Showing results by author "Malcolm R. Campbell" in All Categories

In 1954, the small Florida Panhandle town of Torreya had more Klansmen per acre than fire ants. Sparrow, a bag lady; Pollyanna, an auditor; and Jack, the owner of Slade’s Diner, step on fire ants and Klansmen whenever they can while an unknown archer fires fate-changing arrows at the Klan’s leadership. They are not who they appear to be, and while they take risks, they must be discrete lest they end up in the Klan’s gunsights.

When Police Chief Alton Gravely and Officer Carothers escalate the feud between “Torreya’s finest” and conjure woman Eulalie Jenkins by running her off the road into a North Florida swamp, the borrowed pickup truck is salvaged, but Eulalie is missing and presumed dead. Her cat, Lena, survives. Lena could provide an accurate account of the crime, but the county sheriff is unlikely to interview a pet. Lena doesn’t think Eulalie is dead, but the conjure woman’s family and friends don’t believe her.

Malcolm R. Campbell's Spooky Stories include Cora's Crossing which was inspired by the now-abandoned Bellamy Bridge over the Chipola River near the town of Marianna in the Florida Panhandle. The local folk legend that claims the bridge is haunted by a 175-year-old ghost who died tragically on her wedding night when her dress caught fire. In Moonlight and Ghosts, Randy's intuition is drawing him back to an abandoned psychiatric hospital where he once worked.

The fictional news stories and "night beat" editorial columns in this collection began as posts on the Morning Satirical News blog and subsequently appeared in the Worst of Jock Stewart collection and/or the Jock Talks series of e-books. Jock Talks…Politics was a 2013 Pushcart Prize nominee.

Emily Walters is a sharp, inquisitive fourteen-year-old north Florida girl who loves maps, her rusty old bike, and the forest behind her house. Sometimes her dreams tell her the future and sometimes her waking hours bring wise birds and other spirits into her life. In these three short stories, join Emily in her adventures and mysteries.

Mainstream humor with a dash of mystery… A throwback to Hollywood's film noir reporters, Jock Stewart is out of touch with the looming world of digital journalism. While he goes out of his way to mock those in authority by pretending to kowtow to them, he admits he does his best work by being an a-hole. A mix of Don Rickles and Don Quixote, Stewart is the man for the job when the skirts are up and the chips are down.