Dark Comedy Short Stories

Twisty scares with heart. Ghosts, sea monsters, and a rest home for troublesome witches all feature in this collection of paranormal stories set in Wellington, New Zealand. By turns spooky and laugh-out-loud funny, these tales stew with malevolence and mischief. Climb aboard the ghost bus for a wild ride of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and humor, and hop off a little more in love with Aotearoa's capital city.

Meet a cat called Cecilia, a disgruntled android named Doris, and a weasel called Popgoes and discover that with enough tea and dark chocolate you can achieve anything.

My short stories are all exactly 50 words long (not including the title). Some of the one-word prompts used to create my stories include wildfires, holiday lights, a horseshoe, time traveler, street food, and Donald Trump. My magnetic poetry is oddly philosophical and meant to confound and amuse. May you thoroughly enjoy my book! Have a nice day!

This original short story asks the question, "If eternal life came at the expense of love, would you choose death?"

Stories told in the dark are those nagging stories that won't go away until you bring them to the light. Waiting for Fido, the first in the series, is dark humor with a suburban beat. It is the story of a lovely couple who are ready to retire and sail away. Almost. There is still the nagging problem of what to do with the family pets....

If you ever cast an uncomfortable glance over your shoulder when passing the silent snowy sentinels that stand looking at you as you pass on the icy sidewalk, if you've ever questioned what might really happen if the old silk hat placed on Frosty the Snowman's head was truly magic, then these two dark humor snowman tales by Mark Leslie are for you. This audiobook contains two short stories, author's notes about the writing of the stories, and a look at anthropomorphic snow sculptures in history and popular culture, as well as the history of this digital chapbook.