Beneath the Yellow Lights
BENEATH THE YELLOW LIGHTS
The new collection of short stories from Oddity Prodigy Productions captures that feeling of magic on city streets, just out of the corner of your eye. Included in these pages are tales of fairies, witches, trolls, gods, dragons and even geese that give you a glimpse of a world that is more than meets the eye.
There are stories about nightclubs that cater to a different kind of clientele, stories about secret wars going on beneath our feet, stories about rediscovering what it means to be alive in a world that wants to grind you down, all this and more awaits.
Join us as we take a walk, Beneath the Yellow Lights.
The Writers and Their Stories
These are the authors in “Beneath the Yellow Lights”, their stories, and the first paragraph of the stories included. We could not be more excited about sharing these enchanting tales with you!
A Night at the Four Winds – Brian Gibson
It was just after midnight when the vampire walked into my club.
Alright, maybe that was a little dramatic. After all, I'm a vampire, too, so it's not like it's all that unusual to see one in the Four Winds Bar, just not one as low-rent as Angelica.
A Wizard for the Tunnels - Colin Anderson
“Tremendous view. I could look out this window all night.” Narjiff declared, gazing over the shadowy city skyline. The view from Southside Tower, spectacular at all hours, showed most majestically just after dusk. Rarely would Narjiff have the opportunity to enjoy the view from his office at such a late hour. Typical business would usually conclude in the early afternoon allowing him to escape the evening chill. Today’s business, however, kept Narjiff in the office past sundown. An important client requested immediate contact, and the possible information collected proved a meeting was much too lucrative to delay.
An Audacious, Tricksy Plot – Kathryn Reilly
The Great Pixie Revolt began before anyone knew it was happening. On a Monday, the city’s hustle and bustle unfolded in its usual manner: laborers labored, dealers dealt, managers managed, tinkerers tinkered, bargainers bargained, bums bummed, and watchmen watched. Essentially, everything appeared normal: except the pixies had been planning.
Bears Face Defeat – Mord McGhee
Her eyes opened, peeling away webs and the crawling things which nibble incessantly at her physical corpse. The Sumer Lich, also known as the Plague Mage, Nimrod's Bane, Warwitch of Babel, Demon of Calneh, Accursed Ragwoman of Akkad, arose from yearlong slumber in the tomb ensorcelled beneath the stadium, for she felt, at last, the warmth of Friday night lights. The time to quench her penchant for varsity high school football had come under a blood-red sky for the season's home field opener.
Billie and the Scary It – Brenda Morris
Billie did not like the Scary It. Each night, the Scary It slithered and swayed up the fire escape to her window. It wheezed up all six stories of the rusty metal as the sirens of the city wailed in the night. The entity left slime in its wake. No one could see it but Billie, so she kept it secret.
Bringing the Hocus – M.C. St John
“Come on, Hector, you gotta hurry.”
“I’m almost done with the eyes.”
Hector shakes the spray can, the bat skull rattling inside the cylinder, keeping the creative spirits happy. The charmed paints are his creations. He takes pride in his conjure work.
Cue The Rain – Riv Rains
Everything it falls upon becomes equal.
Beneath the rain, right now, I look no different to the rest of you. A blank face in a crowd. Just a pane for drops to slide upon. The painted face of nothing.
Customer Support - Alice Avoy
“Well, well, who decided to show up fifteen minutes late with a Starbucks? As. Always.”
Maja froze and sighed inwardly. Her hopes that she’d be able to sneak to her desk undetected hurled themselves through the window and hit the sidewalk. Still, not batting an eyelid, she twirled around and met her boss, leaning against the doorframe of his office with the most impeccable, obsequious smile in existence.
Love Gets An Upgrade - Tori Miller
My date was waiting at Weston's, which sat at the corner of Grey Street and Alice Avenue. Exhausted from my long walk, I made my way inside the restaurant. A hostess, who was once smiling, became crestfallen when I approached her.
Love Potion #10 - Mark Bruce
“You know, a few hundred years ago, they would have burned me.”
Martin’s client said this with perfect equanimity. She was tall, lean, dark-haired. Her ruby-red lips came straight from a Grimm’s Fairy Tale. She dressed in a long, flowing purple dress. Her dark eyes watched Martin with amusement.
