Thomas James Taylor

VARIATIONS ON A THEMESix short stories and one novella comprise a second volume of short stories following A Montage of A Mauve Reality. Ranging from the fearful, the melancholic, the surreal, and the bizarre, Unsound Minds and the novella Beyond the Rim suddenly broaden the scope of the experience. Meet a man who discovers his whole life is based on a deception, and a hard bitten corporate snoop sent to an outpost near the distant Kuiper asteroid belt, who steps into a far stickier problem than he ever imagined.

Star-CrossedA young man returns to the place of his childhood, much changed for the time of being away. A young woman with her heart set on independence and running a successful small business lives with her parents and a hodgepodge of characters at the Welsh family-run Powell's Guest House. With a large skeleton in his closet, Daniel moves into the guest house trying to find peace and a fresh start in Port Moreton. Amber, despite trying so hard to succeed in her business ventures, finds vicious resistance within the small-town mindset of the community. There is immediate chemistry between the two, first negative, then passion, while Amber's parents, Ted and Beth, see positivity in the pairing after Amber suffered vicious rape years prior, which lay her low for too long. Within a backdrop of native Australian folklore, a tangled relationship begins to flourish. But demons and ghosts of the mind are determined to pull apart any chance of happiness for the star-crossed lovers. The best they can hope for, they see, is redemption, and weighed upon the cosmic scales of justice, it is what they finally achieve.Book review by Michael Radon US Review of Books"You're in love, you idiot," he said, stepping out of the water. "You can say goodbye to rational thought."After growing up in Port Moreton, Amber Powell knew she was destined for greater things. After going off to college, she finds herself estranged from small-town life and the subject of nasty rumors and animosity. Soon those rumors start to take on an ugly reality, and while Amber finds opportunities to make use of her business acumen, she remains a target among men nearby. Daniel Gilmour is a young man returning to the area where he grew up, boarding with Amber's parents in their guest house. A dark secret from his recent past clings to him, though nobody around him seems the wiser. These two young adults gravitate towards each other romantically in a world they both feel lost in amidst a local Aboriginal legend and a series of horrific murders that seem to involve them somehow.Thick with personal drama and tragic backstory, this is a book about the kind of melodrama that often accompanies the emotions of young love. In the case of this book, though, the stakes and circumstances surrounding Amber and Daniel are high enough to match their heightened emotional states. The incorporation of a native tale about a young member of a tribe who is destined to be alone forever ties neatly into the storytelling without being oppressively blunt. There is a fair amount of suspense that bubbles to the surface as the police, primarily a detective, work their way into the cast, and that rising action working in tandem with a budding romance gives this story great acceleration and intensity. Readers will find themselves hoping for a happy ending in what seems like a hopeless situation, becoming fully invested in this well-spun tale.The AuthorT H O M A S J A M E S T A Y L O R, born Dec 1st, 1954. First published in the mid-1980s and writes on subject matter ranging through real life, the bizarre and unusual, crime/romance, philosophy, and more recently a first foray into sci-fi. The winner of the Pacific Book Award Star of Exceptional Merit with For Your Pleasure & Questionable Behaviour, Taylor consistently earns high praise from book reviewers while continuing to surprise, interest, and fascinate with unusual material in the novel, novella, and short story format."Taylor's work is amazingly diverse" - US Review of Books.

About The BookTwo stories converge through the actions of Ulek, a novice necromancer, who must become a sanctioned member of The Order of the Dark Arts, or else be considered, by the order, an outlaw in possession of sacred knowledge, and to be hunted down and killed by a demon which is a creation of the Order.In the paralleling story, a hitman suffers injury on his way to fulfilling his contract with a secret Government cadre and is nursed back to health by the very man he was sent to kill. During his recovery, he comes to admire the man (his target) and to question his own worth as a human being, and the world which shaped him as he is.The two stories, separated by thousands of years, converge through the actions of the novice necromancer, who is trying to avoid a supernatural creature sent to kill him. On top of a six thousand feet high mesa common to both stories by their age, the two parties converge while both are caught in a battle for their survival.About The Author: T H O M A S J A M E S T A Y L O R, born Dec 1st, 1954. Author of eleven previous novels and short story collections. First published in the middle 1980s and written on subject matter ranging through real life, the bizarre and unusual, crime/romance, philosophy, and more recently, a first foray into sci-fi. The winner of the Pacific Book Award Star of Exceptional Merit with For Your Pleasure & Questionable Behaviour, Taylor consistently earns high praise from book reviewers while continuing to surprise, interest, and fascinate with unusual material in the novel and short story format.

