Ghostly Whispers, Secret Voices

Unlike novels, which are complex and layered structures unfolding, perhaps, over long periods of time, the short story is a drive-by glance at life. Compressed into far fewer words than a novel, the short story focuses on a literary lightning bolt striking the protagonist with some blinding insight. The Irish author Joseph O’Connor said, “A good short story is almost always about a moment of profound realization. A quiet bomb.”

And sometimes the bombs are not so quiet. That’s the case in Parker’s newest creative effort, a collection of six rather dark and surprising tales I call Ghostly Whispers, Secret Voices. In this collection you’ll find stories where characters whispered to me over long periods of time, sometimes encouraging me to reach deeper into the darker recesses of my mind to find the best resolution and that moment of profound realization.

Some of the stories have been published and others have not. Some are extremely short, others more in line with the typical short story length, while one runs nearly 100 pages. Each of them will hopefully surprise you and leave you a bit uneasy about the human condition. Aside from the compelling cover art, you’ll find illustrations for each title page created by the multi-talented Greg DiGenti. Ghostly Whispers, Secret Voices is available as a Kindle digital book from Amazon.com.

Here’s a peek at each of the six stories:

SAVING SAM — An elderly woman and her invalid husband share their final hours together before facing eviction from their longtime home. Sometimes a house is more than a home.

TEXTING APRIL — Technology is moving rapidly, but text messages from the beyond? You’ll share Nick’s perplexity when a dead girl asks his help in finding her killer.

MY BROTHER, MY BURDEN— Racing to save his disturbed brother before he can harm himself, Robert gains new insights into his very special brother.

WIMMER’S LUCK— Two vicious thugs force Wimmer’s wife to rob her own bank while they hold him hostage. Can the Wimmer’s survive the terror-filled day?

AND PROMISES TO KEEP — A flat tire in the middle of the night on a deserted road is only the beginning of a fateful journey.

GHOSTLY WHISPERS — Desperate to find relief from the tinnitus that caused him to leave his job as a rock musician, “Mad Max”Gribbins learns the alternative can be both a blessing and a curse.

As a boy, I loved the stories of O’Henry, so it’s not surprising that most of these tales will have a twist at the end. They may shock you and perhaps you’ll question the mental state of an author who admits to hearing strange voices in his head.

Let me assure you I have them under control. I really do. But the question is will you be able to say the same after reading these six tales? I seriously doubt you’re in any danger of hearing ghostly whispers or secret voices. At least I don’t think you will.