Forget Me Not - J. Patrick Conlon
“Who’s there?” Kyle ripped the door open.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, I was under the impression that no one lived here.” Guenther thrust his hand into his pocket, a faint glow dissipating as his hand disappeared.
“I haven’t been run off yet, so you can tell those flippers that I won’t be chased off so easily.”
Pulses - Jacob Jones-Goldstein
I started having the dreams a few days after Lorna disappeared. Weird, surreal, unknowable dreams of America’s Wild West, buccaneers on the high seas, and Bob Dylan. They were feverish flights of subconsciousness with no narrative or structure. The only anchor I could hold onto was the image of Dylan in the center of the illusionary maelstrom.
Tall, Darq, and Deadly – Jay T. Levy
“What’d ya say, Honey?”
I barely heard Jeff as the wind blew through my dark purple hair. Last week, it was green. Next week, who knows?
The Eyes of the City – David T. Shoemaker
As he left the New York Public Library's Schwarzman Building, passing between the stone lions Patience and Fortitude—though he preferred to think of them as Leo Lenox and Leo Astor, their original nicknames—art historian Dr. Caradoc Crydd thought he heard a low growl. His hair stood on end as goose pimples covered his flesh. He shuddered.
The Faeire Wedding Dress – Rose Strickman
As sunlight struck the cars parked alongside the street, gleaming on the pavement, a small, dumpy figure climbed the stone steps to the townhouse. Milkweed paused a moment, looking up at the white-painted door in weary resignation. Well, no sense in delaying. Raising a gnarled green hand, she knocked on the door.
Things Can Only Get Worse – DJ Tyrer
1997. Not long after Tony Blair had swept to power to the refrain of Things Can Only Get Better, an event Paul Starling found bemusing, never having been taken in by the man’s smarm. He could only imagine the voting public truly were credulous. Or, perhaps, the man had managed to cast a spell over them – Starling was familiar with such things and found it the more credible alternative in his mind. Paul would recall the period as one of low spirits for himself and all the others who loathed the man’s vacuity and disrespect for tradition. But, the period truly stuck in his mind for another reason – it was when he was asked to investigate the curse that seemed to have fallen upon the inhabitants of a tower block in East Ham.
Troll in the Machine - Johnny Guzman
“Prudence, this trip had better be worth the aggravation I am forced to endure...”
Not that this was her fault, of course. In fact, the trip was quite uneventful, save for the usual uncouth riff-raff that deigns to accompany me. A long train ride to the lower village can be very adventurous, as I am quite unfamiliar with doing so after all of this time. But sadly, the brief moments of respite are commonly interrupted by the caterwauling of juveniles, carrying on about some online chicaneries that I dare not inquire about.
Wally’s Discount World – Zach Davis
Eddie wasn't sure, but if this job was not scraping the bottom of the barrel, then it was scraping the thin layer that sat on top of the bottom of the barrel. She'd been hired after filling out an application on Friday, getting a call on Saturday, and being told to show up at 9 AM Monday.
We Break Any Curse – Jorie Rao
I couldn't wait any longer. I got up, brushing the dirt and dead leaves off of my jeans. I'd been sitting thirty yards off in the woods watching the house for the better part of an hour, waiting for my source to get back with information on the problem or if things had gone pear-shaped to send me our agreed-upon signal: a small yet noticeable fire.
Wild Synergy - Nicholas Leamy
As the alarm echoed through his skull, Henry slowly opened his eyes. As he reached to deal with it, the voices started their daily back and forth.
"Time to start another magical day!"
"For fucks sake. Turn that shit off! It's downright cruel to expect anyone to wake up this early for any reason."
"Now, while I might enjoy a small snooze, this is a work day. We can't be late again."
"We hate that job. What do we care if we get fired?"
THE EDITORS
Oddity Prodigy Productions is a creative team that shares duties on all projects. The lead editors on “Beneath the Yellow Lights” will be J. Patrick Conlon.
Patrick is a genre fiction author currently living in Bear, DE. He has appeared in anthologies and magazines, most notably as Associate Editor for “Beach Pulp,” a collection of pulp fiction put out by Cat and Mouse Press.
Jacob Jones-Goldstein is a fiction writer, sports journalist, Podcaster, and editor. His short stories have appeared both in the US and abroad. Mostly focusing on the horror genre, he dabbles in magical realism and fantasy. He edited the horror anthology Scary Stuff.