Into Slumber

A collection of short stories, satirical pieces and anecdotes, ranging from the dryly humorous to the somewhat serious; from fairly light to very dark; from the rather touching to the deeply distasteful. Whatever your literary leanings, you may be assured that there will be something in here to offend you.

To learn more about the inspiration behind these unexpectedly erudite pieces, visit the About the Author page.


Slip into this selection of sagacious short stories, sophisticated satires, sardonic soliloquies and other, less alliterative tales of unease, romance, fantasy, wistful longings, elusive dreams, and bittersweet memories.

  • They Say These Woods Are Haunted Satire Human Nature A curious – some would say incredible – account of how a world fell into barbarism as a result of poor dietary decisions.
  • Regal Splendour Satire Memoir A moving description of what it was like to own and drive that most remarkable of vehicles, the Reliant Regal.
  • Earnest Whisper Short Story Wistful The tale of a young man, an orphan, who knows nothing of either his father or his mother, and how he learns of his strange origins.
  • Family Matters Short Story Supernatural A woman returns to her childhood home after the death of her father, but while going through his papers she finds something rather disturbing.
  • White Ribbon Painting Erotic Back in 2007, a friend wrote a vignette that captivated me. Years later, I captured that scene in a painting. Here is the story of how it happened.
  • Lying and Laying Satire How a well-known company tests the grammatical skills of its employees, and the surprisingly stringent measures that are taken against those who fail.
  • Sport Utility Vehicle Satire Dark Do Americans treat their cars as they do their women, or vice versa, or both, or neither? A chance discovery revealed the shocking truth to me.
  • They Are Among Us Satire Have you ever wondered why calls made to customer service lines are so frustrating? Find out here.
  • The Wonderful Dream Leaves Short Story Wistful A young man who is plagued by insomnia discovers a herbal remedy, but finds himself being drawn into his dreams to a greater degree than he expected.