lasslo was always an impatient man. Tiny only had twenty quid in his pocket and could not pay.
He gazed cautiously about him - looking out for Gino, a swarthy Latin who was Lasslo's henchman, who would already have been charged to collect the dues by the saddling enclosure at three. Gino would take payment either in cash or, preferably to him, in kind.
The Good Neighbour
Marty's eyes were drawn to the cabinet from where he had taken the small figurine. He looked across and suddenly froze. He felt a chill creeping down his spine. There, in the front, one shelf down, was a small figurine of a boy playing a violin. Surely there had only been one. How could it be there when, only yesterday, he had delivered it to the Pawn Broker's?
Marty looked across at Brian, who was eating a biscuit and not looking at him. Then he glanced over to the corner where the sticks were standing in their frame. There were so many of them, all jumbled up. He looked carefully and saw, at one corner, a leather handle just like the one he had taken.
What was going on? He started to feel trapped.
Bounce Off
'Do you think it matters?'
'I suppose that will depend on whether or not it bursts.'
They both thought about that for a few seconds, and then the possible consequences of what could happen dawned on them both at the same time.
'That would be terrible' said Joanne.
'I -- I'm not sure what would happen if it did burst' hesitated Susan, not really wishing to believe her own thoughts.
'Well, I suppose the hand would be exposed to the vacuum, and ...' she paused.
'Yes?' pressed Susan.
'He would probably explode out through his arm.'
Reality Finally Comes
She had led him to the bedroom and stood before him. Slowly she undressed, removing all her clothing without embarrassment or exhibition, leaving them scattered on the floor where they had been discarded. He watched her come to him, her sun-tanned body shining in the moonlight. She clasped her hands behind his neck, raised herself on tiptoe and sought his lips with a hard and passionate kiss.
David, like most men of his generation, was fairly experienced in such matters and he had accepted gratefully the few pleasures and favours that were occasionally offered in his direction. But at that moment he had felt moderately terrified.
Water, Wind and Fire
The trip had taken much longer than I expected and dawn was breaking as I walked alongside the harbour back to my house. As usual there was the pinging of the masts but in another way it was strangely silent. Something was missing.
Then I realised what it was - there were no seagulls. Their cries, which normally signalled the coming of daylight across the harbour, were missing. I looked around but could not see a single gull, either resting or flying. This was astonishing. There were hundreds if not thousands of gulls in the area. Where could they have gone?
And then I realised.
Catalogue Information
