In Vaccine the reader journeys upon pathways where tales veer into sci-fi, fantasy, human torment, murder, or sometimes an enjoyable country stroll. In The Nigerian Scam a man intent on suicide is interrupted by a cold call on his cell phone. The Riddle of the Lintel explains how a child may open up creative possibilities that surprise you. Two boys steal into their neighbor's garage to investigate his car restoration in the Old Man's Garage. They find it more interesting than they imagined. In Kirsten's Photo, a young man is tortured by his ex lover's photograph. Will his lost love return or will he finally give up his devotion to her? In The Hanging, a carpenter in the Old West accused of rape is set to hang on the gallows he himself constructed. Is he innocent? The alleged victim's husband is the town judge and jury. Will Wild Bill Hickok save his soul? In The Tale of Mr. Quinn a man sits on his veranda and greets a woman with the same words from her first day at school as a child until her last as a retiring teacher. But her final day will open a new chapter in her life when she says a final goodbye. In Vaccine we see a match of wits between a journalist and a twisted mogul. In Panhead a young man wakes after a motorcycle accident to find his body virtually destroyed, but there is worse news in store for him. In One Tooth Mystery people around the world awaken to find a mouth with most of their teeth missing.
Many of David's stories are written from ideas he perceives in his daily life and in, In The Presence of Mine Enemies he couldn't resist expanding one of his grandfather's WW1 experiences on the Somme. In The Sorcerer a tourist finds an ancient book and reads the incantations which carries him out of this world. A mystery of the seas that has baffled people for decades is explained in Bitter Heaven while in The Black Cat of Ostia Antica, a black cat meets two backpackers on holiday in Rome. But does he make them welcome? Bees around the world are suffering from climate and man made changes. Is there a way to save them and the planet? David offers a solution in The Pied Piper of Sunflowers.
For a light interlude we see, The Dickens Book, The Method Moment, and in Suzie With the Light Brown Hair, a young man takes a lady for a daily walk and decides to buy her a sparkling present he hopes will delight her. But will her father approve of his intentions? An old man in a nursing home in The Gallant Invalid, meets a new nurse and he is unsure of her motives. How should he handle her amorous onslaught?
Picture this: In The Signal Box you are Andrei, a signalman in a lonely Romanian signal box a century ago and you have a coffin containing the long dead body of a woman to put aboard an early morning train. or is she truly deceased? Abuse of women is a travesty and sadly occurs daily in this world. Is there a way for a woman to fight back-and is it legal? A hard story with a message for the future in, Maria.
Where did modern humans come from and did they co-exist with Neanderthals? In Exile from Nede we see a possibility of our origins on this planet. In The Flight, Jeffrey Talbot discovers he shouldn't be on this airliner as the passengers and crew face a cruel death owing to his miscalculation. In Devil Reef we see a tribute to possibly the greatest horror writer of the 20th Century in H.P.Lovecraft. Bryan Groves, a scriptwriter recovering from a nervous breakdown is offered a house and a cat to mind in Massachusetts while a famous horror writer is on holiday in Jamaica. But will it be a holiday and recuperation period for Bryan?
David hopes you enjoy these tales, and once again, please, beware of the unexpected.
