Sparks From the Fire

Cover Image: R.B. Russell

"There are many ways to tell a story . . . It is a question of choosing the right one." – "Sparks from the Fire"

The stories in Sparks from the Fire explore a wide variety of familiar characters and settings, yet there is always something else — a shadow world that haunts, disturbs, and threatens. Sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, recluses and lovers — all find themselves shifting between realities: the prosaic and the mystical, even between life and death. The horrors and wonders of these parallel existences are often glimpsed, sometimes revealed, and occasionally overwhelm. These nineteen tales inhabit a terrain in which the uncanny may at any time intrude into everyday life.

Contents

• "The Bronze Statuette"
• "The Fell Race"
• "View from a Window"
• "Holiday Reading"
• "Sparks from the Fire"
• "The Birdcage"
• "Tour Guide"
• "Wing Man"
• "Jetsam"
• "Writers' Retreat"
• "House Party"
• "Job Start"
• "Productivity"
• "Voluntary Work"
• "Messages"
• "Entitlement"
• "War Games"
• "The Attempt"
• "Breath of Life"
• "Acknowledgements"

Rosalie Parker runs the independent UK publishing house Tartarus Press with R. B. Russell. Her previous collections include The Old Knowledge (Swan River Press 2010) and Damage (PS Publishing 2016). "In the Garden" was selected for Best New Horror 21 (2010), and "Random Flight" for Best British Horror 2015. Rosalie lives in Coverdale, North Yorkshire, the magnificent landscape of which inspires and sometimes provides the settings for her writing.

Limited hardcover