Bøger af Neal F Litherland

Whenever you pick up an anthology, the short stories you see are only a fraction of the ones that were originally in the running. Dozens, and in some cases more than a hundred, other stories fought to get onto those pages. But one by one they fell, left behind on the cutting room floor.The stories in this collection are the ones that have refused to die.So why not crack the cover, and see for yourself these tales that have never appeared in print before? Discover what lurks beneath the Abattoir Bridge in "Bloody Bones," or sit down for a friendly game of cards with a mysterious, green-eyed gambler in "Dead Man's Bluff". Find out what sort of monsters prey on the innocents in the abandoned alleys of Chicago in "Dressing The Flesh," and follow a last-ditch recon team as they try to save the world from a nuclear-powered super man in "Assault on Olympus".If you like your stories scrappy, with a side of the fantastical, then there is definitely something between these covers that will stick with you.

In the dark heart of a sweltering summer night, alone and shivering, a young man whispers an incantation. Leagues and miles away, in a creaky cottage atop a mountain, a silver mirror breaks in the night. A woman in white rolls scrimshaw knuckle bones by the light of black candles, frowning at their message before she sends for her grandson.Dirk Crier is no stranger to being summoned up the mountain, and this is far from the first time he's been sent to bring his cousin Teller home when he's gone too far astray. This time is different, though. This time a shadow looms over the end of the path; a nameless threat, asleep for now, but coming closer to waking with every passing day. He will need to be swift if he wants to bring them both back to the slopes of Ben Morgh.And if he isn't quick enough to save his cousin, Dirk will show those responsible why the folk around the mountain say only a dead man crosses a Crier.

FROM A CAT'S VIEW is a novel-length collection of short stories that will tug at the whiskers of cat lovers everywhere. This unique anthology is drawn from a pool of exceptional writers in the US, UK, and Canada, who share fascinating insights into the relationship between humans and their feline owners:TWO HOURS, a poem of freedom re-envisioned THE CEMETERY CAT - There was a cat for each grave--three-hundred forty-seven in all--and one had unfinished business.SPECIAL - Family is ... well, family. Maxie is special, and only Aunt 'Po can lift him from the gutter to the good life.TISHY - Some cats are talented. Others are unnaturally talented. Tishy outdid herself the day she brought home Quintus Liberalis.INTREPIDUS - It wasn't the first time he'd made her feel alone and unloved. The breach between cat and human can be insurmountable, and the need to strike out from the pain of unrequited love, impossible to ignore.WITCH CAT - Her kind are on the way out, but Old Gert isn't one to go quietly. She knew just what to do: Cheat! "Here kitty, kitty."MOONLIGHT, a poem on notions of contentment MAU OF THE PHARAOHS - Favored by the living God, Tutankhamun, Mau, in exchange for safe passage to the next world, offers Bastet his life story as viewed from the laps of three pharaohs.BIG EARS - A plague curses the village of Culloden and beyond. Little do the superstitious humans understand they've condemned their only chance for salvation.NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT - Freedom is only as good as the next pilfered salmon fillet. Atticus prospered, now it was time to level up to fulfillment.THE OPEN ROAD - Most shun the solitary life; a few seek it. Quicksilver, ship's cat by profession, was in the latter group.MULGRAVE'S RESOLVE - Endurance, boredom, hunger, anger, reward: Mr. Mulgrave conquered the milestones on the road to survival one at a time, alone. But for the last mile, he'll need providence at his side.A CAT'S CONFESSION, a poem and bid for absolutionTHE CAT'S APPRENTICE - Change is bad; being ignored is unacceptable. No one was putting Malcolm in a corner--certainly not this interloper-wizard-wannabe.STRAY CAT STRUT - The street's no place for Manhattan lovelies with names like Princess. Leo never expected to be sought out by a damsel in distress. But Tig sent her, and Leo owes Tig a favor.SAVANNAH AND SAVANNAH - If you find a lost cat with your name on its collar it's fate ... right? Meant to be. But what if it really is meant to be? Think about it ... think twice about it.THE REAL THING - Locked in a vending machine, Leon's stomach rumbled. He could hear his little girl calling him home.THIRD EYE LIVING - All cats have nine lives; only the bravest have three eyes. When Mr. Fluffers' mother warned him about fairies, she failed to mention their pointy spears, sharp teeth, and evil grins.CAT'S SCHRÖDINGER, a poem from inside the box.THE STRAY - I kill to eat, and to feed the big pink one that cannot hunt. There are fences, and barbwire, and smoke that burns the eyes and throat.TIN OPENER - Justice arrives on the heels of the reaper. When Jasper's tin opener is killed, he uses his knowledge of the occult to summon help.CATS ARE PATIENT - Six thousand years of plotting threatened by one, weak human. Not once, in the long history of the Ailurian, had they found it necessary to dispose of a human ... until now. LONGING, a poem of simple desires. FROM A CAT'S VIEW, the purrrfect gift for cat lovers everywhere.