PRAISE FOR LUKE SMITHERD’S WRITING:
… strong characterization, moral quandaries, mystery, and a whole lot of tense moments. Reading the final sentence was truly a bittersweet moment.” – SFsignal.com, Hugo award-winning website
It’s a story that he hasn’t told anyone for fifty years. A secret that he’s kept ever since he grew tired of the disbelieving faces and doctors’ reports advising medication. He’s been careful. Lisa’s been around old drunks before. She’s heard her fair share of unlikely urban legends and creepy stories; tall bar room tales of science fiction that made her roll her eyes while wearing a plastered-on smile. But today is different. The Man on Table Ten is different. True, this mysterious stranger’s story of psychic abilities and supernatural creatures is straight out of the Twilight Zone … but there is something about his impossibly blue eyes that Lisa just cannot ignore.
When he is finished, she will have to worry. Once the tale is told, and she knows the unbelievable burden that The Man On Table Ten has had to carry throughout the years. When she knows of his incredible sacrifice and the mysterious reason for his strange quality of life. When she knows the truth, and is left powerless to do anything except watch for the signs …
All of that will come later. For now, The Man On Table Ten is talking; pull up a chair. After all, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you did, would it?
Original and compelling, the mysterious stranger’s paranormal tale will leave you breathless and listening carefully, wondering if that sound you can hear might just be ‘pouring sand that grows louder with every second … ‘
