The Collected Short Works of Brian Jackson

My name is Steve Merriman and I'm eleven years old. I go to Darby Avenue Elementary School where I'm in the sixth grade. Today, March 11th, 1969, after school, I have to kiss a girl. So begins the opening story in this short, two-part collection, "The Kiss", which tells of Steve Merriman's predicament that comes about due to a dodge ball accident in which he hits Maureen Keller in the face with a scorcher. "The Kiss" was previously published in the Columbia College Spring Review, and in the book "A Curious Affair", published in mass market paperback by New York publisher Dorchester Press. "The Kiss" is followed by the only other story in this collection, "The Finger", in which the narrator of the story wakes to find a severed finger lying on the coffee table of a shared apartment. But that's only the start of a really bad day in which chaos ensues. In "Fading Photographs", the secret life of a beloved aunt is almost discarded in haste, only to be rediscovered in the nick of time. Who is the dashing soldier in the faded photograph? Wasn't Aunt Jen a spinster? These and other questions are answered in this tragic tale of the greatest love imaginable. In "Monster", we see child abuse through the eyes of the abuser as a nightmare from which you can never awake. And just when you thought it was over... "The Night Watchman" shows us that when we need help the most, it often comes from the strangest sources. A quirky story of duty and friendship during the night shift at the old town cemetery. In "Some Enchanted Evening", I tell a story from my youth of getting drunk and dancing with a sweater draped lampstand to "Zoom" by the Commodores. Only in this version, the main character enters a fantasy world in which he must fight to defend his lover before tragedy strikes. In the next story, "In Walked Trouble", we're whisked back to old-time Los Angeles to confront the ultimate evil in a case fit for none other than Hard Case himself. But then, that's the trouble with being a private dick in La La Land.
"Bitch's Brew", creeps me out. But then, I never did like school. Did you have a favorite teacher you fawned over? Well, guess what you may never have known about them? In the next story, "Gray Wolf", we join the hunt to its ultimate conclusion. What would you be willing to do to save your people from destruction? In "Storm Front", we experience the horrors of war through the eyes of a doctor just trying to do the right thing. "Death Sentence" tells of the end of not only a life, but of the world. Join Robert Buchanan as he remembers his past during the final hours on earth. "While Strangling the Cat" tells the story of an ordinary day while everyone ignores the fact that something horrific is occurring. In "Accordion of Doom", we find out what happens when you play "Lady of Spain" on the devil's own instrument. "The Tomb" is my rollicking answer to Indiana Jones, which wouldn't be complete without a high-speed chase upon the back of a hydroplaning crocodile. "Anticipation" recalls the thrill experienced by a murder tracking a young couple through the streets at night. "The Lair" is an idea I had for a much longer piece, possibly even a series, condensed into a short story. In it, and innocent gas company worker is captured by sewer dwelling creatures from hell. This contains and explosive ending. In my creative writing class, I was given the assignment of writing a short story based on a photograph of a small plane crashed into the center divide of a freeway. "Center Divide" was the result. "138 Grant Street" is another example of the ordinary turned suddenly shocking. Finally, "Nightline" is a sad story that came to mind one day.