I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE BEFORE: Stories

by Joey R. Poole

Private detective Frank J. Smiley is a hellhound on the trail at Cedar Lawn mobile home park. The jaded host of cable TV’s Modern Day Monsters has seen his fair share of hoaxes, but the Lizard Woman of Okamassee County just may be the real thing. Things finally start looking up for Roosevelt Law after his wife sends him to kill a rattlesnake hiding in the church yard. The voices in a homeless woman’s head lead her into the shadow of death with vengeance in mind. Two reunited childhood friends learn the hard way that war is hell on the home front, too. In a not-too-distant alternate future, a factory worker grieving for his dead wife faces tough decisions when his son, a genetic engineering prodigy, finds a way to bring her back from the dead. These stories and the others in this debut collection evoke a gritty vision of a world in which all sorts of things, both wondrous and evil, just might be hiding in the shadows.

234 pages, Paperback

Published February 11, 2020

About the author

Joey R. Poole is the author of I Have Always Been Here Before, a collection of gritty literary fictions that glance in the directions of horror, sci-fi, and crime fiction. He is currently at work on a novel, The Year of the Possum, set in the same fictional town of Hammer Springs, South Carolina as his story collection, and another project, set on the moon. Follow him on twitter @JoeyRPoole and find his blog, where he writes creative non-fiction and news about the writing and reading life at

Reviews

[Lynn Kostoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not since Larry Brown’s Facing the Music have I run into a collection of stories that upon finishing, I immediately wanted to reread. While the title story is a standout, I admired I Have Always Been Here Before for the way Poole extended the boundaries of Grit Lit and staked a claim in sci-fi and horror. Start turning the pages of I Have Always Been Here Before and meet your new favorite writer. Joey Poole is the real thing.
Lynn Kostoff, author of Late Rain, The Long Fall, and Words to Die For

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Terry, author of "Black Card" (which is great), tweet-recommended this book. I'm glad he did, because I loved it and I don't know how I would have been turned on to it otherwise. The stories are all unique and funny. I laughed out loud a few times, and I rarely do that while reading. Definitely recommended.

I also recommend switching over to https://beta.thestorygraph.com/. It's black woman owned, not Amazon owned, and has some nice features.

I'm not sure how to find my friends there, so let me know if you make the switch. You can follow me here: https://beta.thestorygraph.com/profil...

[Meagan Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection. Very clever. I loved how there is such a variety of stories, but they all share a really dark sense of humor and of course those deep SC roots. Definitely reminded me of George Singleton. Can't wait to read more from Poole.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I knew Joey Poole was a writer I admire, we were at a reading in graduate school. He was one among many of the brave enough to stand and read his work aloud before his peers, friends, and professors. He read from a novel he was writing, and out of a series of those aspiring writers, his work was the only one I remembered and thought about after. Poole stood out because his work had the right combination of being grounded in the real while transporting the (readers) to another place.

In this collection, Poole gathers up a series of short stories he has been working on for a few years. I have read these, in various stages, throughout the years, but there was something really special about reading them all together, each of them showing how Poole has honed his talent over the years. I saved these stories up to read, one-by-one, basking in the SC sun in my backyard. Each day, I was able to go on a journey, from the machinations of Frank Smiley to the questionable decisions of Roosevelt Law, with all the creepy crawlies within.

I like all of these stories, with the lizard man and woman stories being two that stand out to me, but my favorite in this collection (and before) is "The Ballad of Natusumi-Lynn." Poole doesn't specialize in sci-fi, but this story shows that he could.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a collection of modern short fiction or a way to show how Southern literature exists beyond Faulkner and Welty.

[Kenney Broadway · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing I love most about this patchwork of stories is the attention and care given to developing its characters. These are salt-of-the-earth folk. Some are monsters. Some only pranksters. Nearly all of them are truth-seekers. Their eccentricities make them unique, but there's something so familiar about the curiosity and longing for connection that drives them to explore the mysteries around and oftentimes within them. These narratives are at their best when they scrutinize the boundaries and/or interplay between faith and established knowledge. Whenever these concepts collide, the reader is treated to some very compelling and frequently bizarre dilemmas. There's a welcome variety of genres represented in this collection, which keeps things interesting and heightens the anticipation for the next story. These tales will make you think. They'll make you squirm. And they're all highly entertaining.

[Sheldon Birnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed these stories. Big time.

[Stephen J. Golds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poole writes about ugly things sometimes but he always does it in a beautiful way.
A helluva writer and this collection of Short prose is a testament to that fact!

[Bill Soldan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific collection. One outstanding story after another. Hits just about every emotional note you could ask for, not to mention the craftsmanship is downright superb. Hell, I can sincerely say I hadn’t laughed out loud at a piece of writing in a long time before reading “The Big, Scary Woods,” which had me damn near rolling on the floor. But the entire book is a home run, start to finish. Highly recommended. I look forward to seeing what Joey R. Poole has up his sleeve for his next one.

[Andrew Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short fiction is full of compelling characters on the edge; on the edge of tough lives and tough choices. From a baby that shows up expectedly to the appearance of a mysterious woman who slithers out of the swamp, Poole’s prose and talent for story telling will keep you turning the page.

[Vern Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I was saying, the stories in I Have Always Been Here Before read like a post-80s Johnny Cash song – unpleasant, but very very good.