Showing results by author "Melanie Tem" in All Categories

In Concert collects the collaborative short fiction of Melanie Tem and Steve Rasnic Tem, who have worked at the cutting edge of imaginative fiction for over a quarter century. In the twenty-one tales herein, the reader will find fear, joy, and mystery. In Concert showcases the wide range of their collaborative work. The title story tells of a lonely elderly woman who achieves rapport with a lost astronaut through the power of music.

Things happen when Greg is around...all kinds of things bet broken, yet you can't relaly say he's destructive because you never see him break anything. Other kids are getting hurt or getting into trouble all the time, yet you can't put your finger on just what he does...it's as if he spends all his energy being furious withthe world; anger is the only consistent thing he's ever had and he'll hold on to it with a vengeance.

Leila Blackwell suffers from keratitis, a condition that, coupled with prior eye problems, is slowly robbing her of her sight. Nevertheless, she stubbornly tries to maintain a “normal” lifestyle, often forsaking the companionship of her lover Cathy to act independently, as any fully sighted person might do. It’s thus that she finds herself alone in a public rest room when a familiar male voice penetrates the silence, saying, “Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you.”

Her brother Ethan is dead. then why does he visit and why does he leave the doors open for Lucy and her sisters -- doors that whisper of the place that claimed Ethan's body and mind?

Twenty-eight-year-old Rebecca (Becky) Emig has her hands full. A new position as an administrator at The Tides - a nursing home for senile, elderly, handicapped and insane residents - leaves her little time for her crumbling personal life. Compounding her stress, she has begun experiencing bizarre hallucinations and strange childhood memories after she is mysteriously drawn to visit an empty lake bed behind the nursing home. And her father, Marshall, who is an Alzheimer's patient at The Tides, has begun calling her "Faye", a name Becky does not recognize....