The BookJames, a widower and fighting cancer, accidentally overdoses on his pain medication and dies. He is surprised to find that he is resurrected, soul in tact, and now in his prime. He finds he is not the only one, and that a super intelligence in the form of a rogue, quantum computer with a God complex, named Quanta, is responsible for recycling souls and pressing them into service in a warped quest to rule the cosmos. James and his new found friends become suspicious and in time defy Quanta's wishes. Attempting to overcome their programming while appearing to carry out their mission, they must find a way of thwarting this super intelligence's megalomaniacal lust for control, but how does one defeat a super intelligence without an ally able to match Quanta's abilities?The AuthorT H O M A S J A M E S T A Y L O R, born Dec 1st, 1954. First published in the mid 1980's and writes on subject matter ranging through real life, the bizarre and unusual, crime/romance, philosophy and more recently a first foray into sci-fi. The winner of the Pacific Book Award Star of Exceptional Merit with For Your Pleasure & Questionable Behaviour, Taylor consistently earns high praise from book reviewers while continuing to surprise, interest and fascinate with unusual material in the novel, novella and the short story format."Taylor's work is amazingly diverse" - US Review of Books.

ABOUT THE BOOKStory One: FOR YOUR PLEASUREJohn is a foolish and troubled man in the grip of depression brought on by unemployment, and by surrounding declining economic fortunes. His wife, Margaret, and he have a toddler to raise, but the future from John's standpoint looks grim. While he is meant to be shopping for groceries, John convinces himself that a visit to the hotel bar couldn't hurt, and while there, a visit to the Gaming Room, despite Margaret's warning, perchance to win a few extra dollars. In the Gaming Room he discovers a poker machine which is only visible to himself. The machine turns out to be a cunning, almost sentient artefact of unknown origin, quick to play upon John's weaknesses, leading him ever deeper into peril with the lure of riches enough to change his fortunes. What harm? he decided. What did he have to lose?Story Two: QUESTIONABLE BEHAVIOURA pair of small-time crooks find themselves indebted to Eddie (Nails) Madden, the would be crime boss of the area. Morris and Spider get by in life by any means necessary, although it is Morris who acts as the brains and the conscience guiding their exploits. Spider, his loyal companion, is very much under Morris's wing, both a trusted and trusting companion for whom Morris feels obligated to watch out for.Their narcotics addiction and debt to their supplier, Eddie (Nails) Madden, sees them manipulated into having to do a favour for Madden, a favour the boys are not at all happy about, but which will, at least, rid them of their debt. As the true nature of things are revealed during the commission of their task, there is a fundamental shift in thinking which causes the pair to aim for a more meaningful existence, but if that was going to be achieved, it would take a degree of intelligence and cunning to extricate themselves from the trap they had made for themselves.ABOUT THE AUTHORT H O M A S J A M E S T A Y L O R, born 1st December, 1954. South Australia.Raised on a farm South of Adelaide. Spent the early years chasing adventure and life experience. Married in 1995. Put music aside, took up writing and settled in Christies Beach South Australia."Taylor's work is amazingly diverse" - US Review of Books.

A young man left a lawless and destructive environment behind, to find a whole new way of living. Discovering the country and the people of Australia - discovering a spiritual existence and even evidence supporting extra-terrestrial alien interference.About The AuthorT H O M A S J A M E S T A Y L O R, born Dec 1st, 1954. First published in the mid 1980's and writes on subject matter ranging through real life, the bizarre and unusual, crime/romance, philosophy and more recently a first foray into sci-fi. The winner of the Pacific Book Award Star of Exceptional Merit with For Your Pleasure & Questionable Behaviour, Taylor consistently earns high praise from book reviewers while continuing to surprise, interest and fascinate with unusual material in the novel, novella and the short story format.

