Strap on your hiking boots. Today we begin a long, loooooooooooooong, journey through my book, Go West or Go Weird. I’m posting it in its entirety, through a series of installments. Yep, I’m going all in here. I’m gambling on either gaining more followers, or losing every last one.
This is a collection of short stories I’ve written over the course of four decades. The oldest was written in 1978. And the newest came to life this year.
I initially offered this book for sale on Amazon in the year 2010. It sold three copies. And now that I’m rich from all my royalties, I’ve decided to become a philanthropist and offer it for free.
I’ve taken out a few of the original stories, because maybe they weren’t that good. And I’ve replaced them with a few that I hope are better. But I hope you’ll enjoy them all.
My book starts with an Introduction, so this is where we’ll begin. I now introduce to you, the book that just missed the New York Times bestseller list by only about a million copies. Please enjoy Go West or Go Weird.
Introduction to
Go West or Go Weird
Most of my short stories have fallen under one of two genres. They’re either Westerns, or they take the reader on a journey through the strange and Weird. This never occurred to me until I decided to gather my best short stories together, and publish them in a book.
So what’s the connection? Certainly there must be something going on in my head, that attracts me to these two themes. What’s the common denominator? Why do I usually go West or go Weird, when I confabulate a story? I had to cogitate for awhile, to try to figure this out.
I think it boils down to my love for freedom. The West offers wide-open spaces. And an independent spirit fills the uncrowded voids of the West. There’s much adventure to be had, and when you’re independent, you’re on your own to explore as much as you want, in whatever way that you want.
It couldn’t actually be due to the wide-open spaces in my head, could it?
The West connects to the Weird through that same freedom. To be truly free, you must overcome your fears enough to explore the dark side of the human heart and mind. Those places where you usually dare not tread. You must enter these Stygian realms, to learn about the demons that lurk there. That’s the only way to conquer them. Stories of the Weird can help us do that.
It couldn’t really be because I’m a weirdo, could it?
Adventure is to be had in both realms. You can go West, or you can go Weird. Either way, all you must do is spread your wings and fly into freedom. In other words, just open your mind, suspend your disbelief, and trust that the wind of my words will sustain your flight. And if they do, they will carry you from one adventure to another, as you soar from tale to tale across the pages of this book.
With each story comes a backstory. I preface every one of my yarns with a brief recollection of how I cooked up the tale. I hope this will enrich your experience, by giving you some idea of what the hell was going on in my head when I composed my prose.
This book is divided into two parts. Part Won takes you West, and Part Too makes you Weird. It matters not which part you read first. And so the decision is now yours. Which part will you turn to?
Will you go West, or will you go Weird?
Well, since I’m posting this book seriatim before I start selling it in my Free Bookstore, you’re going to have to go West first. So come on back tomorrow for Part Won, and my short story entitled, The Golden Outhouse.
Categories: Series (Stories): Go West Or Go Weird
Chasing Unicorns 
I love the wide, open spaces too, and you have raised my curiosity. Seeing into what was going on in your head…. Hmmm…. that in itself could be very interesting!
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I’ve been rethinking this. Maybe I write Westerns because there are a lot of wide open spaces between my ears. So I must warn you that when you see into my head, there might not be much there.
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Warning taken! So you have no agoraphobia then, eh? Funny how that word just popped into my head, wonder where I heard it before. 🙂
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It’s echoing around in my head, too. In fact, one of my short stories in this book is about agoraphobia. So there’s a little teaser for you.
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Ahh! I will have to stay tuned now to read that chapter. 🙂
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Maybe if you split it in two books — Stories of the West — and Tales of the Weird, you would have sold 6 copies?
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LOL! Good thought!
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I wish I had thought of that. Shit, I could be twice as rich now.
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For sale on Amazon or in the Amazon?
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In the Amazon. Apparently, I missed my target audience.
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You say ~> “To be truly free, you must overcome your fears enough to explore the dark side of the human heart and mind. Those places where you usually dare not tread. You must enter these Stygian realms, to learn about the demons that lurk there. That’s the only way to conquer them. Stories of the Weird can help us do that.”
I say ~ > True Freedom lies in being able to say, “I’m not going to go there.” 😛
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And so I say ~ > If you’ve conquered your demons, there’s no reason to go there.
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BTW: I’ll read your short stories, allowing your words to UNfold while enjoying your UNique sense of humor . . . UNless and UNtil I come to a chasm I don’t care to cross. Or until a UNicorn chases me away.
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Okay. But carry a long rope. There are UNtold amounts of chasms you may be UNable to cross UNless you can walk a tightrope like a fUNambulist.
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I shall strive not to be UNduly cautious since UNdulations are not UNexpected as the path UNfolds before us.
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UNderstandable.
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but if you haven’t you should go there,because they can’t stay hidden forever.
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True. In fact we are visited by many of them every October 31st. We give them candy to make them go away.
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LOL! Shaking my head…. I thought you kept all the candy to yourself, remember!
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That was just my brain, fantasizing. I know better. I was once a mischievious kid, myself, so I know it’s best to give up the candy.
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I’m puzzled by the title – Go West OR Go Weird. I thought the West WAS Weird.
Obviously I’m going to have to read the stories to find out.
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This depends upon what part of the West you venture into, as well as your personal point of view. Some may find San Francisco very weird, while others find it normal. But those who find Frisco normal, might find Arizona, with all its redneck conservatism, to be very weird.
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Absolutely! It’s all perspective.
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