Publications

Short Stories to Read on the Bus


Now live on Kindle. 22 brilliant stories - 43,500 words: a full-size book - all for £0.77($0.99) Bargain!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0060Y39AS
Print version available on Lulu.com and via Amazon.

A bus ride into town is the ideal opportunity to enjoy reading, especially if it's a regular journey and you’ve seen the passing scenery many times before. Ten minutes is enough time to find a seat, exchange the odd pleasantry with fellow passengers, take out your Kindle and put it away again after reading a thousand or two words. With this in mind I have produced a collection of tales that take that length of time to read. Some are a little longer, some are a little shorter, but all are of a size to be enjoyed at one sitting.

There is a variety of themes and styles, so the reader can choose according to the day. There are spooky ones, thrillers, humorous ones and the odd tear-jerker. There are stories played-out in exotic locations and some set close to home. There are tales that envision the future: fantasy – a little science-fiction, even, whilst others echo a world long since past. In short: there is something for everybody and something for every mood, but all, I hope, have a dimension that touches on the human spirit.

I hope you enjoy my collection but, whether you do or not, please let me know what you think. We at Panocticon aim to write exactly what our readers love to read, and we can only do that if we pay attention to the feedback they give us.


The Man With Two Heads

and other stories


The Man With Two Heads is Steve's collection of quirky tales that will take you from The Great Exhibition of 1851 to the Afterlife. You will encounter a new breed of humanity ready to rule the world, and discover the secret of The Man with Two Heads himself. Take a drink of Nectar which will bring you health, youth and happiness and find out what happens on The Last Day. You will find love, humour, horror and science fiction blended into entertaining, thought-provoking and sometimes challenging fiction.

Steven Laming has something of a reputation at Panocticon for finding the dark side of any theme, but it would be misleading to simply label his work as 'Horror'. The best fiction is often found standing in two or more genres and Steven's collection follows the example of many well-known authors in this respect.

We do not think of Emily Bronte as an author of ghost stories, yet there is no escaping the paranormal element in her gothic masterpiece Wuthering Heights which we recognise as a tale about romantic love transcending death. Is Mary Shelley's classic tale, Frankenstein really a horror story? Or is it Science Fiction? Or is it about how the human condition can be made wretched by the mistakes we make? Its alternative title, (The Modern Prometheus) reminds us that the legends of classical mythology are more than tales of supernatural beings and fanciful adventures. Each one has message that resonates with human experience.

You will find that Steven's ideas, quirky, ghostly and sometimes horrific as they may be, reach out to touch us in unexpected ways. His tales Nectar, Virtue Falls, and Adventure in the Afterlife mix darkness with off-the-wall humour, The Longest Night is a blend of Science Fiction and Romance whilst The Last Day is an unmistakeable love story - albeit in a surreal setting. True to his reputation, Steve has included an off-beat vampire story, Giving Back the Night, a sequel to his earlier Give Me the Night which is also included here for good measure, as well as the uncompromisingly horrific Waste Matters. These stories and others will take you to places you didn't expect to visit. Enjoy!

Find The Man With Two Heads at https://amazon.co.uk/dp/B0060Y39AS
And available in print from Lulu.com and on Kindle.


Lancashire Tales Light and Dark


In their first collaborative work, Panocticon present a tantalising set of short stories that celebrate and build upon the famous traditions of the Red Rose County: its friendly folk and their ingenuity, fortitude, and downright quirkiness. And more sinister aspects, too.

What did become of the Pendle witches? Why does the area enjoy so many visits from UFOs? Are there really invaders from outer space or solitary geniuses working at the leading edge of technology in our rural backwaters? If it can happen anywhere, could it be happening here?

And what is going on with that picture on the front cover??

Fifteen amazing and intriguing stories from five different writers.

See it at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0062DLTEK


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