You are currently viewing The Man Who Screams at Nightfall

The Man Who Screams at Nightfall

The Man Who Screams at Nightfall and Other Stories

Spotlight + Book & Author Info + Excerpt + Giveaway!

Don’t miss any blog tour posts! Click the link here.

The Man Who Screams at Nightfall and Other Stories

Thailand. The Congo. Greece. Spain. America…

Four continents and 40+ years in the making.

The Man Who Screams At Nightfall is a landmark collection of short stories depicting a young man on a classic voyage of self-discovery, scouring the earth in search of some purpose in life.

From childhood to parenthood and everything in between—these tales are at times raw and unflinching, at other times poignant and moving.

Get ready for a literary journey unlike any you’ve experienced before.

WARNING: Some of these stories contain strong language, depictions of graphic violence, and sexual situations.

Genre: Literary Fiction
Published by: Bridgewood Publishing
Publication Date: November 2022
Number of Pages: 150
ISBN: 0999745670 (ISBN-13: 9780999745670)

To purchase The Man Who Screams at Nightfall, click on any of the following links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads


The Man Who Screams at Nightfall — Excerpt

…I could see the glow of a fire up ahead of us, and as we reached the mango tree, Pumbu motioned for me to stay low and follow him along a small wall of honeysuckle bushes. We crouched down, and from our hiding place, I saw Kachamba furiously pacing back and forth in his yard in front of a small bonfire. He swung his arms wildly in the air as if he was fighting off something that was falling on him. He dropped to his knees and then suddenly sprang three feet off the ground. Then he began to dance, swaying and spinning his body so close to the fire that I was certain he was going to fall in. All the while he screamed and shouted deep into the empty black night. 

He spoke in a dialect that I couldn’t understand, so I had to ask Pumbu to tell me what he was saying. I asked him many questions: Why was he doing this? Who was he speaking to? Was he drunk? What was going on? Pumbu patiently explained to me that no, he was not drunk, and that he really didn’t know who he was speaking to, but that Kachamba’s wife had left him a few years ago, run off with another man and taken their children, and that ever since, he had not been right in the head. He was not from this village and had been kicked out of all the other places he had lived. He came here only because Kachamba’s father, the chief of Kitengo’s uncle, had once saved the life of the chief’s father (Kachamba’s uncle) and so the chief had to let him stay to repay that old favor. It was all very complicated, Pumbu said, and he didn’t fully understand it himself. 

I was hardly listening, instead transfixed and horrified by what I saw. Spinning, swirling, shouting, and screaming—Kachamba’s face, so calm and happy as I had seen it earlier that day, was now knotted and twisted like a grotesque carnival mask, like some gargoyle sprung from the lowest depths of hell. The glow of the fire cut fierce shadows and gorges in his face, adding to the haunting vision that I saw. 

For a long while, Pumbu and I hid behind the honeysuckle bushes and watched Kachamba shriek and wail and try to push back the night, until suddenly, all at once, he just stopped. Suddenly, he just stood still and quiet and stared at the sky. I followed his gaze and saw another shooting star. When I looked back, Kachamba had disappeared. 

“Is that it?” I asked. 

“That’s it,” said Pumbu. “He usually only does this for an hour or so.” 

“And he does this every night?” 

“Almost,” said Pumbu and yawned. “Mmm. I’m tired. I think I am going to go home.” 

We left the bushes, went past the mango tree, and said good night. I walked home alone, both exhilarated and troubled by what I had seen. 

I entered my room and prepared for bed, but long after I had extinguished my petrol lantern, I lay there staring into the darkness. I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned. It wasn’t that unusual—I noticed that it had been happening a lot lately, that I couldn’t sleep. I got up and found the bottle of Johnnie Walker and knocked back a tall glass until at last I was floating, and at last, my eyes did shut…

 Rush Leaming — Author of The Man Who Screams at Nightfall

The Man Who Screams at NightfallRUSH LEAMING has done many things including spending 15+ years in film/video production working on such projects as The Lord of the Rings films.

His first novel, Don’t Go, Ramanya, a political thriller set in Thailand, was published in the fall of 2016. His second novel followed suit in the summer of 2018, entitled The Whole of the Moon, set in the Congo at the end of the Cold War.

2021 saw the 5-star reception of his crime thriller Dead Tree Tales. His short stories have appeared in Notations, 67 Press, Lightwave, 5k Fiction, and The Electric Eclectic.

He has lived in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Zaire, Thailand, Spain, Greece, South Carolina, England, and Kenya.

To learn more about Rush, click on any of the following links: LeamingRush.wixsite.com/Nightfall, Goodreads, BookBub – @RushLeaming, Instagram – @RushLeaming, Twitter – @LeamingRushFacebook – @RushLeamingStories


Visit all  the Stops on the Tour!

The Man Who Screams at Nightfall

01/16 Review @ Guatemala Paula Loves to Read
01/17 Showcase @ Im Into Books
01/18 Review @ darciahelle
01/21 Review @ Blogging With A
01/22 Review @ Mythical Books
01/23 Review @ Novels Alive
01/24 Review @ Celticladys Reviews
01/25 Showcase @ 411 ON BOOKS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHING NEWS
01/27 Showcase @ fuonlyknew
01/30 Guest post @ The Book Divas Reads
01/31 Showcase @ Silvers Reviews
02/01 Showcase @ Nesies Place
02/02 Interview @ darciahelle
02/07 Interview @ Hott Books
02/10 Review @ Book Corner News and Reviews


Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell

All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio.

Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator

Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery

 

The Foundation of Plot, a Wait, Wait, Don’t Query (Yet!) guidebook. Amazon #1 Bestseller

Elena Hartwell

Author and developmental editor.

This Post Has 2 Comments

Leave a Reply