Bewildering Stories welcomes...

James Shaffer

James is an American who has lived in Europe — particularly France, Holland and the U.K. — for amost thirty years. He has always been fascinated by film, which he sees as visual images of thought. And James says he writes stories as though they were film scripts. Come to think of it, that is a strategy that can work well.

“The Red Gas Can” might well be a film scenario; the narrative makes it easy for the readers to visualize the action.

And yet the story takes on a mysterious Twilight Zone quality. We never learn the main character’s name. At the end, a character is called “Bob,” which also happens to be the name of the ghost rider in the sheriff’s account. Who is who? And does a gas can symbolize hope? Perhaps for some; for others it seems to be an accidental or intentional target.

James Shaffer’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, James. We’re looking forward to another story of yours on the schedule!