Bewildering Stories welcomes...

Jonathan M. Sweet

Mr. Sweet has published a collection of stories, Almasheol (2002), and a novel, Postcards of the Hanging, is expected to appear shortly. He has also published a poem on his days as a newspaper columnist.

Is Mr. Sweet a “regional” writer? The “signature” setting for his stories is the South, and “The Kestron Lenses” takes place mainly on a university campus in Mississippi. However, the contemporary action, while containing a good measure of local color as well as tense and sometimes gritty drama, has a universal moral that is underscored by the Kestron lenses’ history in distant places and times.

The story also works an unusual twist on the old horror theme of the evil genie with whom the main character makes a Faustian bargain: the demon that corrupts by granting wishes isn’t in a bottle; in a sense it is the bottle.

Jonathan Sweet’s biographical sketch is linked here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Jonathan. We look forward to hearing from you again soon!