John Peyton Cooke

The weird. The strange. The outr . AFTER YOU'VE GONE AND OTHER OUTR TALES presents 10 stories of men and monsters, goths and ghouls, violence and vengeance ... and a touching tale of a boy and his dentist. These are all part of the world of John Peyton Cooke, best known for his dark thrillers TORSOS and THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER. Selections include: "After You've Gone," the original tale of the bad Samaritan, which was reprinted in BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2003; "A Doll's Tale," which reveals everything we ever wanted to know about demon dolls but were afraid to ask; "The Penitent," which shows what happens when an inventive sadist joins with an insatiable masochist; "The Strawberry Man," about two gay skatepunks in love and in thrall to the power of an addictive fruit; and "Serostatus," in which Tom, a middle-aged gay New Yorker and AIDS widow, finds himself spooked by the ghosts of tricks past; plus five other tales of the weird ... the strange ... the outr .