Cirrus@Austlit

'Can you carry two contradictory thoughts in your mind at the same time and still tie your shoelaces? What about three, four, five, six...? What would you do for $20 million? $60 million? Does doing something good justify doing something bad? Was the vastly experienced and decorated detective really responsible? Can you work it out? Is there a plot or is it a plot? Is it possible to work it out? When everything comes together and is fully explained, will you know what happened? Or will you find that have you a bout of Depersonalisation Disorder? Cognitive dissonance... Dammit. Why don't you just ignore all this - relax, open your autobiography of Sigmund Freud and let me mess with your mind?'  (Publication summary)

A collection of the author's short stories, originally written between 1984 and 2017.

'The world's largest dog that vanishes or re-appears out of nowhere, with hairs larger than trees.

'Creatures larger than mammoths that can help the tiniest.

'A cobweb that changes colour according to whether...

'Where Jess can be killed at any moment by anyone she loves, and who love her.

'And a decision that leads to a desperate loss.

'A mystery story involving a thirteen-year old girl, her unwanted visitor, her mother and grandfather, three detectives, a man of two tribes, and a bunch of Labradors with colour-coded collars.

'Oh, and a father who may not be really there…' (Publication summary)

'Four people have been released from prisons in the last five or six years, each having been convicted of at least one murder. They don’t know each other.

'Each took advantage of in-prison programs and has been using these experiences to re-engage with normal society. Things are working out.

'Then they receive a series of text messages.

'The first offers them $20 million.

'Over time, dismissal becomes disbelief becomes caution becomes interest becomes knowledge becomes… commitment?

'But who is the Contractor? Might he be one of them? Unlikely. Or the police? Or a newspaper magnate? Why is he offering this huge sum, if he can?' (Publication summary)

'Quong was a creature of the olden olden days, even before grandmother. He was a short fellow, or, at least, that's what they said, with long, thin legs and an even longer, thinner tail. His face was fat and wrinkly, and big bushy eyebrows kept out the sun and flies. At least that's what I think he looked like, though no-one has actually seen him that I'd believe. Which, of course, was the trouble. Some people say that there are no such things as quongs, that it's a stupid name, and that if there were any there'd be pink elephants, too. But those people don't think Father Christmas comes every year, either. Of course this is all nonsense. There must be quongs and we must find them. And, if this story's any good, we will. So let's begin the search!' (Source: Amazon website)