I had to invent the Ridiculous Fiction genre to justify the abject silliness of the short stories he wrote in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Most of these stories were written for creative writing classes.
Ridiculous Fiction #1: Old Joe
The first issue contains the story “Old Joe” and the comic “The Sheridan Park Massacre.” “Old Joe” is a spoof of the classic Man versus Nature literary theme. Will Bill Billson become a man after a successful hunt? And if so at what price? These are the questions writers and philosophers have struggled with for the entirety of our existence.
Buy Ridiculous Fiction #1: Old Joe from the RoosterCow Store.
Excerpt from Ridiculous Fiction #1
I slowly crept up to the spot where Old Joe sat, making sure to keep out of his sight. I slithered and slid my way along the dusty attic floor and gradually, after what seemed like five minutes, I was within two feet of him. Glancing down at my watch — it had only taken three minutes, but time has no meaning in the world of the hunter and the hunted, the baiter and the baited, the prey and the guy who stalks the prey, Old Joe and me.
I could hear Old Joe buzzing happily as he gorged himself on the pickle sugar that I had given him, almost as a gift. Now I was about to give him another gift, the gift of death. But why wasn’t Old Joe moving? Why weren’t his insectual instincts telling him to move his bug ass? I raised my swatter into the air not having time to consider such questions. Later, I would know the answer.
“The Sheridan Park Massacre”
“The Sheridan Park Massacre” tells the tale of one rage-filled evening. The horror!
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