Tall Tales & Other Such Nonsense Vol. 1: Tall Tales & Other Such Nonsense, #1

By N. L. McCoy

In Tall Tales & Other Such Nonsense Vol. 1, McCoy tells four flash fiction stories: C'est La Vie, The Curve, The Sword of My Father, and Disconnected.

 

First, readers will be treated to the story, C'est La Vie, a story in which a rat and a pigeon find themselves a small aircraft. The pigeon, Barnabas Jones, must convince his friend, Absalom, to join him on a flight over New York City.

 

Then, the tone changes as McCoy delves into the faltering relationship between a husband and wife in the harrowing tale, The Curve.

 

Next, delve into McCoy's retelling of the myth Kotan Utunnai. McCoy's The Sword of My Father explores vengeance, violence, and forgiveness in a piece that delivers constant excitement.

 

To wrap up the four flash fiction pieces, McCoy explores the life of a spy stationed in an old motel on a surveillance mission. Everything is not what it seems in Disconnected.

 

Don't miss the first chapter, The Captain, The Slave, and The Sea, of McCoy's upcoming novel The Council of Iron & Blood: To Be a Harbinger. To Be a Harbinger is the first book of The Council of Iron & Blood trilogy. In this first chapter, follow the reviled Captain Jolagh At'Uul as he purchases the slave Vanareth and sails across the Crystal Sea.

• Language: English
• Publisher: N. L. McCoy
• Release date: Dec 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223570073

Book preview

C’est La Vie

Iremember where I was when Society came to a screeching, fiery collapse. Quite simply, I was a passenger in the damned thing. It was my pal Barnabas Jones who insisted on flying the contraption. I was hesitant at first. I asked if he could even fly it.

Of course, I can fly it, he said, I’m a pigeon, after all. I fly for a living.

He was right. He did fly for a living. But I never should have let him convince me to accompany him. Rats are meant to live on solid ground, scrounging for scraps, not up in the sky living life above everyone else. Unless, of course, you’re a rat with wings, like Barnabas.

Don’t be that week-old breadstick we had for lunch, he jabbed.

I’m a fresh breadstick, I said, and you know it!

Then prove it and get in.

I scampered over to the small, metallic aircraft. I sniffed at it and cautiously placed my left paw on the cold steel. It was cold to the touch, but there was power in its design.

See? Barnabas asked, It’s not that scary.

Barnabas flapped his wings and landed in the pilot’s seat. Then he finagled his way into a pair of smoked-out goggles.

Look, Absalom, he said, I’m officially a pilot.

I crawled up into the tiny seat behind his and said, I don’t think a pair of old goggles qualifies you as a pilot.

Well, isn’t someone quite the buzzkill? Barnabas said.

I shrugged and fumbled with my seatbelt. Barnabas turned from me and beaked the small red button labeled START. The small engine came roaring to life, and the propeller at the front of the plane began spinning rapidly. The seatbelt finally clicked. My stomach was wrenching at the thought of what I was about to do. Then It dawned on me; I was about to be the first rat to ever fly. My churning stomach ceased and was replaced by an excited heartbeat.

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