PAUL FAIRBAIRN
AUTHOR
KRAMER'S WASTE is from Paul's debut collection, SHADOWS AND DUST, available on Kindle from Amazon. A paperback edition is due later in 2016, so watch out for that!
PAUL SAYS,
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"KRAMER'S WASTE is one of the oldest stories in 'Shadows and Dust'. The idea came to me during a nationwide strike by garbage collectors, as bags of rubbish literally were piling up in the streets. It was also written at a time when my own daughter was a baby (and she has a baby of her own now!), so I think it shows nicely how we write from our own lives, even when what we're writing has no connection with the real world (whatever that is) at all.
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It was written at the same time as -- and is a kind of companion piece to -- THE SHAPE OF RAGE, and whilst that latter story was published at the time in a long-defunct horror magazine, I kept KRAMER'S WASTE all to myself...until now. It's always been a personal favourite, a kind of pulp fantasy with literary aspirations. I hope you enjoy it."
Short Story: Kramer's Waste
Short Story: The Bridge
PAUL SAYS,
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"This is one of a bunch of stories I've written that were derived from my own childhood. That's fertile ground for any writer, and that period around the ages of 10 to 12, when childhood and adulthood get all confused, is of particular interest to those of us cannibalizing our lives for the darker realms of fiction.
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THE BRIDGE is based on a real place: The Hounsgill Viaduct, for those who peruse Google Earth. And we really did dare each other to creep along the ledge on the outside of the railings. I went there this morning (there's a pic on the story's page), and just being back up there, after all these years, brought the memories charging right back. It was a notorious suicide spot too, so another dare was to go up there when it was dark. But that's a story for another time...
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For now, ignore your vertigo and enjoy THE BRIDGE!"