Evil Little Stories
Book of Chilling Tales from Canadian Writer
SynergEbooks Publishing of King North Carolina is pleased to announce their launch of Neal McKenna’s first book of fiction, ‘Evil Little Stories.’ McKenna is a teller of tales that twist to the dark side of the human psyche. This collection of short stories introduces you to a world where freakish events turn the lives of ordinary and not so ordinary people inside out. Each one starts firmly planted in everyday reality but quickly skews off into a nightmarish, yet familiar realm.
‘Evil Little Stories’ asks insane questions like: How far can self-actualization really go? What do modern-day vampires do when they tire of existence? What runs through the mind of a man who doesn't know he's dead? Does voodoo really exist in the modern world? Should we have reason to fear the delete button? How real is reality? You'll find all these answers and more in Neal McKenna’s, tour of the dark side... ‘Evil Little Stories.’
His first fiction sale happened in 1990, when his short story, “The Other Nancy,” which is included in this collection, was published in a Toronto digest magazine, called Sequels. Over the years, other fiction sales followed but ‘bread and butter’ income came from articles and corporate copy writing. In August 2001, Neal signed with SenergEbooks, an e-publisher. His collection of short fiction is available at amazon.com as well as bookstores in Canada and the United States. It is also available as a direct download in .pdf format when ordered from www.synergebooks.com. Again, McKenna is diligently back to work, writing ‘dark side’ fantasies. ‘Evil Little Stories II’ is in progress.
Neal McKenna worked in the print medium for more than 25 years before becoming a full-time freelance writer and creative consultant in 1996. He is well known in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, as a writer of articles. His work appears regularly in such publications as the Capital News Showcase, Okanagan Life, Okanagan Business, Profile, and Wild Life magazines.
A writer always writes about what he knows best, and that is what McKenna has done. Locations for his stories range from the American southeast, to his hometown in northern Ontario, to new ‘hometowns’ in British Columbia. — And just for the record, places like Kirkland Lake, in northern Ontario, can be quite picturesque, but you’ve got to watch out for the vampires - especially ones driving Edsel convertibles!
Showcase Book Review
Book Review by Bradley Drain
Evil Little Stories
This collection of eight gems from author Neal McKenna really does hit the spot for connoisseurs of the frightening, the surreal, and the strange. Encounters with vampires, deals with demons, flirtations with a parallel universe, murder, mystery, eroticism, life, death, voodoo, and the hereafter - the gang's all here! Catch your breath and turn the page! Sweetly crafted little masterpieces, all very different, but each comes with the same sobering reminder - nothing is as it seems. Rod Serling would have been proud to put his name to these tales; they're more twisted than a pretzel, and just as tasty. One tip though - read it in daylight if your nerves are weak; only read it at night - if you've got the guts. A winning release from Neal McKenna and SynergEbooks, but trust me, you'll need therapy after this one...
Bradley Brian Drain
March 2003.