Going Back

"After it happened, my marriage only lasted two more months. Janine? She would tell me that it wasn't really my fault. But she never looked in my eyes once, each time she said it. And by mid-February, she was gone."

Time is of the essence, and in these fourteen stories from acclaimed horror writer Tony Richards the essence of time is the link that pulls his characters together. Richards explores the nature of reality and perception filtered through the conduit of time; examines how our decisions can lead us down unsettling paths, and however carefully we make our choices they can still contain strange consequences, often tragic ones.

A man becomes trapped within a never-ending day, another tries to prevent a child's death by returning to the past. Nine rocks predict the end of the world, and a beautiful stranger continues to exist physically even though her time is at an end. Meanwhile non-existent cats play havoc with a bewildered couple's life, as mortality nudges at our shoulders, drawing ever closer.

If only time wasn't linear. Which way would you turn the clock, forward or back?

"A terrific story-teller" – Graham Joyce

"An amazing voice" – James A. Moore

"Man, can this guy write. (He) has the power to introduce you all over
again to the pleasures of reading good prose" – Ed Gorman