Clipjoints, Nightmares and Geezenstacks

Check out Dick Adler's short essay on Fredric Brown, who is one of my all-time favorite writers—and a huge influence on me when I first started writing crime fiction. Adler singles out The Fabulous Clipjoint, but I have two more recommendations for you: His Name Was Death, which was reprinted by Black Lizard back in the late 1980s, and Nightmares and Geezenstacks, a collection of Brown's famous sf/horror short-short stories. Death uses a very interesting structure that I totally ripped off... I mean, that inspired the structure of Severance Package. And as for Geezenstacks? Oh man, you have no idea. You really don't. Just track down a copy. Meanwhile, Ed Gorman recommends Five Day Nightmare, which I own but haven't read yet. Seems like the perfect excuse to dig it out now.