Human Adjacent

What makes someone human? What makes them inhuman? What do you do when those lines are much more blurred than they at first seem to be? How do you reconcile with realizing that you might have more in common with the monster of the story? What do you do when you realize that the monster probably isn’t a monster at all? That many of the things you were taught to you aren’t true at all?

Human Adjacent emphasizes human nature by telling the stories of things that are non-human, of shared experiences, and stories that resonate with what it means to be human without actually being so. Follow nine different stories as they all try to paint a wide picture of humanity in uncommon places, each one set in a unique world with diverse characters all trying to navigate their very different, outlandish circumstances that may or may not be similar to your own.

Four Seasons – Book One

Mark Marteau thought he had retired from the FBI after Red Widow almost killed him in his own apartment, but Hector, his partner and best friend, shows up on his property near Glacier Park, Montana to inform him his godson Dylan may be in trouble. But before Mark goes, he first must go back to a time over 40 years before, when it all started at a wrecking and salvage yard in East Pasco, Washington, where he is witness to the murder of his friend. The next story shows how Mark meets Hector following his best friend’s Dave Baker’s assassination by the order of Che Lopez.

Trees and Other Witnesses

Trees are silent witnesses to the passing of time, guardians of myth and memory, metaphors of life. Each story in this collection has a tree of particular importance to its characters and their communities. These are tales of childhood and imagination, of migration and struggle, conflict and change. They are about specific places in Mexico, Nicaragua and the U.S., and real and imagined sites of cultural encounter, growth and adaptation. As the characters in these stories grapple with the forces of nature and the entanglement of human relationships, the trees are their companions and touchstones, reflecting, and at times shaping, the experience of their lives. These stories follow the roots and inner journeys of a variety of characters, while embodying a deep respect for the natural world around them and the power of its imagery to structure the meaning of their perceptions.

The Two Sides of Yourself

If you find yourself as a main character in any of these stories, you are only human.

If you don’t, you are in denial.

This intriguing and powerful collection of prose reflects on the many complex facets of the human experience. The diverse narratives, perspectives, and characters in the stories touch on a number of experiences and emotions that everyone will relate to at one point or another in their lives, which is what makes the stories so captivating.

From family to love to loss to religion, the stories are sure to draw readers in and allow them to truly contemplate about what it means to be human, and the many shared experiences and emotions we have that make us so.

The Retirees

As a schoolboy, Dr. Meiksins’s stories were always published in the school’s newspaper. In his professional life as well as in his layman’s life, Dr. Meiksin had surprising, intriguing, and inspiring experiences that he likes to share with his readers. Life does not end with retirement; revenge is sweet; life does not always work out as planned. Although the stories are all fiction, they are tailored after real-life events.

The Netsuke from San Francisco

The stories of Vladimir Torchilin, representing the irrationality and phantasmagorical nature of everyday life both in Russia and in America, reveal the difficult world of the people of our time. The writer's gaze sharply notices the details - sometimes funny, sometimes tragic. Written in a lively, fascinating, and often ironic way, these stories are easy to read and at the same time make you think.

Tails from the Grooming Table

What does a day in the life of a dog groomer look like? Why is it so expensive to get your dog’s haircut? Does the groomer know she has makeup running down her face? Wait, is that makeup, or is that something that came out the backside of the dog? Is she just going to leave it there while she drinks her coffee? What is the most common dog name? What is the name heard around the store through the loudspeaker that no one will ever forget? What happens if a dog tries to bite? Do I have to have an appointment? Does my groomer actually care about my dog?

I’m your dog groomer. I have to stand on top of the table to work on big dogs. I have to carry your new puppy like a human baby and rock him back and forth to work on his paws and nails. My workday does not just include bathing and haircutting your precious pup. I wish it did.

I get pooped on, peed on, and all manner of bodily fluids have been on my person, yet I still prefer to work with animals over people. And yes, I really do care about your dog.

Sitting on a Park Bench

Robi and Vic, two old friends, are sitting on a park bench on a misty fall evening, munching nuts and reminiscing. The smell of jasmine in the chilly fall air suddenly reminds Robi of their university days, many moons ago. A floodgate of memories of this time of their lives, when ‘life held promise and powers felt indefatigable,’ opens up. Who was the mysterious creature they had seen in the Gymkhana late night after the concert of ‘87? Who ratted them out after they crashed into the social event illegally held on university premises one evening? What started the infamous mess wars that drove such a rift through campus? The past becomes the present and the two compatriots go through their own remembrance of things past, while the sinister syndicate and the feared disciplinary committee loom over every encounter.

Mirrors

Mirrors is a collection of three stories that look beyond the surface of what reality appears to be. 

Mirrors

Katrina has worked the same job in the same small town her entire life. She has always considered herself and her existence nothing but commonplace and boring until a birthday present—one she promised herself never to use—changed everything. 

Each of us has a different version of ourselves. Some are better when left undiscovered. 

Deciduous

Daisy wakes up in a hospital bed with vague memories and broken images of her past. Her caretaker explains that she was the sole survivor of a tragic accident that left her parents dead.

They are all in a room, says a pressing voice that will soon lead her to discover the transience of seasons as they bring about death and form new life.

What’s On the Menu?

Chris Newberry has won the most coveted prize that one could win: a trip to What’s On the Menu?

In a society that relies solely on supplements for sustenance, What’s On the Menu? is the only chance to experience the long-lost sensation of eating.  

But in order to get there, you have to win the lottery. And if you do win, the trip is one you might never forget. 

Marco\'s Journey and Other Stories

Hints of S.P. Peredo’s Mexican American upbringing appear in Marco's Journey and Other Stories as he draws from personal experiences to present rich characters in diverse geographical settings: the scientist traveling through the majestic mountains of southeastern Mexico befriends an unlikely group of strangers, thus starting his own personal journey of self-discovery;; a young traveler who in 1970 ventures behind the iron curtain finding love—and danger; the girl with recurring dreams about a spider’s web struggles for her sanity; the boy with a poet’s heart growing up in America during the Vietnam War fears he is running out of time; a lover left behind during the war writes her heartfelt letter of farewell’ the caricaturesque Mexican musician who, through his performance, gives his listeners a reprieve from their sadness. 

These well-crafted stories, imbued with vivid imagery, lead readers through their own journey to discover the meaning of success, love, and living life to its fullest potential.

Ballsy

In this collection of novellas by Perry Glasser, three very different women find themselves confronting a world of men unable to see them for who they are.

They are pursued, tracked, and fearful, but they are never timid.

When they turn to face their foes, they must rely on their extraordinary courage and will to prevail.

Call it guts, call it bravery – or call it ballsy.