The Deadlier of the Sexes?

Introducing the new, “Femme Fatales” edition of Hardluck Stories, guest editor O’Neil De Noux explains the thematic hook required from each short tale:

A good woman can bring out the best in a man. A bad woman can bring the exact opposite. While femme fatales can bring out both. These wily women use every God-given gift at their disposal, from the carnal to the cerebral, from crass to classy, from cunning to conniving to get their way. They are alluring, sometimes mesmerizing enough to lure their prey into destructive decisions. They are feline-exquisite, soft and beautiful, like the leopard--pound for pound, nature’s most efficient killing machine.

These women can suck the life out of good guys, turn winners into chumps and leave pain-in-the-ass innocent bystanders panting in the gutter. When a man loves a woman, all goes by the board. But men aren’t necessarily the only prey to succumb to the charms of the femme fatale. Women can be seduced as well.

Then again, they are men and women who know just how to handle these fatal females.

Judge for yourself how successfully the contributors to this issue have carried through on that theme. Among the authors represented here are Trey Baker (“The Big Burn”), John J. Wilson (“The Kick It Gives”), Pearce Hansen (“Girl Crazy”), and Mary Elizabeth Merrem Shaw (“Water”). As in the fall “Psycho Noir” edition, the evocative illustrations here have been done by Jean-Pierre Jacquet. Altogether, it’s a fine package of fiction to explore in your lonely hours.