Stories for Sale

William Wood has travelled widely since he wrote his first story, aged five, about a boat trip in stormy seas from Mevagissey in Cornwall. Since then his stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, and been placed in many literary competitions. This selection brings you his experiences of living and working in several continents. The tragedy 'A Daughter and a Son' is set in occupied Norway during WW2, the spine-chilling 'Carnivore' is set in London in the near future. More tales, funny, serious and sexy, from the UK and Norway, and then there are the Indian stories dating from the 1970s, the African adventures from the 1980s, an Irish story from The Troubles and a mysterious tale from France. Not all the stories unroll in a plottable location however. 'In The Happy Ever After', 'The Lost Bag' and 'The Rendezvous' lead the reader into countries of the imagination, for this collection is a mix of realism ('The Patrol') humour ('Letters from a Diplomat') and fantasy ('Stories for Sale') while some ('Only a Few Heartbeats') are sentimental in the best sense.