Twisted Tales

By Colin Marks

Do you need more hours in the day, or more pairs of hands? Jack found being able to replicate himself wasn't as successful as he’d hoped...

A wealthy businessman is dying, laying on his bed surrounded by his children. He reflects on his life and his relationship with his children in his final moments...

Three young boys dare each other to knock on the witches door, but the house isn't what it seems...

'Twisted Tales' from Amazon #4 Short Story author, Colin Marks, presents eight unique stories united by endings with a twist. It features three new short stories and edited versions of his existing five shorts.

This collection contains the following stories: 'Wind in the Trees', 'Old House', 'The Man Who Could Replicate Himself', 'Dying With My Children', 'The Operation', 'To Kill the President', 'Extramarital' and 'Body Recyclers'.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Colin Marks
• Release date: Jun 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476258027

Colin Marks

British writer Colin Marks (born 1970) has so far only published a handful of short stories electronically, reaching #4 in the Amazon short story category. He is currently working on a novel which is due to be released in 2013.

Book preview

Twisted Tales

By Colin Marks

Copyright 2012 Colin Marks

Smashwords Edition

First Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover photograph copyright RoganJosh @ Morguefile

Reviews for Previous Editions

Dying With My Children

FIVE STARS. ‘Different take, but very good’. Deb Robinson (Smashwords)

FIVE STARS. ‘Sharp details enhance the setting and characters, with an intriguing, and somewhat appropriate, conclusion.’ Anna Scott Graham (Smashwords)

FIVE STARS. ‘HA! Don’t be greedy!!! Great twist’. Anonymous (Barnes&Noble)

FOUR STARS. ‘This very short story was well written about a man on his deathbed from his point of view. Formatting was good as I did not notice anything to distract in reading. While I did not like the main character (not a good person) I was taken with this story and loved the ending. Definitely worth a quick read while on lunch! I would consider reading other stories by this author.’ Auditing Annie (Amazon)

To Kill the President

FIVE STARS. ‘For a short story, I thought it was very good’. Crazymama159 (UK iTunes)

FOUR STARS. ‘This is a well written short story, descriptive, fast paced, and with a shocking ending. Having already read 2 of this author's stories, including Dying with my children, I thought I was prepared for the twist at the end, which seems to be his trademark, but I was not. I highly recommend reading this and other stories by this author.’ Anonymous (Barnes&Noble)

The Operation

FIVE STARS. ‘Awesome. I assure you no mistakes were made in this story!!

This was great!!!!’ Anonymous (Barnes&Noble)

Special thanks as always to Mark Mitchell, Tanya Almeida, Allan Jardine and Clair Ranson for their editing support. Without their help and encouragement, these stories would never have seen the light of day.

For Katherine – whose love of rubbish television gives me the space to write! x

Contents

Introduction

Wind in the Trees

Old House

The Man Who Could Replicate Himself

Dying With My Children

The Operation

To Kill the President

Extramarital

Body Recyclers

From the Author

Introduction

Welcome to this collection of my short stories. After a decade of finding excuses, I decided in 2010 to try my arm at writing fiction and submitted Body Recyclers to the Bristol Short Story Prize. The story wasn’t long listed but undeterred and bitten by the creative bug, I continued to write.

This book consists of edited versions of the five previously published short stories and introduces three never-seen-before, stories. Some of those existing stories, such as ‘To Kill the President’, were only cosmetically altered, while others, such as ‘Extramarital’, were given significant rewrites. If you’ve read those earlier stories, I hope you find the edited versions more enjoyable.

Please leave a review, whether you enjoy these stories or not, I always love to get feedback. And please keep an eye out for future work that I’ll be publishing. My main project now is to complete a novel for young adults by mid 2012, which was originally intended for my daughter but has developed a life of its own. This is likely to be self-published and will be available in print and digital formats.

I’d like to thank those who have been a great help. Mark Mitchell, Tanya Almeida and Allan Jardine have patiently edited my early drafts and their feedback has been priceless. Clair Ranson has reviewed and offered support throughout. And finally, Katherine Morgan has put up with my drivel, and though she’s almost drunk me out of house and home, she ain’t half bad!

Colin Marks

Wind in the Trees

The low sun strobes through the trees, catching the last of the pockets of mist. I do love the peacefulness of the forest on these cold, winter mornings. I’m standing on a wooden bridge where generations of children have played pooh sticks. I remember how I used to scurry across the planks and plead impatiently for the current to declare me the winner.

That seems so long ago, so much has happened since those childhood days. I’ve married a fantastic woman and my business has been hugely successful. I’ve achieved all I’ve ever wanted. The car, the house, every thing. It had all been so perfect.

I look around and sigh. It really is a beautiful morning. I close my eyes and listen to the wind in the trees.

Then I’m falling.

I’m winded as my chest hits the river. I try to lift my head but the weight of the backpack turns me, twisting my torso to face the sky. The straps gripping my shoulders tug me backwards. Water rushes into my throat as I’m pulled down headfirst.

My flailing body churns the water. Through the turbulence, I catch kaleidoscopic shards of the bridge. Shackled by the handcuffs and the tape binding my ankles, I’m unable to halt my descent. I sink lower and lower until the backpack lands on the riverbed and my feet strike a rock.

I thrash wildly, desperate to turn my body. The river is shallow, only as deep as my chest. If I could get onto my knees I might be able stand. But I can’t. The backpack is too heavy. I tug frantically against the handcuffs, my skin ripping against the force. Blood colours the water; not red, but russet-brown, the same as my wife’s hair.

I first saw her at a party a decade ago. I was standing beside Steve, my friend, feigning interest as he explained why house prices would never crash. In those days, he was like a stuck record. Every time we got drunk he’d rant about the failings of pension schemes, justifying why he’d gone solo and how he was developing property as fast as he could raise the capital. We’d been out drinking earlier in the week and it hadn’t interested me then. Bored, I glanced around the room.

She was perched on the arm of a sofa talking to someone I vaguely recognised from an earlier party. I couldn’t hear their conversation but every time she laughed, her joy surged through my body. Every thing about her had me grinning like an imbecile. I was captivated, entranced by the way she flicked her hair, how her