Lately, I’ve taken to writing short stories and revising the backlog of stories I’ve written in the past decade. I’ve started posting them to my Substack, Second Thoughts. If you’re interested, I invite you to read.
Later today, I plan to post a story from the public domain by Frank Gruber, who was a master of the pulp short story of the Great Depression. Gruber’s story is not from the notorious Black Mask magazine, but it is in the Black Mask style. The language is lean and direct. The plot is outrageous. Personally, I enjoy the Black Mask style only in small doses; the style begins to feel like one of the bludgeons wielded in the stories after prolonged exposure.