Condiments are co-opted in this cavalcade of carnal congress, conspiracy, and cucumbers. Plus, there is a hermaphrodite who is a shaman. -Excerpt - Vivian, oblivious to all the coke, crosses the room and holds her hand out, not to shake hands with, but to receive something from the large amber-skinned man at the chalkboard. He smiles when he sees her, goes to the desk and retrieves a pint sized bottle of Peruvian Cucumber Facial mask. She pops the top unceremoniously and begins to drink. Matt Jorgenson has written several short stories, many are included in his previous book Coagulation: A Clot of Stories. These stories originally appeared in the Self Mutilation series published under the pseudonym S. Plat (Self Mutilation, Self-Mutilation 2, and SM3: Bloodbath). Poppy Z. Brite made the following comment about the first publication in that series. "It's good to see fresh voices coming up in the horror genre and circumventing the toofrequently- gutless major publishers. There's some very high-quality writing in here, and several voices from whom I expect to hear much more." -- Poppy Z. Brite, author of LOST SOULS