Cover reveal today for my third short story collection, Tribulations. Art by Ben Baldwin—don’t you love it? So much texture and emotion. Creepy, too. This will be out in April with Crystal Lake Publishing. See below for the full table of contents:
Introduction: Stephen Graham Jones
Fireflies (art)
Chrysalis
Love Letters
Vision Quest
Surrender
The Wastelands (art)
Misty
The Handyman
Bringing in the Sheaves
Divining
The Culling
Flowers for Jessica (art)
Wicker Park Pause
On a Bent Nail Head
Dance, Darling
The Fix-It Man
Gandaberunda (art)
Shackled to the Shadows
Playing with Fire
Little Red Wagon
Asking for Forgiveness
Balance Sheet
White Picket Fences (art)
Chasing Ghosts
The Offering on the Hill
EARLY PRAISE FOR TRIBULATIONS:
“The stories Richard Thomas tells are dark rooms. Sometimes they are filled with terrors—ghosts and jealousies and strange beasts. Sometimes they are empty. And this might be the most terrifying thing of all. At times sharp and biting and other times dreamy and lyrical, Thomas is a powerful writer and Tribulations is a stellar collection.”
—Kristi DeMeester, author of Split Tongues
“Tribulations is a dark fiction collection for all readers. No matter your preference: this book ducks, dives, and bounces between genres like an Olympic skier taking on a hillside of slalom. Rarely is reading a collection straight-through as eclectic (or purely enjoyable) an experience. If you’re not already a fan of Thomas: prepare to be.”
—Adam Cesare, author of Tribesmen and Zero Lives Remaining
“…one of the most productive and unique writers on the hardboiled and horror short story markets…Tribulations contains some of his best work…the end result is richer and more visceral than anything he’s ever done before.”
—Dead End Follies
“Richard Thomas is on the cutting edge of neo-noir fiction and I dare anyone to say different. Tribulations is his best yet: elegantly twisted, superbly creepy, and dripping darkness. This is required reading for anyone into the shadow side of literature.”
—Dread Central
“Tribulations shows that Richard Thomas not only knows his craft, but excels in it. Readers owe Richard Thomas a letter to thank him for sharing his brilliant work, and Richard Thomas owes readers a letter to apologize for giving them more reasons to never turn off the light”
—Cultured Vultures.
“Richard Thomas does this thing where he introduces us to his friends, folks just like you or me, good, hard-working, honest folks. People we can relate to on many levels. And then, for whatever reason, he drops them right into the middle of hell. Maybe he just enjoys making them suffer. Maybe he knows that we enjoy watching. Whatever the case, with Tribulations he has let us get a little closer, made the glass between us and the suffering a little thinner, and reminded us that we just might be next in line.”
—Horrornews.net
