Читать книгу The C.J. Henderson MEGAPACK ® - C.J. Henderson - Страница 5

AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION

Hello, everyone—

C.J. Henderson here.

First off, thanks for making this fine purchase. I’m going to be doing my best not to disappoint anyone.

When you’re asked to pick 25 stories that might give people a good idea of what you’re all about, it can be quite daunting. I’ve been a published author for over thirty-five years. There are hundreds and hundreds of stories to choose from and, yes, it’s true, it really is like trying to pick a favorite from out of all your children.

There are some stories of mine that are—for lack of a better term—considered my classics. I’m not that full of myself. Honest. I’m just trying to explain my thought process here. What I’m saying is, I didn’t want to stick stories in here that everyone has seen. After all, I wasn’t asked to put together a “best of” really, but more of an “introduction to” kind of package.

So with that notion in mind, yes, okay—sure—I did put in a couple of stories that have seen print numerous times because, well, ya gotta have some of those—right? But then, after that, I tried to get the most rounded lineup I could together. There are a lot of hardboiled detectives—supernatural investigators and just ordinary joes—because a large part of my canon is made up of such tales.

But, after that, anything goes.

I have grabbed some of my science fiction, sword & sorcery, comedy (romantic and non-) and just plain stories to fill in around all the tough guys. No trunk stories allowed. I’m not going to waste anyone’s time with things I couldn’t sell (actually, to be a little full of myself, I don’t have any stories I couldn’t sell [hey, I’m allowed to brag a little…right? {oh, they tell me I can’t. Okay, back to business}]).

So, what you have here are the 25 tales I and a lot of Facebook friends chose for this volume. The first one to appear was the hands-down fan favorite. And, since it’s always been one of my favorites I thought, what the hell? And, since all of you out there bought this book to read the fiction, not to listen to me dodder along, perhaps I should shut up and allow you to get on with things.

Thanks again for your purchase. If you want to ask questions or make comments about anything you read here, feel free to drop in at www.cjhenderson.com. I answer all my mail, and I love to hear what people have to say about my work.

And now…on with the show.