Welcome to Fiction Friday, my opportunity each week to post an excerpt from one of my own books or those of my friends, present-day or long-departed colleagues. There’s so much talent out there. Enjoy these samples.

Today’s blog was supposed to feature author P.B. Ryan, but we had a snafu somewhere along the line. So instead, I invite you to enjoy several wonderful stories courtesy of author Neil Gaiman. Neil Gaiman is one of my own favorites, and this week we featured a quote from him at Sunday Inspiration. What better time to introduce you to his work? He has generously shared five widely varying stories with his readers, short reads in their entirety on his website and completely free.

The first link will take you to The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds, a noir nursery rhyme spoof that was first published in KNAVE in 1984.   This was Gaiman’s third published story, so it’s early Gaiman, for sure.

The next link will take you to  I Cthulhu (or What’s a Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing in a Sunken City Like This (Latitude 47° 9′ S, Longitude 126° 43′ W)?

The third link goes to A Study in Emerald, an obvious and delightful ode to the great Sherlock Holmes, he of Study in Scarlet fame–and last week’s visitor at Fiction Friday.  You’ll need a program that reads PDFs, like Adobe, and a little time to enjoy this one.

Cinnamon, an illustrated fairy tale is next, and a story you might want to share with your children, followed by How To Talk To Girls At Parties which was a Hugo nominee in 2007.  Hugo awards are given for the best science fiction and/or fantasy works, so that gives you an important clue about the delightful How To Talk To Girls.

I hope you enjoy this taste of Neil Gaiman’s work.  Explore his website for excerpts of novels and other amazing enticements.  I particularly love his children’s novel, The Graveyard Book, which is why the cover’s featured here.  I still smile whenever I think about it.