Henry Carter Hull

There's the way things are depicted in the movies, and then there are the way things happen in real life. When it's a matter of life or death on both sides, opt for the one that best suits.

These five stories run the gamut of the near erotic to the pure romance, from the wild west to murder for hire. The common thread? They're all about the women. In "Paper Hearts," a waiter, now an older gentleman, finds a pair of paper hearts. But when exactly did he find them? In "About Mrs. Featherberry," we learn what spoiled sardines have to do with homemade pie. In "The Laborer," a lightly erotic romance, like her husband says, there's no harm...

During a weekly trip to the post office to check for mail, homeless combat veteran Ray Acuna gets a great deal more than he bargained for. One moment, he has a satisfactory, if less than ideal, life and all the time in the world. The next, not so much.

In this intense collection of short stories by Harvey Stanbrough, a janitor is cleaning a fiction mill in the wee morning hours. Surrounded by IBM Selectric typewriters, he decides that he could do as well as those who work here. He sits down, turns on a typewriter, and writes. But he's waiting for something... or someone. Explore the inner workings of a rather odd mind. For a while the unnamed professor wasn't sure. Did he slip and fall on the ice-slicked...

Some things are much larger and more important than the individual. A rural New Mexico boy joins the Marine Corps. These thirty vignettes, each a slice of life, a snapshot, are stories, recollections, histories and confessions. They are truth and fiction, reality and fantasy. I'll let you choose which is which.

There are families, and there are families, and family members come in all kinds. Some are good to talk with, some to hang out with, and some will kill you. The characters in this story use strong language.

One moment you're on a boat on the river in the jungle about to be inserted with your friend on a mission. Two days later you'll meet the same boat at the extraction point a few klicks downriver. Then all hell busts loose.

What are the consequences of a fight gone wrong? As you're queued up in line waiting for your pay, you have time to consider that. The other guy's still lying on the floor. Nobody seems to notice. Even the boss. Finally, when the others are paid and gone and it's just you and the boss, you understand.

"But Babies Are Just So Cute!" is a touching story of how human beings react to babies. All babies. Especially in this intense, perhaps humorous, short story. In "Mouth Watering," an SF short story, when Lisa Reddich stops by a small café for a plate of French fries, she's looking for a mouth-watering experience. What she finds is considerably more than she bargained for. Then again, she's considerably more than we bargained for. In "Normal Louisiana...

A meek, mild accountant from Cleveland finally, finally gets a break when he lands a big client for his firm. But he gets an even bigger one when he gets to Louisiana.