Screaming Dreams

Songs from Spider Street by Mark Howard Jones

Spider Street is a particular place in an abandoned future Paris where the secrets of tomorrow, yesterday and all the times lost in-between are revealed to those who are strong enough to listen.
A collection of short stories.

Extract

The memories still pursue me, calliope-music choreographed and sawdust-scented. The stench of the mangy animals let loose from their cages clings to me, night and day; with every move I make, they pad heavily behind me. The dreams I race through in my sweat-soaked bed inevitably leave my pillow greasepaint-smeared every morning; yet I haven't put the make-up on for years. Years, now. But not long enough, it seems.

From the top deck of the bus each morning, the department store windows reflect back the bright-faced loon in the seat where I am sitting.

On the stairs at work, I trip incessantly over giant invisible shoes. My colleagues burst out laughing before a brief, unconvincing show of mock concern. Am I OK? I nod dumbly, an unseen hat several sizes too big waggling back and forth on my head.

Sometimes I see the elephants performing in the park across the street from my house. The first time was early one Tuesday morning as I pulled open the bedroom curtains. There they were, Bella and Zion, doing their funny dance, the one that always delighted the children. I was so sure they were real that I dressed quickly and dashed out to them, looking around for Sonya, their trainer. But there was nothing except the frost on the grass and a few sparrows.

Read Sample Story
Darkness on the Edge of Clown

PDF Format : SpiderStreet.pdf : 316kb
or read the Flip Book version online at Issuu
MP3 author reading : SpiderStreet.mp3 : 5.4mb

(click for larger view)

Cover art by Steve Upham

ISBN : 978-0-9555185-9-1
Paperback : 216x138mm : 166pp

Published May 2010

£8.99 (+ postage)

About the Author

Mark Howard Jones lives in Cardiff. He has had work published in magazines, books and on the web on both sides of the Atlantic. His novella The Garden of Doubt on the Island of Shadows is available from ISMs Press.

Praise for the work of Mark Howard Jones:

'Bravo!' — Ray Bradbury

'A labyrinthine originality' — D F Lewis

About the Artist

Steve Upham enjoys all things creative, including drawing, painting, digital art, photography and much more. He has been running his own craft workshop for over ten years, but continues to create artwork on a freelance basis. He is also the editor/publisher at Screaming Dreams of course!