Short and Twisted

Published by Celapene Press, and edited by Kathryn Duncan, Short and Twisted was an annual anthology of short stories and poetry with a twist at the end. It ran from 2007 - 2017 and I was published in over half of them.

These collections hold a real place in my heart. I wrote a story, "Premonition", after reading a lot of Roald Dahl. One of my beta readers, not knowing I liked Roald Dahl's work - in particular, his short stories that weren't suitable for children - said it reminded her of his work. I felt very pleased, hearing that. I was travelling the world at the time, and had some pieces published in expatriate magazines.

In my naivete, I had tried sending short stories to various publishers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This was ill-advised and I instead kept writing and trying to send stories to the right markets.

Short and Twisted is the first "proper" book to feature my work, and I was fortunate enough to follow up the 2009 inclusion of "Premonition" with 2010's "Spelling B Minus".

I wrote "Moonlighting" especially for this anthology, hoping it would be considered strong enough for inclusion in the 2011 edition, and it was. I remember handing my copy of this book to a colleague and he liked the twist.

Premonition	Spelling B Minus	Moonlighting	Far-Reaching Effects
Short and Twisted : Stories and Poems With a Twist 2009	Short and Twisted : Stories and Poems With a Twist 2010	Short and Twisted : Stories and Poems With a Twist 2011	Short and Twisted : Stories and Poems With a Twist 2012
Celapene Press	Celapene Press	Celapene Press	Celapene Press
ISBN : 9780980699425	ISBN : 9780980699449	ISBN : (unsure)	ISBN : 9780975074237
A little boy gets flustered when he has to spell a familiar word.	When his daughter invites him to school for show and tell, Malcolm Dallmann discusses his job as a postman, until she innocently reveals the truth.	A man tries catching a train... with his hands.

Vicky's Big Day	Location, Location, Location	Seld Help, It's Terrible!
Short and Twisted : Stories and Poems With a Twist 2013	Short and Twisted : Stories and Poems With a Twist 2013	Short and Twisted : Stories and Poems With a Twist 2014
Celapene Press	Celapene Press	Celapene Press
		Amazon Link
ISBN : 9780987367747	ASIN : B00RCUVRK8	ISBN : 9780987367761 ASIN : B00RCR90DC
One can never be too ready for the walk down the aisle.	One can never be too ready for the walk down the aisle (ha ha).	Following a truck jacknifing on a busy highway, a newly-minted Police Officer can make a name for himself.

My wife always tells me I need to include twists in my stories, and I am proud to say that I almost always do. 2012's story, "Far-Reaching Effects" is based on true events, of a man throwing himself in front of a train.

Not everything I write is sweetness and light; but with TWO entries in the 2013 edition, I managed to squeeze in two happier tales that still have twists to them.

My final inclusion in the Short and Twisted canon was in 2014's anthology. The title comes from an old colleague from the State Emergency Service, who spoke of the panicked call comes through on the radio. It's high on emotion and low in detail, and my character in this story seeks to put his training to good use.

Buy a copy of one, or a copy of all. With some stories out of print now, I can offer pdf versions.