Fast Asleep with Gena Marie
By Gena Marie
Fast Asleep with Gena MarieApr 21, 2023
"Broker's Special" by Stanley Ellin, relaxing storytelling
291 - "Judge Hilliker had once told him . . . 'Guns? . . . Knives? Blunt instruments? . . . there is just one perfect weapon -- an automobile.'" Tuck in for a most gratifying tale from the master craftsman of the mystery thriller.
"The Bloodstained Pavement" by Agatha Christie
"The Golden Castaways" by Lloyd Osbourne
289 - "All I did was to pull him out by the seat of his trousers . . . (and) he called me a hero! . . . I departed in a blaze of glory." Tuck in for the fun of this lighthearted tale from the stepson of Robert Louis Stevenson.
"East Wind" by Daphne du Maurier
288 - "Perhaps he was drowned, or picked up by some passing ship; no one could say, for he never came back. No one who left the island returned." Tuck in for this mesmerizing romantic thriller from the author of Rebecca and The Birds.
"A Duel" by Guy de Maupassant, relaxing storytelling
287 - "The war was over. The Germans occupied France. The whole country was pulsating like a conquered wrestler beneath the knee of his victorious opponent." But WHAT led to this duel? Tuck in and experience it.
"Miss Marple Tells a Story" by Agatha Christie
286 - The Queen of Crime and Mystery has graced one of her best upon us. Tuck in and find out "whodunnit."
"The Hint of an Explanation" by Graham Greene
285 - Spoken to a bewildered little boy, "You wouldn't ever be safe in your own house. I know ways to get into houses when people are asleep." Tuck in for the resolve to his dilemma.
"The Utterly Perfect Murder" by Ray Bradbury
284 - ". . . on my 48th birthday, lying in bed that night beside my wife, with my children sleeping through all the other quiet moonlit rooms of my house, I thought: I will arise and go now and kill Ralph Underhill." Tuck in for Bradbury's mind-boggling story. (Warning: you will be disappointed if you're looking for sci-fi.)
"Paul's Case" by Willa Cather, part 2, relaxing storytelling
"Paul's Case" by Willa Cather, part 1, relaxing storytelling
"Louisa, Please Come Home" part 2 by Shirley Jackson
"Louisa, Please Come Home" part 1 by Shirley Jackson
what if she can't?
Tuck in for another gem from the most requested author. (Conclusion next week!)
"The Crown Derby Plate" by Marjorie Bowen
279 - "When she brought her glance back to the door . . . it had been opened and someone, obscured by the darkness, was looking at her intently." Tuck in for this very British, very ghostly, winter tale.
"The Mouse" by Saki (H. H. Munro)
278 - "A warm, creeping movement over his flesh betrayed the unwelcome and highly resented presence of . . ."
Tuck in for the --anything but -- ticklish tale from the World War I hero.
"Taking of the Veil" and "Honeymoon" by Katherine Mansfield
277 - Have you, too, suffered for love? Take heart and tuck into not one, but TWO tender love stories from the "young upstart" author.
"If I Were a Man" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
276 - ". . . she was wishing heart and soul she was a man. And all of a sudden she was!" Tuck in for this mind-bending story.
"The Cat's-Paw" by Stanley Ellin
"Vengeance Is Mine, Inc." by Roald Dahl
274 - "Then it happened. I stopped short . . . I had the whole brilliant magnificent plan worked out." Tuck in for Vengeance Is Mine, Inc., a powerhouse of a story.
"The Inn" by Guy de Maupassant
273 - "It seemed to him as if the silence, the cold, the solitude, the winter death of these mountains were taking possession of him . . ." Tuck in for what is said to be the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining.
"A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote
"The Burglar's Christmas" by Willa Cather
271 - A mother's love on Christmas . . .
"To-night you have come back to me, just as you always did after you ran away . . . I never asked you where you had been then, nor will I now." Tuck in for Pulitzer Prize-winning Willa Cather's poignant story.
"The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern
270 - It's a Wonderful Life . . . Frank Capra's magical movie is based on this heartening short story. Enjoy the story-behind-the-story as you tuck in for this talented author's gem.
"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
269 - " 'But the law requires you to tell what you're going to use it for.' Miss Emily just stared at him . . . until he looked away and went and got the arsenic." Tuck in and along with the British rock group, The Zombies, you may fall victim to Emily, too.
"Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen" by O. Henry and "The Romance of a Busy Broker" by O. Henry
268 - "Every Thanksgiving Day for nine years the Old Gentleman had come there to find Stuffy Pete on his seat. . . But now he looked up at the Old Gentleman's face with tears of suffering in his eyes." Tuck in for this poignant tale (and one other) from the author renowned for unexpected endings.
"Shut a Final Door" by Truman Capote
267 - "Met the divinest man. Danced with him six times, a divine dancer . . . and he is terribly, divinely good-looking," gushed the heiress. Tuck in for the disturbing, anonymous caller's opinion.
"The Piece of String" by Guy de Maupassant
266 - "The good man was choking with indignation and fear. '. . . how can they tell such lies as that to slander an honest man?'"
Tuck in for this heart-rending story and discover his fate.
"The Woman's Ghost Story" by Algernon Blackwood
265 - From the master of ghost stories: ". . . I saw that there was some one else in the room besides myself. A man's figure stood between me and the windows . . ." Tuck in for a very unusual tale.
"The Body-Snatcher" by Robert Louis Stevenson
"The Specialty of The House" by Stanley Ellin
"The Damned Thing" by Ambrose Bierce
"The Hitchhiker" by Roald Dahl
261 - He was more than a hitchhiker . . . soooo much more.
"A Cup of Tea" by Katherine Mansfield
260 - A beautiful, "battered" little creature, not in the least like the . . . average beggar, approaches wealthy Rosemary. Rosemary's reaction? "Hungry people are easily led." Tuck in for New Zealand's own and find out what happens next.
"Everything that Rises Must Converge" by Flannery O'Connor
259 - This controversial author shied away from nothing, including the unrest of the 1960s. Tuck in for her intriguing "bus ride" of a tale.
"The Torment of Three Sleepwalkers" & "One of These Days" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
258 - Tuck in for the creator of "magical realism" . . .
"At night, we heard the steady murmur of her body, heavy, moving between two darknesses. Most times, we would stay awake in our beds, hearing her stealthy walk, using our ears to follow her through the whole house."
"Marsh Rosemary" by Sarah Orne Jewett
257 - She thought he was dead.
Instead he had just . . . left her . . . for another woman. Tuck in for the poignant tale from Maine's beloved author.
"A Drive in the Country" by Graham Greene
Content warning: emotional distress
"The Treasure in the Forest" by H. G. Wells
255 - "A Spanish Galleon . . . hopelessly aground and it's treasure buried." Tuck in for adventure, suspense, and a big helping of greed from the famed author of "The Time Machine."
"Swamp Terror" and "Parting of the Way" by Truman Capote
254 - "Whut would yo' ma say if she knew you was out here in these spooky ol' woods lookin' for some ol' convict?" Truman Capote could do anything at any age. Tuck in for two soft-centered Southern tales from his early stories.
"The Lady with the Pet Dog" by Joyce Carol Oates, Part 2 of 2
"The Lady with the Pet Dog" by Joyce Carol Oates, Part 1 of 2
"Strange Moonlight" by Conrad Aiken
251 - Our author's childhood was anything but easy, yet he was very accomplished. Delve into his past, then tuck in for his poignant, most autobiographical story.
"The Unnatural Mother" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
"The Horse Dealer's Daughter" by D. H. Lawrence
"Pillar of Salt" by Shirley Jackson
Margaret. The beloved author again gives us a glimpse into her own life in this disintegrating tale.
"The Attic" by Algernon Blackwood
247 - ". . . a chill ran down my spine, but what frightened me more than . . . the eerie cry was . . . mother." Why save Algernon Blackwood for October? Tuck in now for this deliciously disturbing tale.
"The Bridal Party" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
246 - She left him . . . for a wealthy man . . . and now she's invited him to her lavish wedding in Paris. Tuck in for the champagne-fueled mayhem and find out if the elaborate ceremony actually takes place.
"The Other Woman" by Sherwood Anderson
245 - Known for his self-revealing works (and his four marriages), our author makes use of his expertise in this scintillating story.
"The Happy Valley" by Daphne du Maurier
244 - From the "lost" stories:
". . . the house waited, mysterious and hushed, . . . the realisation of her dream, it was the embodiment of peace . . ."
"The Way Up to Heaven" by Roald Dahl
243 - "She noticed with a kind of horror that he was staring intently at . . . the corner of her left eye where she could feel the muscle twitching." Why does that eye twitch? Tuck in and find out.
"Zero Hour" by Ray Bradbury
242 - "The explosion! The house shook with the dull sound. There were other explosions in other yards on other streets." Tuck in for this startling "children's game."