The boy isn’t very large. The way things are these days, he figures that’s a plus. He is less of a target at night, and for this reason he has come to trust the darkness. Strange to trust darkness in a world overrun with nightmares... but that’s the way it is.

In a small California town, a carnival roustabout takes a one-way road to vengeance behind the wheel of a car once owned by a notorious serial killer. In Hollywood, a struggling actor makes a desperate play for the biggest of scores at a “dead celebrities” costume party. In the Mojave Desert, a musician stalks his own ghost and the devil woman who stole it. In Hawaii, a disillusioned businessman discovers the true power of a myth at a forgotten shrine. In the Deep South, a crazed Elvis impersonator encounters a man who dares to dishonor the King's name. In the Old west, a gunslinging demon battles a witch and a cursed outlaw gang. Tales of supernatural horror, dark suspense, gruesome irony, and the just-plain fantastic... twisted characters with decidedly different yet all-too-believable viewpoints... places you may have visited but have never seen clearly until now... tough yet strangely poetic prose... in-your-face shocks and nitro-laced plot twists you won't soon forget... two brand new stories, an unpublished original comic script, story notes, and an introduction by multi-talented author Joe R. Lansdale: it's all here in Bad Intentions, the long-awaited first full-length short story collection by Bram Stoker Award-winner Norman Partridge, a writer Stephen King calls “a major new talent.” Amazon.com ReviewNorman Partridge's first story collection, Mr. Fox and Other Feral Tales, won a Bram Stoker Award, and his first novel, Slippin' Into Darkness, garnered the highest praise from horror critics; so it's no surprise that this second collection is a knockout. Here, in dusty Southwestern settings with tawdry glimmers of pop culture, you'll find carnival roustabouts, an Elvis impersonator, a demon gunslinger, a gorilla gunslinger, monstrous automobiles, a heavyweight champ who's past his prime--all of them flirting with death, if not damnation, too. The fragmented narratives are at times a little befuddling, but the writing is lean and evocative, like Dennis Etchison or Jim Thompson. As Joe R. Lansdale writes in the introduction, "Bad Intentions will be one of the most important short story collections of the nineties." And this first edition of only 526 copies, with a striking cover painting by Ryan Dreimiller, will most likely be a collector's item.

During the Great Depression, outlaw rivals of Bonnie and Clyde battle for their lives in a bullet-riddled cornfield that holds the secret of love and death.In a suburban American ghost town, a frightened boy armed with a BB gun stands alone against a soul-stealing stranger.In the Old West, a legendary gunslinger follows a trail of severed heads as he delivers a mail-order bride to a madman.Hard-boiled thrillers. Gonzo suspense. Grisly horror. Tough yet tender character studies. Norman Partridge gives readers all this and more in his biggest and best collection of short fiction.Known for a vivid, exuberant writing style that goes straight for the throat, Partridge's resolutely eccentric fiction is powered by an obvious affinity--and affection--for the outrageous and grotesque. But don't try to put a label on him-- Partridge is a writer who fits no category but his own.Herein you'll find an original introduction by the author himself, twenty-plus stories, and two brand new tales from a talent The Washington Times calls "... as crazy as a scorpion on a red-hot skillet--and twice as dangerous."Gentle reader, you're in for a ride and a half.Winner of the 2001 Bram Stoker Award for fiction collection!

On a coal-black night, on a desolate stretch of Arizona highway, two last-chance lovers die badly. In these, the final, cruelest moments of his earthly existence, Dan Cody watches as the lifeblood of his lady is sucked down by the thirsty desert sands. In an instant, his heart and his redemption have been blown away by a postmodern witch and her sadistic goth-giant companion on their gore-soaked joyride to immortality.But even as one life ends in pain and anguish for Dan Cody, another begins. He is about to join those chosen to walk beneath the shadow of the Crow's wing. Revenge will be the sole reason for his return; revenge on two who are speeding into the night in a '49 lamb's-blood Mercury on the fast track to Hell ... or Nevada. And though Kyra Damon and Johnny Church have embraced evil with a zealor's fervor, they underestimate the power of what's pursuing them from beyond the grave-the rough beast that's now slouching toward Vegas with murderous rage in its dead eyes ....

