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Starbird
"I remember like it was yest'day the day I hooked up with Graken," I say to the hick sittin' next to me at the scraped-up excuse for a bar they call the Come-On Inn, "and I'd be sure glad to tell you about it if you'd set there a spell and mebbe spot me a shot or three of whatever you're drinkin'."
In the seedy world of cockfighting, blade-enhanced winners slash their way to temporary victory while the losers end up in barrels to be fried and eaten. Nate's usual hard luck changes when "Graken" comes along. Graken is a strange creature who thrives on the fighting and never, ever loses. Now Nate and his new partner Jerry travel the cockfight circuit with the unbeatable beast, happy to let Graken show them the good times. But good times always have to end, and... Graken's gotta eat. Can they stay ahead of their reputation and also keep the ravenous Graken satisfied? Are they willing to do what it takes? And... who's really in charge?
First published in the anthology The Midnighters Club, "Starbird" is a hick-noir/SF/Damon Runyon mash-up that's definitely not PC and is intended only for adults.
In the seedy world of cockfighting, blade-enhanced winners slash their way to temporary victory while the losers end up in barrels to be fried and eaten. Nate's usual hard luck changes when "Graken" comes along. Graken is a strange creature who thrives on the fighting and never, ever loses. Now Nate and his new partner Jerry travel the cockfight circuit with the unbeatable beast, happy to let Graken show them the good times. But good times always have to end, and... Graken's gotta eat. Can they stay ahead of their reputation and also keep the ravenous Graken satisfied? Are they willing to do what it takes? And... who's really in charge?
First published in the anthology The Midnighters Club, "Starbird" is a hick-noir/SF/Damon Runyon mash-up that's definitely not PC and is intended only for adults.
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First published January 8, 2014
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About the author
W.D. Gagliani
53 books41 followersW.D. Gagliani (Milwaukee, WI) is an American author of Italian descent. His work has spanned the horror, thriller, mystery and adventure fields in fiction, and he has written numerous book reviews, articles, and interviews in nonfiction.
His novels include Wolf's Trap, Wolf's Gambit, Wolf's Bluff, Wolf's Edge, Wolf's Cut, Wolf's Blind, and the novella Wolf's Deal (the Nick Lupo series), plus the novels The Judas Hit and Savage Nights, the collection Shadowplays, and (with David Benton) the novel Killer Lake (nominated for the Splatterpunk Award), the mini-collection Mysteries & Mayhem, and (as A.G. Kent) I was a Seventh Grade Monster Hunter. The team of Benton & Gagliani was commissioned to play in the Vampire Dreams universe with their tale "Voracious in Vegas," which appeared as part of the now-defunt Kindle Worlds. On his own, Gagliani has also written novellas such as The Great Belzoni and the Gait of Anubis (original and expanded versions).
His short fiction (much of which appears in Shadowplays) has won the 1999 Darrell Award of the Memphis Science Fiction Association ("Until Hell Calls Our Names"), several 2nd and 3rd Place prizes in the Science Fiction Writers Of Earth annual contests, and garnered six Honorable Mentions in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror annual collections. In addition, his novel Wolf's Trap (first published by Yard Dog Press) was a Finalist for the 2004 Bram Stoker Award for outstanding achievement in a first novel.
Gagliani is also the author of numerous book reviews, articles, interviews, and short stories published in anthologies such as Robert Bloch's Psychos, More Monsters from Memphis, The Midnighters Club, Fateful Fathoms, Undead Tales, and more, and (with co-writer David Benton) Dark Passions: Hot Blood 13, The X-Files: Trust No One, SNAFU, SNAFU: Wolves at the Door, Splatterpunk Zine, Splatterpunk: Fighting Back, Splatterpunk: Past Indiscretions, and more, as well as other publications and books such as Cemetery Dance, Horror World, Bare Bones and Best of Bare Bones, The Scream Factory and Best of the Scream Factory, Chizine, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Writer magazine, the books THRILLERS: The 100 Must Reads and ON WRITING HORROR, and many more.
Gagliani is an active member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA), the International Thriller Writers (ITW), and the Authors Guild.
Series:
* Wolf Cycle
His novels include Wolf's Trap, Wolf's Gambit, Wolf's Bluff, Wolf's Edge, Wolf's Cut, Wolf's Blind, and the novella Wolf's Deal (the Nick Lupo series), plus the novels The Judas Hit and Savage Nights, the collection Shadowplays, and (with David Benton) the novel Killer Lake (nominated for the Splatterpunk Award), the mini-collection Mysteries & Mayhem, and (as A.G. Kent) I was a Seventh Grade Monster Hunter. The team of Benton & Gagliani was commissioned to play in the Vampire Dreams universe with their tale "Voracious in Vegas," which appeared as part of the now-defunt Kindle Worlds. On his own, Gagliani has also written novellas such as The Great Belzoni and the Gait of Anubis (original and expanded versions).
His short fiction (much of which appears in Shadowplays) has won the 1999 Darrell Award of the Memphis Science Fiction Association ("Until Hell Calls Our Names"), several 2nd and 3rd Place prizes in the Science Fiction Writers Of Earth annual contests, and garnered six Honorable Mentions in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror annual collections. In addition, his novel Wolf's Trap (first published by Yard Dog Press) was a Finalist for the 2004 Bram Stoker Award for outstanding achievement in a first novel.
Gagliani is also the author of numerous book reviews, articles, interviews, and short stories published in anthologies such as Robert Bloch's Psychos, More Monsters from Memphis, The Midnighters Club, Fateful Fathoms, Undead Tales, and more, and (with co-writer David Benton) Dark Passions: Hot Blood 13, The X-Files: Trust No One, SNAFU, SNAFU: Wolves at the Door, Splatterpunk Zine, Splatterpunk: Fighting Back, Splatterpunk: Past Indiscretions, and more, as well as other publications and books such as Cemetery Dance, Horror World, Bare Bones and Best of Bare Bones, The Scream Factory and Best of the Scream Factory, Chizine, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Writer magazine, the books THRILLERS: The 100 Must Reads and ON WRITING HORROR, and many more.
Gagliani is an active member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA), the International Thriller Writers (ITW), and the Authors Guild.
Series:
* Wolf Cycle
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 17, 2016
Odd little story but gotta love the accent!
Displaying 1 of 1 review