STORY SHOWCASE #15

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TOMAHAWK

by Ian Laskey

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A little taster…

An anger unlike any he had ever felt before raged inside him; a burning hatred for the white men who had wrought this carnage upon his people. He had heard such tales from other tribes, how the new settlers – the invaders – had raided and slain other camps. Survivors of these massacres had warned him to take action. But, above the protests of the great warriors of his clan, the Shaman had preached peace. That this great land, so lush in life, could be shared among all men, no matter their creed. He ignored the warnings and stilled the desire among his tribe to fight. Peaceful action brings peace and respect in return, he had believed.

Because of him, they had been ill-prepared when the raiders came. Just before dawn, many men on horses crashed through the flimsy awnings of their tents, trampling to death anyone inside. They had unleashed their weapons of death with glee, whooping for joy each time their bullets found a fleeing target.

Men, women, children; all were felled with equal callousness.

About the author

Ian Laskey is a writer of dark fiction, living on the sunny south coast of England. His inspirations are the pulp horror authors of the seventies and eighties, and the artists who created their lurid covers. A huge film fan, he brings a cinematic sweep to his writing. His short story “Grunts” was previously published in Garbology: The GarbAugust Anthology of Awesome Trash, and he is currently writing his first novel, a supernatural chiller set in the Sussex countryside. He is also a keen electronic musician and composer, and one-half of instrumental band Black Swan Event.

We asked Ian …

K&R: What was the spark or idea that led you to write this story?

IL: The spark for Tomahawk came from the submission guidelines. You listed “Westerns” as an example of stories that could be submitted and I realised that I’d never written in that genre before and thought, that could be fun! I’ve been a fan of Western cinema for decades, particularly the “Spaghetti Westerns” of the sixties and seventies, and I wanted to write something that captured that sweaty and righteously violent vibe. The first image that came to mind was of a young cowboy lying injured on the sun-parched prairie and it just evolved from there, with the mystical / supernatural elements emerging very quickly.

K&R: Do you have any other work do you have out there, for folks to dig into?

IL: Although it’s now out-of-print, if you can find a copy of CriminOlly presents Garbology: An Anthology of Awesome Trash you’ll find a short story of mine called “Grunts”.

A few years back, I self-published a couple of short stories on Amazon. The first is called “Within” which had previously been published in another anthology called The Tiny Globule (now out-of-print). This is a thematic companion piece to “Grunts”. You can find it here.

The second short story is called “Undergrowth”. I’d submitted this to a national competition run by The Writing Magazine and ended up one of the six short-listed finalists. You can find this one here.

K&R: What’s next for you as a writer?

IL: I’m working on a supernatural novel that I’ve been attempting to write for many, many years. To say it’s slow going is a gross understatement. I’m also starting to compile and polish various short stories that I’ve written over the years, which are sitting around aimlessly on my hard drive, with the intention of self-publishing my own collection.

K&R: What does “trashy fiction” mean to you, and what do you love about it?

IL: I guess I equate “trashy” with “pulp”. There’s probably some technical difference, but I just think of stories that embrace their genres and have fun with it. I’m a horror fan, so that’s where my mind tends to go, and sometimes it’s just nice to read a breezy, balls-to-the-walls story that knows it’s genre, works within those parameters, and has no greater pretention than to entertain.

K&R: Hit us with your own favourite “trashy” fiction recommendations!

IL: As a child of the late seventies and eighties, the epitome of trashy / pulpy horror writers would be Guy N Smith to me. A complete schlockmeister (dare I say, a “hack”?) and gleefully distasteful and trashy. You could also add writers like Shaun Hutson or early James Herbert to that list.

K&R: If you’ve read the rest of the stories in Trash Tales, what’s your favourite and why?

IL: I’ve enjoyed all the stories within Trash Tales and, knowing how hard it is to write and how insecure I feel about my own writing talents, I don’t feel I can nominate one above the rest. It would seem like a disservice! They’re all great fun reads!

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