Jack Baddalach's Back ...... and he's got a job to do. Well, more of anerrand really ... Escort a Chihuahua named Spike, via stretch limo, from Palm Springs to Las Vegas. Simple. But this isn't just any Chihuahua. Spike is under the protection of Freddie Gemignani, the shady, mobbed up casino owner who pays Jack's salary. When a band of machine-gunning beauties in black leather dognap Spike and leave Jack for dead, he knows there has to be something big in the works. The trouble is figuring out what that something is. Because even if it is a mafia Chihuahua - and one he's on the hook for - it's only a dog ...But Jack's got a soft spot for dogs, and a hard time rolling over, so soon he's up to his fists in lowlifes - including a poison-drinking, rattlesnake-handling Satanic preacher; his bikini-clad and leather-tanned progeny; the newly-crowned, artificially-endowed heavyweight champion of the world with his Nietzschian tattoos and Freudian issues; a mailman-murdering, pimp Prince Charming with a post-graduate degree from Corcoran State's gladiator academy; a diamondback rattlesnake named Cthulhu and maybe even his infernal majesty, the devil hisownself ... But it's the punk rock mafia princess that might just be the most hazardous to Jack's health (either her or the donut holes) -- and she's on his side. Surviving it all could get Jack a real life. And maybe one last shot - either inside the ring or out - at the title of "the baddest man on the whole damn planet" .... But first he'll have to make it out the other side of the the madcap macabre of The Ten-Ounce Siesta.The Critics Rave On:"Partridge may be the best of a small crew of important writers for the nineties. He is outstanding. He is original. He's a writer that future generations of writers will be looking up to." - Joe R. Lansdale"One of the most dependable, exciting and entertaining practitioners of dark suspense ... Emphasis on the dark. When Partridge is hitting on all eight cylinders, he's one tough contender for any ambitious young bravo to beat. Street legal? Yeah, but barely." - Locus"Partridge consistently writes as though his life depends on the world he sets down on the page." - Peter Straub"In every respect, The Ten-Ounce Siesta lives up to the Ken Russell epigraph which precedes it: ‘I don’t believe there’s any virtue in understatement.’ ... a resolutely eccentric novel that is powered by Partridge’s obvious affinity—and affection—for the outrageous and the grotesque." — Cemetery Dance"Partridge gets better with each book, and this off-the-wall, somewhat supernatural detective tale is his best so far." — Mark Graham, Rocky Mountain News

Amazon.com ReviewHis style is unique, to be sure, but Partridge is in the same ballpark as Joe Lansdale and Ed Gorman -- bright-colored comic book imagery, embattled and flawed protagonists, and a melancholy tone that seeps in around the edges. This story is reminiscent of "Twin Peaks": a sweet, lovely high-school girl stars in a scene of sex and violence that continues to haunt her male classmates long after her death. This time, though, "Laura Palmer" gets her revenge. The prose is vivid and satisfyingly detailed, the characters are crisply delineated, and the mood is like a sad rock-n-roll song with a good backbeat. From BooklistEighteen years after high school, a former cheerleader turned "trailer trash" prostitute kills herself. Shortly thereafter, her ghost (or perhaps just her memory) becomes the focus of a dire set of events involving old classmates, from her admirers to her rival to the jocks who raped her, shattering her life. Their lives changed, too, and not for the better. One's a pornographer, one's a drugged-out insomniac, one changes husbands faster than hairstyles, and all lead meaningless, desperately despondent lives. In the 24 hours the story occupies, what they did and saw and condoned 18 years ago comes home with dreadful but condign intensity. This is a story of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, and it is informed by the spirit and the lyrics of 1970s pop culture. Partridge writes with a rock beat--disco crossed with hard-slammin' punk--that gives the book a savage tempo in keeping with its horrific events. Dennis Winters