Story of a man and a woman coming together at a stage in their lives when all seems hopeless.Book review by Michael Radon US Review of Books"You're in love, you idiot," he said, stepping out of the water. "You can say good-bye to rational thought."After growing up in Port Moreton, Amber Powell knew she was destined for greater things. After going off to college, she finds herself estranged from small-town life and the subject of nasty rumors and animosity. Soon those rumors start to take on an ugly reality, and while Amber finds opportunities to make use of her business acumen, she remains a target among men nearby. Daniel Gilmour is a young man returning to the area where he grew up, boarding with Amber's parents in their guest house. A dark secret from his recent past clings to him, though nobody around him seems the wiser. These two young adults gravitate towards each other romantically in a world they both feel lost in and amidst a local Aboriginal legend and a series of horrific murders that seem to involve them somehow.Thick with personal drama and tragic backstory, this is a book about the kind of melodrama that often accompanies the emotions of young love. In the case of this book, though, the stakes and circumstances surrounding Amber and Daniel are high enough to match their heightened emotional states. The incorporation of a native tale about a young member of a tribe who is destined to be alone forever ties neatly into the storytelling without being oppressively blunt. There is a fair amount of suspense that bubbles to the surface as the police, primarily a detective, work their way into the cast, and that rising action working in tandem with a budding romance gives this story great acceleration and intensity. Readers will find themselves hoping for a happy ending in what seems like a hopeless situation, becoming fully invested in this well-spun tale.

POD: When a deep-space vessel is attacked without warning, Captain Rhys Morgan finds himself cast adrift millions of miles from home, with one other companion. INNER REALMS: Are the constructs of the mind more than they appear to be? DOUGIE'S CHOICE: The formative years; a time of self-discovery. THE VISITOR: An unexpected emissary from another world turns up in a suburban backyard. PARASITE: a deep-sea salvage captain discovers he is not alone. UNSOUND MINDS: When a quiet man discovers he has a military past he had no idea of, the ramifications rapidly become potentially world-shattering. BEYOND THE RIM: (novella) Jack is an insurance investigator, a company snoop for Universal X, whose instincts and powerful logic is perfectly suited for the job. His assignment is to discover who is stealing an odd and unrelated range of goods from an off-world exploration outpost based near the Kuiper Belt. The talented snoop has a perfect record for discovering motives and solving crimes of this nature, but nothing on Earth could have prepared him for what he was about to uncover at Far Reach.

James, a widower, and fighting cancer, accidentally overdoses on his pain medication and dies. He is surprised to find that his soul has been captured and placed within a new and perfect replication of himself at age thirty. He finds he is not the only one, and that a super intelligence in the formof a rogue, quantum computer names Quanta is responsible for recycling souls and pressing them into service for the nefarious purpose of ruling the cosmos. James and his newfound friends are suspicious from the outset and eventuallyrebel. They must find a way of thwarting Quanta's megalomaniacal lust for control, but how does one defeat a super intelligence without an ally who can match Quanta's abilities?

The world is strange, dangerous, complicated, full of strife, full of beauty and wondrous; and the opportunity and experience of life stretches beyond the everyday, beyond physical boundaries within which so many feel trapped as they struggle to survive. It takes time to get a handle on life. Unfortunately, far too much time can be spent simply discovering that which you are instinctively searching for but cannot find -- that which fulfills one's need for balance and contentment -- for having to deal with the circus going on around you; a world bereft of reason. Within are pieces of the puzzle of human existence, truths, oddities, food for thought, ideas and ways of viewing life which may not have occurred because life has been spent on less productive pursuits. There is some added anecdotal material; an unavoidable inclusion if I were going to get serious about providing something of a heads-up for the uninitiated. But if you think it's fantasy, think again. Bon Voyage

Montage of a Mauve Reality is a collection of 19 short stories I wrote in as many weeks. They were written as much to be therapy, when I turned my back on a dangerous lifestyle, as a serious attempt at trying my hand at story writing.Some are pulled out of nightmares and recurring dreams, some waking life, from early childhood to middle age. Some were concocted merely to explore the possibility of a storyline.If there is a theme, it is that 'real' and 'imaginary' are often unimportant distinctions. Existence involves both in combination, and to enjoy and appreciate life fully, the mind should remain open to all possibilities and all experiences. In hypnagogic where I write of wind sprites, for example, every word of it is true. It is a precise recollection of the event which on its own, caused me to put down the bottle (amongst other things) and pick up a pen.In one way or another, every story is a snippet form actual life experience and I wouldn't change a day of it.