Enclosed in this second volume of Collected Stories are seven more tales ranging from the magical to the mystical, from the real-world to the other-worldly .
Foggy Love Bottom – a story of love and loss set in a little village with a peculiar name and history. Peter rises from his bed early one October morning to find his village (or ‘botm’) shrouded in a fog far too thick to cycle through; he must take public transport. His frustration with the day dissolves when he sees, waiting in the queue for the return bus journey, Fabiana - a ‘long-lost future’. But all is not quite as it seems and he learns that there may be some truth to the local superstition that the fog both divides and reunites.
Scary Morning in the Woods – In the eleven year old’s journal, he exclaims - “I’m famous”. The attack by the creatures from the woods (as described in Scary Afternoon in the Garden) has meant that he has become a celebrity in the town - he was the only witness to the fierce attack (in his own back back garden!) and the gruesome deaths of Sam, Jonny and Nick. After a town hall discussion, the townsfolk nervously take the fight to the creatures in the woods.
I’m Not Matt Damon – Duncan enjoys a pint in the pub with a trusted group of family and friends. Catching a newsflash on the pub’s television about asteroids hitting Canada he heads to the restroom. The next thing he knows, he wakes in a plain, bare white room. Bewildered and bemused, he is approached by a figure who tells him that his remains had been retrieved from the rocky pebble that was once been planet earth. So it is that a lone human being is recreated by aliens (after the destruction of planet earth by asteroids) in their mistaken belief that he was the finest representative of life on earth – Matt Damon.
The Elephant of Marrakech – Disembarking from the aircraft in Morocco, Fred has answered the call of his conscience and returned to a holiday destination (and a decision) that had haunted him for seven years. During the first two week holiday he had encountered a challenge - a challenge of choosing between the charms of two fellow tour group members - the Latina firecracker, Mia, or the beach blond, Jessica. On his return, Fred relives the sights, sounds and interactions of that first trip and attempts to to ‘find the elephant’ and make the decision he should have done seven years earlier.
Book of Giants: Journal 9 – a survivor’s journal written eighteen months after an apocalyptic solar flare that has led to the disintegration of society and the re-emergence of giants. With no government to speak of and the breakdown of societal norms and expectations, it is a busy day when a marauding giant, who seemingly appeared from nowhere months before, attacks the city.
Sack Truck – a man loses his job as a result of a perfect storm of a confused memory (of a Viz comic character) and the fast-changing social mores of the modern world – all prompted by the innocent misunderstanding surrounding the use of a ‘sack truck’. It’s a mad, mad world….or is it an age thing?
A Life’s Work – a 100 year old New York mob-boss, Sonny Brusco, is released from prison after 50 years is picked up by his son for the journey to the Manhattan home of Sonny’s daughter for a welcome home party...but arriving in the city there is a change of plan, a different kind of welcome party. Not so much a small family gathering but a large collection of friends and family of past business associates. Together they invite Sonny to reflect on his many decades as a mobster.
Individual stories also available to download as Kindle ‘Singles’.
