Kiss-Off the Devil: 9 Short Stories

The truth isn’t always “nice”, and those who would dig down to the roots of human folly should expect to get their hands at least a little dirty.

This collection transports readers to the realm of the forbidden, probing the dark, seldom-explored reaches of illicit desire and obsession where opposites attract and lust burns on any fuel it can find. Ranging in mood from the comically macabre title story, to the poignant realism of “All the Things They Never Got to Say” and the bewildering moral ambiguities of “Detour to Des Moines” and “Another Detour (Alternate Timeline)”, these tales challenge our comfort zones and scandalize the earnest little angels sitting on our shoulders, while inviting their opposite numbers to come out and play.

If the stories in this book were made into movies they would no doubt be rated somewhere between R and NC-17. Not so much for graphic content (though there is a fair amount of that) as for “adult situations.”

THE STORIES:

1. All the Things They Never Got to Say

Waking up in a strange motel room, a young couple reconstructs the events of the night before, trying to come to terms with the horror of their shared past, and the promise of revenge that has drawn them together again.

2. Birthday Girl

With his career on the rocks, struggling artist Alpheus Rivers accepts an invitation to spend a week on a luxury houseboat with the family of an old flame. In search of new inspiration, Alf is smitten by his lovely, vivacious fifteen-year-old goddaughter, Shayne. But the girl proves more menace than muse, and Alf must find a way to stop the monster he himself has helped to create.

3. Muse in the Neon Twilight

Beautiful Julia Rogers schemes to make her long-distance boyfriend jealous, though it means getting into bed with a man she despises. Caught in the web of her own deceit, Julia discovers that no plan ever goes smoothly once emotion takes over, and her most deeply repressed passions come into play. Soon, Julia must decide what she truly wants in a surreal world where the lines between hate and attraction, lust and disgust, revulsion and surrender are virtually erased.

4. A Girl from White City

Danni entertains her friends with the tale of a steamy interracial encounter.

5. Kiss Off the Devil

An easy pickup turns into a Halloween night from hell for a self-confessed sicko in this darkly comic tale of crime and punishment, perverse desire and cosmic comeuppance.

6. All He Surveys

In this “sequel” to “Muse in the Neon Twilight” and the novel “A Song for the Girl with the Almond Eyes”, pint-size polymath Michael “Doc” Drayton discusses life, death, sex, ethics, and popular culture, while sharing the sordid details of his own colorful past.

7. Becoming Roxanne

A small-town girl with dreams of big-city glitz discovers her true calling when she agrees to help out a friend from a local escort agency.

8. Detour to Des Moines

A tragic accident brings family members together, though not quite as they may have expected. Unsettling secrets are revealed with a generous helping of homemade insight into the human condition.

9. Another Detour (Alternate Timeline)

The shift of a few small details leads to a very different outcome for the characters from “Detour to Des Moines”.

CONTENT ADVISORY: This book is a work of literary fiction with strong adult themes and content. It contains explicit descriptions of transgressive sexual activity, and strong language including profanity and racial slurs, which may be offensive to some readers. It is not intended for, nor should it be purchased or read by anyone under the age of 18.