The Se´ances and Other Short Stories

There are 15 interesting and enjoyable fictional stories in this anthology. The stories are short and independent of each other, which make for easy stop-and-go reading. The reader will enjoy a wide variety of themes: deception, crime, murder, revenge, whimsey, and humor.The stories are written strictly for entertainment. The author believes stories can be interesting and enjoyable without hidden agendas, foul language, steamy love scenes, and political or social prejudices. In his writing, the author tries to follow Elmore Leonard's sage advice, "Try to leave out the parts that readers tend to skip." Interspersed between some of the fictional short stories are some very short, amusing true anecdotes.The short story titles and a one sentence synopsis follow:The Burglary: An insurance investigator looks for valuable stolen jewelry.The Cache: The savings plan of a thieving salesman goes awry.The Condolences: The owner of a greeting card company rates sympathies at her husband's funeral.The Deal: A poker player makes a deal with the Devil.The Gardener: Public gardens are threatened for extinction by its new director.The Hide-Out: Thieves vie for a winter hiding place.The Leases: A shyster uses undisclosed information for his own benefit.The Mark: A dying island native believes his life has been a failure.The Park Bench: An elderly man converses with strangers while he waits for his wife.The Pretenders: An elderly matron puts on airs.The Rescuer: A convicted thief gets surprising help from a convicted murderer.The Salesman: A married, very successful salesman wants to be single.The Seances: A brother and sister try to contact her recently deceased husband.The Shootings: An attempt is made to kill the loyal husband of an immoral wife.The Soda Jerk: Hearing is a problem here.