The Salting and Canning of Benevolence D. by Al Michaud

Once again my good friend Steve has started reading the latest Fantasy
and Science Fiction magazine before me, even though I have subscription
and receive it a week before he does. Steve has an incredible knack for
knowing just which stories I'll like the best and this month is no
exception.

The Salting and Canning of Benevolence D. by Al Michaud is a fantasy (of
the horror type) set in Clapboard Island, Maine. This is Michaud's third
story of Clem Crowder and his involvement in unusual goings on. Early on
in the story, Clem realizes that a local apparation that hasn't been
seen in years is haunting again. Much to his chagrin, he realizes that
she's not haunting a place as ghosts normally do, but haunting him
personally, as wherever he goes, he's followed by the headless woman.
After his wife kicks him out of the house he goes to stay with friend
Dunky Drinkwater who in turn takes him to see a professor at local
Bainbridge Colllege, who specializes in "Parrot Psychology." (Did I
mention that all of this drama has generous doses of humor splashed
about?)

That is the start of this 47 page novelet, which gets crazier, funnier,
and more exciting as it goes.

Its not as easy to find F&SF as it used to be, but most of the Borders
and Barnes and Nobles around here carry it, and at $4.50 for over 160
pages of fiction and reviews of books and movies, I consider it a
bargain. But if you're one of those "I need proof" types, you can read
Clem's first published story, from the pages of the July 2003 F&SF, Clem
Crowder's Catch, on the website located at:

http://www.fsfmag.com

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