I picked up my ticket and placed the bucket down tenderly. I sat by the window with the ticket in my hand, waiting for the first crack of light.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joe R. Lansdale is the author of more than a dozen novels, including Vanilla Ride, Leather Maiden, Sunset and Sawdust, and Lost Echoes. He has received the British Fantasy Award, the American Mystery Award, the Edgar Award, the Grinzane Cavour Prize for Literature, and eight Bram Stoker Awards. His novella “Bubba Ho-Tep” was made into a film, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis and directed by Don Coscarelli. His short story “Incident On and Off a Mountain Road” was also adapted to film, starring Bree Turner and directed by Don Coscarelli, for Showtime. He lives with his family in Nacogdoches, Texas.
Also by Joe R. Lansdale
Leather Maiden
Lost Echoes
Sunset and Sawdust
The Bottoms
A Fine Dark Line
Freezer Burn
The Hap and Leonard Series
Devil Red
Vanilla Ride
Captain Outrageous
Rumble Tumble
Bad Chili
The Two-Bear Mambo
Mucho Mojo
Savage Season
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Part One: Of Ash and Dreams
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Part Two: The Kingdom of the Snake
12
13
15
16
17
Part Three: Skunk
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
About the Author
Also by Joe R. Lansdale
Copyright
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover design by Julianna Lee
Cover photograph © Robert Jones / Arcangel Images
Copyright © 2012 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First e-book edition: March 2012
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ISBN 978-0-316-21519-0