Green Grow The Rashes And Other Stories
()
About this ebook
If you're looking for a taster of William Meikle's work, this is who he is.
These seven short stories, all previously published in magazines or anthologies, contain magic, monsters, ghosts, history, beer, Scotland, scifi, fantasy, horror, singing, more beer and fun.
This is who he is.
William Meikle
William Meikle is a Scottish writer, now living in Canada, with over thirty novels published in the genre press and more than 300 short story credits in thirteen countries. He has books available from a variety of publishers including Dark Regions Press and Severed Press and his work has appeared in a large number of professional anthologies and magazines. He lives in Newfoundland with whales, bald eagles and icebergs for company. When he's not writing he drinks beer, plays guitar, and dreams of fortune and glory.
Read more from William Meikle
The Valley Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ghost Club Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSherlock Holmes- The Dreaming Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Midnight Eye Files: Collection 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSamurai and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For the Night is Dark Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Twice Upon an Apocalypse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Burdens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVariations on a Theme Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Watchers Trilogy- Omnibus Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIsland Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Haunting of Esther Cox Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen The Stars Are Right Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Road Hole Bunker Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Persistence Of Memory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Invasion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Midnight Eye Files: Collection 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEldren- The Book of the Dark Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConcordances of the Red Serpent Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Green Grow The Rashes And Other Stories
Related ebooks
Commitment Hour Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAwakening the Gods: A Celtic Urban Fantasy: Rise of the Celtic Gods, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpy for a Greedy Villain (The Adventures of Grant Scotland, Book Four) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMusic To Die By Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSomebody's Watching You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDuet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRise of the Celtic Gods Books 1-3: Rise of the Celtic Gods Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Cross to Bear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlone Together: My Life with J. Paul Getty Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Thoughts in Rhyme: A Lyrical Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCall Me Debbie: True Confessions of a Down-to-Earth Diva Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sound of Silent Songs: A Book of Poetry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFive Still Missing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpiritual Beings on a Human Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSon in the Sky Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecital Notes, Volume 1: The Paper Sessions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Devil and the Loch Ard Gorge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Farewell Tour: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Star Struck: Josie and the Sentinels, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDark on Fire: Miller's Pointe Mystery Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNonhlanhla’s Silhouette Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeneath a Crescent Moon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn The Moment 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnd My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Man Who Touched Billie and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOwen Noone and the Marauder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death by Polka Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Horror Fiction For You
I Am Legend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Good Indians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Misery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Short Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leave the World Behind: A Read with Jenna Pick Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pet Sematary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Annihilation: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brother Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Whisper Man: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Different Seasons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cycle of the Werewolf: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Troop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Days Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Outsider: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Best Friend's Exorcism: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hollow Places: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Needful Things Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Deep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Heart Is a Chainsaw Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hellbound Heart: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Revival: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Firestarter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edgar Allan Poe Complete Collection - 120+ Tales, Poems Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dracula Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Green Grow The Rashes And Other Stories
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Green Grow The Rashes And Other Stories - William Meikle
GREEN GROW THE RASHES
And Other Stories
By
William Meikle
Copyright 2015 William Meikle
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Green Grow The Rashes
Out of the Black
The Sweller in the Dress Hold
The Just One
In the Spring
The Dark Island
Too Many
Authors Note
Green Grow the Rashes
I first saw him in February. Despite the fact that winter still held a tight grip in Newfoundland, the city of St. John’s was alive and kicking. We were set up in a bar just off George Street, and the place was packed with drinkers, dancers, drunks and those heading that way fast. Booze flowed, we played ever-faster, and everyone was having a high old time.
And yet…
I felt strangely dissociated from the whole thing. Even the old songs failed to stir me the way they used to. Twenty years of doing the same thing every day will do that to you, whether it be sitting at a desk, driving a bus… or singing in a bar. It was taking more and more booze to oil my gears every night. If Johnny and Dave had noticed, they had kept quiet about it. But that night in St. John’s proved to be a turning point.
It started well enough as I made it through Flowers of the Forest and John Barleycorn, but less than an hour into the gig the whisky I’d been knocking down kicked in. Johnny started the fiddle intro to Green Grow the Rashes, Dave came in right on cue on the squeeze-box… and I fumbled the ball, being a full beat late on the first guitar chord. I was an old hand at winging it, so the general audience scarcely noticed, but I saw the look that passed between the two others with me on the small stage.
I had enough pride left in me to feel embarrassed. I turned away from their stares… and that’s when I saw him. I say him, but it was some time afterwards before I was able to discern a gender. That first night it was just a darker shadow in a corner, but one that seemed to draw my eye, one that gained depth and presence as I sang the old song.
There's nought but care on every hand,
In every hour that passes.
I’d sang the same song a thousand, two thousand, times, but that night was the first in a long time that I felt it, and understood. Emotion poured through and out of me and I gave myself to it wholeheartedly. The song rose high and pure. I became aware that Johnny and Dave had stopped playing
The worldly race may riches chase,
And riches still may fly them, O,
And tho' at last they catch them fast,
Their hearts can ne'er enjoy them, O.
I had tears streaming down my face by now. The audience stood, mouths gaping, all eyes, most of them wet like mine, staring at me. I put one final push into it and brought the song to an end.
The applause nearly lifted the roof off the old bar. The darker shadow in the corner shifted. I peered, trying to see who was there, then Dave clapped me on the arm, handed me a beer, and the spell was broken.
~-o0O0o-~
It was a busy tour, and we were booked every night. We played most all of the settlements on the Irish loop, pushed the old van too hard over the long schlep to Gros Morne and back, and had three riotous nights in Clarenville. There was no recurrence of the magic I had felt that night in St. John’s. Indeed, the black dog had settled in me again, and I’m afraid I took to the drink rather more heavily than I should have.
It was the rear end of March before we got back to St. John’s and I didn’t know whether to be happy or worried that we were to return to the same venue. I was even less pleased when Johnny and Dave had a word with me at the bar before we went on.
Could you try to hold off on the hard stuff for the first hour, maybe two?
Johnny said. He laughed, but I saw it in his eyes… he was deadly serious. And so was Dave.
Just don’t screw up,
he