A new collection of short stories, “Catfish John and Other Stories,” by Seymour resident Joseph F. Persinger has just been released. In addition to Amazon and Kindle online, copies are available at The Magic of Books bookstore in downtown Seymour. Interested readers also may request a signed paperback or hardcover copy directly from the author by emailing jfppublications@gmail.com.
This is the second anthology of short fiction produced by the local writer. The first, “Henry and the Night Sky and Other Stories,” was released in 2021 and is still available at Amazon and the local book store.
Persinger will be on hand with copies of both books at the “Words & Wonders” book fair and craft show from noon until 6 p.m. Saturday, June 7, at Jackson Live Event Center in Freeman Field at Seymour. More than 40 authors will be on hand to sign and discuss their books. He also will have copies of “The View from Poverty Ridge,” a collection of mostly humorous essays about smalltown life, along with full color landscape photographs.
The new book, “Catfish John,” consists of seven short stories, only one of which, “Darkroom,” has been previously published. As for the type of story readers may expect, Persinger said most involve a crime but frequently with overtones of dark humor.
Speaking of the new collection, one reviewer wrote: “Each and every one of these stories has stayed with me long after I finished reading them. They’re not just well written; they’re so vividly told that it felt as though they were playing out on a screen in my mind. The diversity in the stories made it difficult to pick a favorite, as each one has its unique charm, which is precisely what makes them so special.”
The title story, “Catfish John,” centers around an elderly black man, a Vietnam veteran, who ekes out a living along a river, trapping fur-bearing animals and catching catfish which he sells to the café in town. His peaceful existence is shattered by two young thugs who want to drive him off his property. But they don’t know about the skills he learned in the jungles of Vietnam.
“Don’t Ever Tell” involves an incident the night of a smalltown high school graduation in which a female member of the class is killed. As classmates prepare to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their graduation, the recently elected sheriff, also a member of the class, decides to re-open the investigation.
In “Cream of Wheat for Breakfast,” several of Roland’s wives die mysteriously over a period of years. And, coincidentally, each time his retirement “nest egg” grows. What’s going on? And has he finally met his match?
One story that is a departure from the crime genre is “The Horse.” While it has been fictionalized, the most dramatic scene is drawn from a real-life incident in which the author’s father was the victim of a cruel prank as a little boy. A completely fictional ending provides some closure for the reader.
As in Persinger’s previous anthology, this collection also includes one “western” story about a peace officer in the 1880s. Called “Showdown at Hunter’s Creek,” it involves a former sheriff who hangs up his badge and gun to take a quiet job in a smalltown general store many miles away. But fate and a determined gunslinger won’t let him find the peace he seeks.
“Rude Awakening” is a really, really short story, just for fun.
In “Darkroom,” which was first published in the previous collection, the photographer at a smalltown newspaper in 1970 begins to find horrifying images on rolls of film he develops — photos he didn’t take. Are they real? Is he losing his mind? Could it be a side effect of those popular diet pills he’s taking? Meanwhile, there’s a killer on the loose.
“I decided to include “Darkroom” in both volumes because I think it may be the best piece of fiction I’ve written,” Persinger explained. “They say you should write about what you know, and having been a full-time journalist for several decades, I know a little about the daily tasks it takes to put out a newspaper. Some research was required to include information about the terrible side effects of those “diet pills” that were popular for a while in the 1970s. That connection provides a possible alternative explanation for the main character’s delusions and paranoia. Local readers may enjoy the setting, which is obviously the town square in Brownstown.”