Welcome to the Saguaro Riptide Motel ...It's a seedy little landlocked surf joint in the desolate Arizona desert. It's got frostbite-inducing A/C, an over-chlorinated swimming pool, and it's own junkyard. A veritable oasis, and the rates are low. And it's where the not-so-elite meet - for the biggestdisharmonic convergence since the invention of gunpowder. Ex-light-heavyweight champion of the world Jack "Battle-Axe" Baddalach will be there. So will buttoned-down Muslim button man Woodrow Saad Muhammad. Sheriff Wyetta Earp is due as well - she of the black belt, bad manners and big boots to fill. And Major Kate Benteen, the bikini-clad war hero/prodigous surgeon/Olympic diver/champion horse racer/movie starlet, is in Room 23. Between them, they've got lots of sticky, dirty, sometimes broken fingers in a fat two-million-dollar mafia pie. (Almost) everyone wants the cash. Everyone (except Jack) has a gun. And not even a special guest appearance by a shotgun-toting, robot-voiced, fanatical Elvis impersonator will keep things from gettng uh-huh-huh-ugly in Stoker-winner Norman Partridge's wild, pop-gonzo grotesque extraordi-noir extraordinaire! Surf's up!The Critics Rave:"Partridge is the hottest new writer going." - Joe R. Lansdale"Nitro-laced, in-your-face fiction for the 90s." -Locus"Partridge writes like nobody else. He's a big talent and he's going to get a whole lot bigger." - Ed Gorman"Partridge writes with a rock beat ... crossed with hard-slammin' punk." - Booklist"A major new talent." - Stephen King"The remarkable things here are the energy and non-stop flow of invention with which the author invests each scene and each character. There is not a scene in this book that sounds as if it might have been written by anyone other than Norman Partridge." - Cemetery Dance

From the inside flap:Originally published in 1992, Mr. Fox and Other Feral Tales introduced a fresh voice to horror literature. Norman Partridge's first collection won the Bram Stoker Award, received a World Fantasy nomination, and cemented Partridge's place as an exciting new talent in a generation of dark dreamers that included Poppy Z. Brite, Brian Hodge and Bentley Little.The Roadkill Press edition of Mr. Fox is nearly impossible to find, fetching prices as high as $400 on the collector's market. This expanded edition features every story included in the original, an excerpt from an unpublshed zombie novel, and 11 additional stories (most of them uncollected) written early in Partridge's career - including a collaboration with Richard Chizmar.But the Subterranean Press edition of Mr. Fox is more than a short story collection. In a freewheeling introduction and extensive story notes, Partridge shares what he's learned about the craft and commerce of writing horror. If you're a new writer looking for tips from a seasoned pro about writing your first novel or marketing your work, you'll want this book on your shelf. If you're a Norman Partridge fan, you'll simply have to have it.From Publishers WeeklyFirst published in a limited edition in 1992, Partridge's Stoker-winning debut horror collection is something of a legend. This new incarnation includes the original seven stories, 11 more early tales and extensive authorial commentary in between selections. Partridge's later, more accomplished style can be seen developing, but even when dependent on a plot twist ("Save the Last Dance for Me") or an O. Henry ending ("The Baddest Son of a Bitch in Town"), these tales remain solid and entertaining. Others, like "Stackalee," still stand on their own merits but have been overshadowed by later work. Partridge's reminiscences and advice to writers are honest, measured and insightful. In a genre overburdened with self-serving advice, Partridge—a respected professional, despite relatively modest sales—delivers some truthful, needful messages without rancor or self-pity. Fiction and nonfiction combine to make a fine whole.

Wildest Dreamsby Norman PartridgeAbout the eBook:A storm is coming to Cliffside, California, and with it comes a killer.His name is Clay Saunders, and he walks in two worlds. Born with a caul, Saunders sees ghosts. But to him, the world of the dead is very much like the world of the living. It's a realm of eternal pain -- inescapable and relentless -- that cuts as deeply as the razor edge of the hired killer's K-bar knife.Saunders has spilled blood on Florida sand, and the snow-covered Canadian prairie, and the black lava of Hawaii. His latest target is Diabolos Whistler, leader of a satanic cult. Exiled in Mexico, Whistler is alone when Saunders stabs him just above the first vertebrae... alone, except for the mummies stacked like so much cordwood in his library.But the living who await the killer's arrival in Cliffside are more frightening than the decayed corpses of the dead. There's Whistler's daughter Circe, a tattooed siren who leads Saunders to a bed of iron and satin...and Circe's bodyguard, a seven foot student of Egyptology whose sarcophagus rests in a redwood pyramid... and Janice Ravenwood, a new age medium with a startling hidden gift.And there's a little girl, a ghost held prisoner by vengeful revenants. Only Clay Saunders can save her. To do that, he must bridge the worlds of the living and the dead in an unforgettable climax of darkness and blood.