I figured it was time to offer a new piece of free fiction on my website, so... tis here. It's "The Gaki," the headliner of my short fiction collection, The Gaki & Other Hungry Spirits from Dark Regions Press. I rarely look back at my older works of fiction unless I have reason to re-edit them for new publication or some such — or if I consider making them available on my website. After all these years, I still have the dickens of a time looking at my stories and novels with any sort of objectivity; more often than not, the best I can say about them is that they bring back vivid memories of the times that inspired the tales — sometimes good, sometimes bad. When I recently gave "The Gaki" a look-see, I actually rather liked it, above and beyond the years-old memories it conjured up.
Dark Regions is running all kinds of specials on their products, and both The Gaki and Other Gods may be found amongst them. I cordially invite you to check out the short story, and if you enjoy it, please venture over to Dark Regions, or Amazon, or what have you, and pick up the book. It's available in trade paperback and e-book formats — and Dark Regions may have a few signed hardback copies left.
Check out "The Gaki" at my website here. You can read it free online, or download a PDF or MOBI file for your Kindle. Enjoy (or run away in mindless terror, whichever best suits you).