Showing results by author "Malcolm R. Campbell" in All Categories

In 1954, the small Florida Panhandle town of Torreya had more Klansmen per acre than fire ants. Sparrow, a bag lady; Pollyanna, an auditor; and Jack, the owner of Slade’s Diner, step on fire ants and Klansmen whenever they can while an unknown archer fires fate-changing arrows at the Klan’s leadership. They are not who they appear to be, and while they take risks, they must be discrete lest they end up in the Klan’s gunsights.

When Police Chief Alton Gravely and Officer Carothers escalate the feud between “Torreya’s finest” and conjure woman Eulalie Jenkins by running her off the road into a North Florida swamp, the borrowed pickup truck is salvaged, but Eulalie is missing and presumed dead. Her cat, Lena, survives. Lena could provide an accurate account of the crime, but the county sheriff is unlikely to interview a pet. Lena doesn’t think Eulalie is dead, but the conjure woman’s family and friends don’t believe her.

Torreya, a small 1950s Florida Panhandle town, is losing its men. They disappear on nights with no moon and no witnesses. Foreclosure signs appear in their yards the following day while thugs associated with the Klan take everything of value from inside treasured homes that will soon be torn down. The police won't investigate, and the church keeps its distance from all social and political discord.

Lena, a shamanistic cat, and her conjure woman Eulalie live in a small town near the Apalachicola River in Florida's lightly populated Liberty County, where long leaf pines own the world. In Eulalie's time, women of color look after white children in the homes of white families and are respected, even loved, but distrusted and kept separated as a group. A palpable gloss, sweeter than the state's prized tupelo honey, holds their worlds firmly apart.

When Sarabande's sister Dryad haunts her for three years beyond the grave, Sarabande begins a dangerous journey into the past to either raise her cruel sister from the dead, ending the torment, or to take her place in the safe darkness of the earth.

Malcolm R. Campbell's Spooky Stories include Cora's Crossing which was inspired by the now-abandoned Bellamy Bridge over the Chipola River near the town of Marianna in the Florida Panhandle. The local folk legend that claims the bridge is haunted by a 175-year-old ghost who died tragically on her wedding night when her dress caught fire. In Moonlight and Ghosts, Randy's intuition is drawing him back to an abandoned psychiatric hospital where he once worked.

The fictional news stories and "night beat" editorial columns in this collection began as posts on the Morning Satirical News blog and subsequently appeared in the Worst of Jock Stewart collection and/or the Jock Talks series of e-books. Jock Talks…Politics was a 2013 Pushcart Prize nominee.

Mainstream humor with a dash of mystery… A throwback to Hollywood's film noir reporters, Jock Stewart is out of touch with the looming world of digital journalism. While he goes out of his way to mock those in authority by pretending to kowtow to them, he admits he does his best work by being an a-hole. A mix of Don Rickles and Don Quixote, Stewart is the man for the job when the skirts are up and the chips are down.

Emily Walters is a sharp, inquisitive fourteen-year-old north Florida girl who loves maps, her rusty old bike, and the forest behind her house. Sometimes her dreams tell her the future and sometimes her waking hours bring wise birds and other spirits into her life. In these three short stories, join Emily in her adventures and mysteries.