There is a lot of stuff in this book, including, literally, a poem about having lots of stuff. Also, sneaky ducks. Retiring sorcerers. Infinite circus performers on birdback. Jacks of all trades and jackasses. Little, homicidal men in bowler hats. Weird alternate realities that somehow make more sense than our own. Peanut butter! Literal fire sales. Vengeful mermaids. Someone needs to hose down Vegas. Hide and seek with the moon. Jacob’s OTHER ladder. In the future, no one poops. Space stuff. Yeah, the pandemic too, but just a little bit. Here, there be pirates and they’re kind of dumb. Sassy donuts and other Hell-foods. Podcaster fall-outs. Supervillain angst. The grave in gravity. Hoagie history. The horse behind the knight behind the round table. And so. Much. Bad. Poetry. Please make sure to leave a review wherever you buy it. Also Goodreads. Thanks!
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Epic space battles. Monsters. Fantastic worlds and faraway lands. Family life and work struggles. All of this is the stuff of great literature. It is also the stuff of the stories in this book.
Every week on the podcast ATARI BYTES, I present an original (very) short story inspired by a classic video game. Many of those stories are now regurgitated here in new-fangled BOOK form. Ah, technology!
Been a long time since you played video games? Don’t even like video games? Fear not! The games are just a springboard to dive into many classic themes - family relationships, the workaday world, self-doubt,war, our competitive nature, fear hope and longing. Also, monkeys with paint rollers. (Yes, really.) Those themes are presented here through many genres like science fiction, fantasy, contemporary fiction, 1980s super spies, poetry and, in one case, even 19th century, Victorian era erotic literature.
So put down that joystick and pick up this book. Then when it’s “Game Over” for the book, as we say on ATARI BYTES, go play some old games. They’ve missed you.
Available to order in e-book or in print pretty much everywhere. And don’t forget to add it on Goodreads.
PRINT: Amazon, B&N, BAM, Indiebound
A lot of people have lousy Christmases, even when they live in the town of Santa Claus, Indiana.
Cameron Jones used to be a successful author. But this year, as another holiday looms, he is beset by a depression that rivals fruitcake in density. His ex-wife is moving away with their daughter Holly and a sleezy reporter is dogging him. And the foul-mouthed goldfish hallucination that keeps nagging him is no help at all.
Cameron’s buddy Dogwater Hunt is a broke, obsessed alien-abductee with a pathological fear of holiday lights. He’s desperate to prove Earth will be visited on Christmas Eve by mysterious “Santa aliens.” If he can catch “Santa”, he’ll push forth the frontiers of science - and maybe get a new TV.
Meanwhile, Santa Claus - the big man himself, not the town - is beaten down by centuries of children growing up and no longer believing. He ponders the reality of his imaginary world - living on cookies, hanging out with elves. It’s all so absurd, he can’t help but wonder “Do I really exist?”
The answer to that question could determine the future of Christmas. Cameron and Dogwater are unwittingly caught up in a plan to save Santa from himself. If you ever believed St. Nick was real, buy this book. Maybe he still is.
Available in print and E-Book pretty much everywhere. And you can add it on Goodreads.
PRINT: Amazon, B&N, BAM, Indiebound
Vitamins and minerals are essential for healthy bodies and minds. We tried shoving stalks of asparagus between the pages of this book, but they kept falling out. You’ll have to settle for feeding the hamster on the wheel in you mind with these stories; bite-sized bits of adventure and the occasional mediocre poem. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious. Like marshmallows AND toasted oat flakes!
In this box, er…book, you’ll find: tomato carnage, diplopoda-based comedy, cereal to die for, boxing kangaroos, golden-age TV of a sort, submarines, Vegas, fighting robots, and a not insignificant percentage of spiders. There are families and zombies and maybe families of zombies. Dunno. We also grapple with existence and What Comes Next.
Also car racing. So. Much. Car. Racing.
If you like it, don’t forget to add it to Goodreads. The book is available pretty much everywhere (don’t forget to leave a review wherever you buy), including