Ray Bradbury Honored with New Short Story Collection, 'A Short Walk to the Other Side'

On February 14, 2014, author Matthew J. Pallamary launches his second short story collection, "A Short Walk to the Other Side" at the Southern California Writers Conference in San Diego as a tribute to his mentor Ray Bradbury. Following the trail blazed by Bradbury, Pallamary's tales take readers to the place where the boundaries of reality are blurred in stories that explore supernatural, metaphysical, science fiction, and horrific themes.

Click on the Amazon link to "A Short Walk to the Other Side" to download the e-book or order a print copy of the long-awaited sequel to Pallamary's first short story collection, "The Small Dark Room of the Soul," to which Bradbury exclaimed, "Bravo! More!"

In his book, "101 Best Scenes Ever Written," the late author of the best-selling novel "Matador," Steinbeck colleague and Santa Barbara Writers Conference founder, Barnaby Conrad, grouped Pallamary with other horror greats, stating that readers "often gravitate to the metaphysical like Dean Koontz or Matthew Pallamary and sometimes the protean of Stephen King and ...Edgar Allen Poe."

In the introduction, Pallamary asks: "Who are we really? What or where are the boundaries between what we believe to be real and what we imagine? Do we in fact know ourselves or our true nature? If we are not ourselves, then who or what are we? Where do we really live?"

Stories include a plastic surgeon who loses his "edge", a psychedelic trip that leads to unexpected dimensions, a gene-splicing experiment gone awry, and the extreme dedication of fitness enthusiasts to the newest weight loss drink, as well as many other boundary-pushing themes.

According to Pallamary, "Most people stay entrenched in the cultural mainstream, believing that they could never think or act in such odd and terrifying ways, but we all have our shadow selves. How much does it take to send us over the edge? The truth is that it is a lot shorter walk to the other side than we like to think."

Pallamary's award-winning historical novel, "Land Without Evil," received rave reviews and was adapted into a multimedia aerial extravaganza, directed by Sarah Agent Red Johnston and performed by acrobatic troupe Sky Candy, to sold out audiences. The making of the show, filmed as a PBS episode, garnered an EMMY nomination.

His memoir "Spirit Matters," detailing his journeys from Boston's concrete jungle to the jungles of Peru, won San Diego Book Awards' Spiritual Book Category, and was an Award-Winning Finalist in the National Best Book Awards. It was recently released as an audio book, narrated by the author. Originally from Dorchester, Massachusetts, Pallamary has lived in San Diego for the past 35 years. For more about Pallamary, or to book him for speaking engagements or interviews, visit http://www.mattpallamary.com.

San Diego's Mystic Ink Publishing is an independent publisher focusing on works of a spiritual, shamanic, new age, or transcendent nature.

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