Heaven and Hell

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes you need a good laugh
Review: And sometimes even an author needs to laugh while writing a story.

Winifred Halsey came to me to ask for a story for this anthology saying she wanted something with humor involving Heaven and Hell.

I had three stories already published involving a vampire and his human friend -- and all of them were dead-serious (pardon the pun).

The earliest written is the last of the series - called "Through the Moon Gate" and it's in Andre Norton's TALES OF THE WITCHWORLD #2. Norton allowed me (and that's a story all by itself) to add a vampire to the Witch World. That is one singular honor - but of course he had to be a "good guy" vampire.

After I wrote that story, the question just gnawed at me - what had this vampire done to merit such a cushy existence on the Witch World?

When Galaxy Magazine asked for short stories I found myself writing "Vampire's Fast" and "True Death" -- two stories which were published in the magazine and are now posted online for free reading on simegen dot com. The search engine should turn them up, but if you can't find them, email me. If you read those stories, you will want to buy HEAVEN AND HELL, so you'd better order it first, then go read.

But I still hadn't finished the tale of how it came to be that this vampire merited life on the Witch World where he can walk in sunlight -- and I had never expected to have to come up with a humorous installment! A funny vampire???? And so was created "Vampire's Friend" by Jacqueline Lichtenberg -- another reviewer here has the story attribution wrong.

Well, the vampire isn't funny here - and he does have some harrowing things to face. However, the situation is (to me) hilarious. The Friend of this Vampire happens to be an Angel - one of God's Messengers who runs up and down Jacob's Ladder from Heaven to Earth.

On Yom Kippur, he falls off Jacob's Ladder and lands next to the garbage can in the alley beside the human's house knocked out cold - the human who is the friend of this vampire. The human who is a reform Jew on his (very few) religious days. Still, he picks up the limp Angel and carries him inside to tend to him.

For a long time now, this human has been estranged from the vampire - trying to make it on his own after living the adventurous life saving the vampire from horrors and helping the vampire do away with some really nasty people who dust vampires in the sunlight.

The very last thing on earth he wants to do is phone the vampire and ask for help. But what would you do if you had an unconscious Angel of the Lord lying on your bed?

I never imagined when I started writing the story that a Vampire, an Angel and a Reform Jew would be breaking into an Orthodox Synagogue in the dead of night on Yom Kippur.

And this isn't the funniest story in this collection!

Live Long and Prosper,
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes you need a good laugh
Review: And sometimes even an author needs to laugh while writing a story.

Winifred Halsey came to me to ask for a story for this anthology saying she wanted something with humor involving Heaven and Hell.

I had three stories already published involving a vampire and his human friend -- and all of them were dead-serious (pardon the pun).

The earliest written is the last of the series - called "Through the Moon Gate" and it's in Andre Norton's TALES OF THE WITCHWORLD #2. Norton allowed me (and that's a story all by itself) to add a vampire to the Witch World. That is one singular honor - but of course he had to be a "good guy" vampire.

After I wrote that story, the question just gnawed at me - what had this vampire done to merit such a cushy existence on the Witch World?

When Galaxy Magazine asked for short stories I found myself writing "Vampire's Fast" and "True Death" -- two stories which were published in the magazine and are now posted online for free reading on simegen dot com. The search engine should turn them up, but if you can't find them, email me. If you read those stories, you will want to buy HEAVEN AND HELL, so you'd better order it first, then go read.

But I still hadn't finished the tale of how it came to be that this vampire merited life on the Witch World where he can walk in sunlight -- and I had never expected to have to come up with a humorous installment! A funny vampire???? And so was created "Vampire's Friend" by Jacqueline Lichtenberg -- another reviewer here has the story attribution wrong.

Well, the vampire isn't funny here - and he does have some harrowing things to face. However, the situation is (to me) hilarious. The Friend of this Vampire happens to be an Angel - one of God's Messengers who runs up and down Jacob's Ladder from Heaven to Earth.

On Yom Kippur, he falls off Jacob's Ladder and lands next to the garbage can in the alley beside the human's house knocked out cold - the human who is the friend of this vampire. The human who is a reform Jew on his (very few) religious days. Still, he picks up the limp Angel and carries him inside to tend to him.

For a long time now, this human has been estranged from the vampire - trying to make it on his own after living the adventurous life saving the vampire from horrors and helping the vampire do away with some really nasty people who dust vampires in the sunlight.

The very last thing on earth he wants to do is phone the vampire and ask for help. But what would you do if you had an unconscious Angel of the Lord lying on your bed?

I never imagined when I started writing the story that a Vampire, an Angel and a Reform Jew would be breaking into an Orthodox Synagogue in the dead of night on Yom Kippur.

And this isn't the funniest story in this collection!

Live Long and Prosper,
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: A series of highly recommended and whimsical tales
Review: Deftly edited by Winifred Halsey, Heaven And Hell: An Anthology Of Whimsical Stories showcases a series of highly recommended and whimsical tales of angels, demons, and ordinary people under extraordinary conditions. The superbly written fantasies comprising this remarkable collection include: The Fiber of Being (Jody Lynn Ney); Prom Night (Shalanna Collins); The Department of Prayers and Petitions (Stuart Barrow); The Eternal Reward (Jacqueline Lichtenberg); A Plum Assignment (Sharon L. Nelson); Ragnarok Can Wait (Susan Sizemore); Vacation (Jennifer Dunne); The Morality Clause (H. David Blalock); Demon Puss (Terri Beckett); Prize of a Lifetime (Michael J. McShay); and Perhaps (Michele Hauf). From a vampire who finds a fallen angel on Yom Kippur, to a young man having to rescue his lady love from a demon when she steps through a fairy ring, the stories comprising Heaven And Hell are as entertaining as they are original.

Rating:
Summary: Great Stories
Review: This book is a great read, with a wealth of talent behind each of the stories. The story, however, that really tickled my fancy was, "Department of Prayers and Petitions" by Stuart Barrow. It is a well written, light-hearted and humourous look at what the public service would become in heaven. Having worked in places where the red tape sometimes outweighs the result I could really relate to it. I look forward to reading more of this authors work.

Rating:
Summary: Great Stories
Review: This book is a great read, with a wealth of talent behind each of the stories. The story, however, that really tickled my fancy was, "Department of Prayers and Petitions" by Stuart Barrow. It is a well written, light-hearted and humourous look at what the public service would become in heaven. Having worked in places where the red tape sometimes outweighs the result I could really relate to it. I look forward to reading more of this authors work.