Short Story Time: The Paradigm

The first Saturday of August is here, so it’s Short Story Time! We’ve also arrived at my last novella/short story after fifteen months! And we’re ending on a strong note as this month’s feature is titled The Paradigm, my personal favourite of the novellas I’ve written. It's a noir mystery with a hint of supernatural and it stars my favourite character, Jim Coffin. Here's the nitty-gritty on The Paradigm:

“First published as part of Alan Draven's 2012 collection Spooky Showcase, now a stand-alone novella: The Paradigm.

In the tradition of Mickey Spillane and Donald E. Westlake comes a noir mystery set in 1984 with a hint of supernatural. Upon investigating Detective Harry Graves’ disappearance, private eye Jim Coffin finds himself on the trail of an odd bunch of characters, including a drop-dead gorgeous dame, a mad scientist, and a man who claims to be immortal. Along the way, Coffin begins having bizarre dreams about his own demise—could they be a foreboding of something sinister?”

You can download it as a free PDF right here. If you’ve missed the previous installments of Short Story Time, you can download each tale at the links below. Next month I’ll start talking about my upcoming Sword & Sorcery book, Amok the Powerful, which will be published in October.

“Vengeance Is Mine” is a novella about the Jack the Ripper murders—with a twist! London 1888. Jack the Ripper leaves a trail of mutilated bodies as he terrorizes the district of Whitechapel and baffles the authorities. From beyond death, one of his victims returns to haunt him and shows him the meaning of living in fear.

“The Dark Emissaries” is a novella about a girl named Harmony who returns to Bitternest for a friend’s funeral. She encounters a strange man who only goes out at night that tells her there are dark beings sucking the life out of Bitternest’s inhabitants and turning them into stone. They are called the Dark Emissaries and a sign that they are but a taste of much worse things to come. Harmony will learn that she has a bigger role to play in the fight against the Dark Emissaries.

“Cellar Door” is a novella about a court proofreader who picks up white noise on the recording of a transcript: A girl says ‘Help’ and ‘Find Cellar Door’ on it. He begins to dig deeper and discovers troubling details about a little girl that went missing in Bitternest. He embarks on an investigation to uncover the truth and answer the ultimate question: ‘What is Cellar Door?’”

“A Madman’s Atonement” is a story about a serial killer in Bitternest. That’s all I’ll say about it. It’s become a fan-favourite over the years and I’m damn proud of this one.

"Beyond the Doomed Cave", is a Bradburyesque Gothic coming-of-age tale about a witch in a churchyard.

“Silently It Creeps” is a short and nasty, creepy little tale about the monster under the bed.

“The Chilling Hour” is a tale about Nick Kubrick, a horror DJ who investigates and debunks supernatural myths in his spare time in the foggy city of Bitternest, Louisiana. He would go on to star in his own novel, Nocturnal Offerings, a few years later.

“The Errand” is a tale about a man who goes through the woods of Bitternest to run an errand and will see the course of his life altered forever.

“Hershell’s Motel” is a strange tale about an unusual motel where, you guessed it, bizarre things happen.

“The Rattling Man” is a coming of age Halloween tale. Do you believe in the bogeyman? Do you believe in the Rattling Man? Find out who or what he is!

“Crimson Nightmares” is my take on the “Halloween” movie series. Written and initially published digitally back in 2011, this 106-page novella picks up 33 years after the events of the second "Halloween" film from 1981, the night when Michael Myers terrorized Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and the residents of Haddonfield, Illinois. It follows little Lindsey Wallace, the little girl Laurie Strode babysat in the first “Halloween” (1978) film, who is all grown-up now and bears the scars of that terrible night to this day. She has moved to my fictitious town of Bitternest, Louisiana to get away from her past and has been leading a quiet life, that is until something inside Michael Myers snaps and he comes looking for her on Halloween. Add to that a killer clown with an agenda of his own and it’s a Halloween you won’t soon forget. It’ll be a showdown for the ages when Michael Myers comes to the eerie city of Bitternest.

“The Bypassed Mind”, a romantic suspense/fantasy story with some hypnosis thrown in for good measure that was directly inspired by the late, great Richard Matheson's novel Bid Time Return also adapted as the film "Somewhere in Time".

“Breaking and Entering”, the story of a man who enters people’s homes just for kicks, never stealing anything, just to see what goes on behind close doors. One day he’ll stumble upon something that will change his life forever…

“Scapegoat”, a tale about the Curse of the Cubs, the love of baseball, some time travel, and a whole lot of nostalgia. Even if you're not into baseball, this fantasy tale filled with mystery is sure to entertain you.

Last but not least, fans of Conan and Dungeons & Dragons can also download a PDF of the first two tales of the ongoing adventures of my Sword & Sorcery character AMOK right here.