The Mortuary Arts

Katherine O’Donnell was born with a disfiguring strawberry birthmark across the bottom of her face. In 1880s London, that was enough to discourage suitors. Love was something for which she yearned, but never found within her reach. Out of necessity, she became adept at hiding inside her home and behind makeups she formulated and applied herself. When tragedy upended her modest life and dumped her out onto the streets, she was bereft of options. Desperate, she answered an advertisement for a mortuary assistant, applying makeup to cadavers. She knew what she had to do when asked what skills she possessed that qualified her for the position. Kate brazenly used her kerchief to wiped away the concealing powders and stand before them, birthmark revealed and prominent. She learned to find beauty in her newfound art, forming masques to make the dead resemble the living. If only her education had ended there. A neo-gothic novella of growing suspense and horror, with 26 beautiful interior illustrations.

About the Author

John Gregory Hancock is a storyteller. A graphic professional for many years (which is one way to tell a story), his graphic journalism garnered international awards, and was nominated for a Pulitzer. He incorporates his visual sense in his ability to spin compelling yarns. Currently, he has seven books of his own, and has written for The Future Chronicles anthology series, whose titles have hit the overall Amazon Top 10 Bestsellers list. The Immortality Chronicles - a Top 5 SF Anthology and Hot New Release - featured his story 'The Antares Cigar Shoppe', which was also nominated for Best American Science Fiction. His work has appeared in other anthologies, including; Prep For Doom, Bite-Sized Offerings: Tales & Legends of the Zombie Apocalypse, Flying Toasters - The DeadPixel Tales, and Off the Kuf. Hancock is not tied to any one genre, but is comfortable in the science fiction/fantasy/horror realm. Even a dash of humor, at times. The foreword to his 'A Plague of Dreams' says it well: "These stories, these lies, these Dreamwood Tales, are dipped in the heady ink of my fevered dreams. They travel unique and varied paths to arrive at your shuttered door. I entreat you to undo the latch and let them in to lie upon your hearth. They will not bite. Except for the ones that do." He lives with his wife and soul mate (who puts up with him, beyond all logic) and a fantastically brilliant son (who thrashes him soundly in video games -- really, it's no contest). They are hopelessly landlocked in Midwest America, far from ocean or desert. Or glacier, come to that. Like many of his characters, life has shaped and unshaped him. His fingers itch to write and so far, luckily, people seem to enjoy the things he offers.

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