Roses in December

Roses in December is a short story collection which defies categorisation. Some of the stories are haunting - others are deeply troubling.

A man receives a religious vision in his ordinary back garden; a nuclear physicist in Australia experiences a great surprise where he least expects it; a duct-tape salesman unsettles his faithful customer; Voltaire does not put his best foot forward; someone makes a grim discovery upon waking up in a prison; a psychiatrist does his best to treat a political extremist; a nineteenth-century photographer goes about his usual (and highly unusual) business; and a wealthy neighbourhood in Montreal becomes the scene of an immense and avoidable tragedy.

In twenty-two short (and extremely short) stories and fables, Matthew de Lacey Davidson cuts close to the unintended poetry and grimness of every-day existence, while at the same time enabling the reader to have compassion for those described therein.

Author_Bio: Matthew de Lacey Davidson is the author of two poetry collections and a play in verse. In addition, he is a composer and pianist and has released 12 compact discs. His poetry and short stories have been published by Grammateion, and the online literary journal, Danse Macabre; music analyses by SCI; cartoons and reviews by TOM Magazine; and cartoons by Canadian Science News. He has written the music, libretto, and lyrics for a chamber opera, The Singing Lesson, based on three short stories by New Zealand author, Katherine Mansfield. He lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with his wife, Shayna, and a plethora of Siamese and Tonkinese cats.

Keywords: Short Stories; Horror; Gothic; Australia; Austria; New Zealand; Montreal; Nova Scotia; Poetry; Voltaire