The History Thief

Three days Alvin lay on the floor of his dusty lounge room before he realized he was no longer anchored to his body.

from “The History Thief”, in The Gate Theory.

Twice or three times in all the stories I’ve written, I’ve started with the title. “Fresh Young Widow” (soon available electronically in The Grinding House) was one. “The History Thief” is another.

I wrote it for one of my favourite horror writers, Gary McMahon, for the anthology he edited for Pendragon Press (Wales), called Visions Fading Fast. Chris Teague, who runs Pendragon Press, bought a very early story of mine. After I sold to him, I went to parties and called myself an Internationally Published Author in a loud voice while waving a plastic cup of cheap wine in people’s faces.

I’ve always been disturbed by loneliness. It breaks my heart, and I’m terrified of it. So I know how to write about a lonely man who has experienced nothing, loved no one. Who discovers he can steal the history of others as if he lived their lives himself.

The Gate Theory is free on Amazon for 48 hours. Please download, read, review and share.

And you know of course I never did do that thing at parties.