Short Works of Satire and Horror

The short story has never been my preferred format, but I have written a few. “The Career Witch” was my first published short story. It appeared in 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories (Barnes & Noble Books, 1995), a book with two covers.

“The Career Witch” was an early take on several themes and icons that have continued to interest me: witches, yuppies, yippies turned yuppies, frustrated 1960s idealism, and battles between witches of opposing political philosophies.

I explore these themes and icons more fully in my novels, Manhattan Sharks and Hollywood Witches. The former contains no fantasy elements, but Hollywood Witches sees the return of The Book of ReMaking.

“Five Paranoiacs, All in a Row . . .” appears in Horrors! 365 Scary Stories (Barnes & Noble Books, 1998). The idea for it sprang to mind while I was performing comedy improv on stage in Santa Monica.

“Vampire Nation” (the short story version) also appears in Horrors! 365 Scary Stories. I later used it as the prologue to my novel, Vampire Nation (first released in 2000). If you've read the novel, you've the story.

Now this may get confusing . . .

“The Lady Who Ate Dolls” was written as a short script, and included in my horror anthology, Halloween Candy (the screenplay, not the book).

A short story version of “The Lady Who Ate Dolls” appeared in Wicked Mystic #25, Spring 1996.

I then rewrote the screenplay, changing the storekeeper from an old woman to Amir. A new short story version (the Amir version) of “The Lady Who Ate Dolls” appeared in Cthulhu Sex, Issue 13, Vol 2, 2003.

I wrote the “Spirit of ’68” as a skit in 1991, titled “Love Beads and Shrapnel.” It was performed that autumn on the UCLA campus. Another tale of yuppies and betrayed 1960s idealism. The short story version won Honorable Mention in the 1996 Writer’s Digest magazine contest.

“Planets in Motion” was written in 1995.

All six of the stories were reprinted in my horror collection book, Halloween Candy (2001). This book contains much else besides these six short stories -- a screenplay, and non-fiction pieces.

But if you only want these stories -- and if you want them as in ebook form -- I've now released them under the title The Lady Who Ate Dolls: And Other Satirical Tales of the Paranormal.

This ebook collection contains the Amir version of "The Lady Who Ate Dolls. Halloween Candy, the book, contains the Amir version of the screenplay, but the old woman version of the short story.

Most of my books are available in both Kindle and Book Nook ebook formats. Just go to the Amazon or Barnes & Noble websites, respectively.

Another piece from Halloween Candy that I published in a separate ebook edition is my interview with Dark Shadows actor Jonathan Frid.

This interview was originally published in Filmfax # 83 (February/March 2001). The ebook is called: Jonathan Frid: Interview with the Dark Shadows Vampire.

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