Comedy and mystery with a twist of supernatural - tales of reality and beyond ‘I recommend these stories to those who enjoy a bit of the macabre with a blend of mystery and a twist of supernatural on the side.’ Readers\' FavouriteSleuthing For BeginnersAngela has always had a secret ambition to be a private detective. After her neighbour dies suddenly she launches her own investigation, with unexpected results.A Peaceful DeathGeorge, who has been obsessed with death since his father died, is visited by The Angel of Death, who strikes an unusual bargain.A Girl’s Best FriendAli, the sole beneficiary of her uncle’s will, learns that he may have a secret, ill-gotten fortune stashed away. But she soon discovers she\'s not the only one determined to find it.The MuseEsther, a struggling romance writer, meets her muse Alfred, and he moves in, providing her with a constant source of inspiration. But is the cost too high?If you like comedy, mystery and fantasy, and you’re looking for a book you can read on the train or in a couple of spare hours, this book of short stories is for you.‘I love Robin Storey\'s dry wit and realistic characterization of the foibles of human nature.’ Pamela Mariko.Scroll up and click the Buy Button now to start reading this diverse collection of entertaining stories.AUTHOR INTERVIEWDid you come up with the idea of an anthology of short stories and then write them?Not at all. The stories were already written, but not doing anything much, just lounging around in the Short Stories folder on my computer, eating pizza and watching Netflix. So I decided it was time they earned their keep.Why did you choose those particular stories?They all have a common thread of an element of humour, albeit subtle humour for the most part. Two of them are crime, (Sleuthing for Beginners and A Girl’s Best Friend), one is fantasy (A Peaceful Death) and the other has a romantic subplot (The Muse). So I figured there was enough variety to keep readers from being bored.Sleuthing for Beginners and A Peaceful Death were short-listed in short story competitions, but had the sulks because their moment of glory was over before it even started. So to appease them I included them to give them some exposure.What is it you enjoy about writing short stories?Because most of my time now is spent on the marathon of writing novels, I love the sprinting exercise of writing short stories. It’s a refreshing change of pace to be able to see the ending as soon as you start writing. The discipline of short story writing is excellent training for novel writing – it teaches you to be economical and succinct in your word choice, to focus on the story at hand and not get side-tracked and to write in such a way that readers can read between the lines without you having to spell things out.Short stories are as much an exercise on what to leave out as to what to put in. It’s a real art that only comes with practice.Will you be publishing more short stories in the future?I would certainly like to, but I don’t know when. Finding the time to write them is the challenge.

A classic work of local color by Irvin S. Cobb, in which he created a South peopled with honorable citizens and charming eccentrics.

Dodo Collections brings you another classic from Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb, ‘The Escape of Mr. Trimm.’ Cobb is remembered best for his humorous stories of Kentucky and is part of the American literary regionalism school. These stories were collected first in the book Old Judge Priest (1915), whose title character was based on a prominent West Kentucky judge named William Pitman Bishop. Writer Joel Harris wrote of these tales, “Cobb created a South peopled with honorable citizens, charming eccentrics, and loyal, subservient blacks, but at their best the Judge Priest stories are dramatic and compelling, using a wealth of precisely rendered detail to evoke a powerful mood."Among his other books are the humorous Speaking of Operations (1916), and anti-prohibition ode to bourbon, Red Likker (1929).

Irvin S. Cobb was a noteworthy American columnist, author, and humorist. He authored hundreds of short stories and over fifty novels.