Karma is a bitch, and Jack Gorman is about to find out how much.
Congratulations to Sarah Lee Parker
Her short story "Jack Gorman is Dead’ won the Tin Duck award
Anthology
Her short story "Jack Gorman is Dead’ won the Tin Duck award
Anthology
Jack Gorman would rather
spend his time swilling brewskies, scoring with the babes, and watching
football. Instead, he's been cursed by sword-bearing girl he harassed while on
a bender.
Now, karma is dragging Jack's sorry ass across
time, space, and alternate histories. The curse can be broken if Jack manages
to learn his lesson, but Jack is nothing if not consistent. From small
California towns to a steampunk past, a magical future, and a space odyssey of
narcissistic proportions, Jack flirts and drinks his way across reality only to
discover that girls with blades are everywhere.
Will Jack ever break the
curse? Or is he doomed to an eternity of getting cut by girls? Regardless, Jack
still can't get a break. As he learns
the hard way, karma kicks ass in all timelines.
Two days later, the Sheriff’s Deputy came by our house. He is a big man, not easily flustered.
“I’ve got a few questions about the report you sent in,” he said, holding up a printout of my email.
“Yes sir,” I said, all cooperation, and launched into a recount of my misadventure. I had barely got to the part where I encountered the unfriendly drunk when he stopped me with a wave of his hand.
“Wait, wait, wait,” he said, shaking his head. “You mean to say this happened here?”
“Uh, yes?”
“And… it was you with the sword?”
“Yes…”
The deputy slapped the email printout against his thigh in frustration. Shaking his head, he said: “That Jack Gorman, I’m just sick of him. He came to me, you know, saying he was attacked by a gay guy with a sword outside the Waterwheel!”
I remained silent. The Waterwheel is a bar almost a mile away. And I am most definitely not a guy.
My mother, who had been listening from the front door, came out and stood behind me. “Um, no,” she said. “It happened here, on our front porch. I heard it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I believe you,” said the deputy, rubbing his face. “Look, clearly you did nothing wrong, but the fact that he filed a report—even if it’s a false one—means I may have to confiscate that sword as evidence. You’ll get it back,” he assured me, “don’t worry.”
“That’s okay,” I said, grinning. “I have two more as back up!”
Ultimately, even though my sword was confiscated, I had the last laugh. Walking the dog a few days later I was stopped by my neighbor and asked what the commotion was last Saturday night. I told them.
“Aw man, Gorman messed up bad.” he said. “He’s been going around bragging about how he got attacked by a man with a sword. I’ll never let him hear the end of this: he got cut by a girl!”
What I didn’t tell him, what got left out of the email and my official statement, is what I did after I wrote that original report.
Before I went to sleep that night (and it was a difficult thing to do), I cast a little spell. I had never tried to cast a spell before. I have a friend who is a witch and she tells me I am probably a witch too, just untrained.
So that night I cast a spell. A spell to make sure that if this Jack Gorman was ever going to cause trouble again, anywhere, any time, there would be a girl with a sword (or something similar) to stop him. I also imagined him going away—preferably far away. I imagined him, very clearly, walking away down a dark and deserted road, toward a door made of light, and a sound like a sword being wiped clean with a cloth.
Shing.
It probably won’t work, I thought as I went to sleep. But one can hope, right?
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By 21
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Format:Kindle
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This is such a fun story collection! I really enjoyed them a
great deal. I do have to admit having some stand out faves in the mix, but won't
say which I loved most because they were all great. The neatest part is how well
they all hang together as a whole, despite covering all kinds of genres and
times. Jack Gorman better think twice before causing trouble for another girl.
But after reading this collection, I don't think he will!
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