Windborne Tales

"Crook delves deftly into a broad spectrum of themes, gifting the reader with not just seven stories, but seven experiences." Jason Camelio, Higher Education Professional

Author Hal Crook returns after his "masterful" psychological thriller-A Brief Madness: New Identity-with this "expertly crafted" collection of stories. In Windborne Tales you'll visit seven not-quite-fully-upright worlds, inhabited by hampered beings who haven't yet given up the struggle.

Whether it's a widowed animal lover who says "Enough" to loss; a precocious teen who squares off with a cruel stepdad; a forgotten pianist who wreaks havoc in a psych ward; a sly reporter who deceives crafty old timers at their own game; or an unknown saxophonist recruited to save humanity-Crook infuses their predicaments with healthy doses of truth, challenge, humor and intrigue, the impact of which can be sage at times, or blistering.

Windborne Tales: Seven Stories is a "must read" collection that, as one reviewer writes, "unforgettably conveys what it means to be human."

"Crook's stories get the pages turning by themselves... haunting creations." Nancy McDaniel, Accountant

ABOUT HAL CROOK
Hal Crook is a professor emeritus, Berklee College of Music, Boston, and an internationally known jazz musician, composer, arranger, and teacher. He has published four books on jazz improvisation, and one novel, A Brief Madness: New Identity, available on amazon.com and through booksellers everywhere.

Inspired by the writing of poets Donald Hall, Mary Oliver, Esperanza Spalding, and I. Michael Grossman, Crook is currently at work on a collection of poems entitled Unsolicited: Non-Essential Writings from the Head and Heart.

Crook lives in Rhode Island with his wife Joyce and two feral cats-John and Sharon-the furry stars of his Windborne Tales short story "Big Brains in Our Midst".