Unfortunately the only wind we have around here is hot. Which is too bad, because I am getting tired of the triple digit days. They’re killing my garden.

So if I can’t have the real thing, at least I can have a substitute. Today, July 2, marks the birth of Hannes Bok (1914-1964) and Craig Shaw Gardner (b. 1949). I’m going to hold off looking at Bok because I hope to take a closer look at some of his novels at a later date.

Craig Shaw Gardner

Craig Shaw Gardner is still alive, AFAIK, but he his productivity has dropped off in recent years. He doesn’t have an active website. The one I found listed for him in multiple places isn’t him. Gardner is best known for writing humorous fantasy novels in the 1980s. His short fiction, however, tends to be horror.

A Cold Wind in July was originally published as part of the Necon Classic Horror series; it was number 16. It is currently available in ebook for $3.99.

The title of the collection comes from when Gardner would read horror anthologies on the beach when he was a boy. I can relate to that. I’ve only read the first few stories. Most of these were published in anthologies, frequently edited by Charles L. Grant. At which point I say shut up and take my money.

The first story in the collection is ” Kisses From Auntie”. That title alone is frightening. It tells what happens when children go exploring in their aunt’s house to get away from their adult relatives.

They find a door to the attic. They go up the stairs. They find a skeleton hanging in the attic. On the floor is a circle with strange markings. On a nearby desk is a book larger than a dictionary.

This isn’t going to end well.

“Aim for the Heart”, the second story, is a vampire hunter telling how he kills vampires. Or is that what is really going on? There’s a bit at the end that makes me wonder.

I’ve liked the few stories I’ve read so far. This is a collection I intend to finish.