The Land Before Life Series by Jamie Brindle

Quince is a salesman, though he never goes door-to-door. He never has the need. What he sells is life itself. Sat at his desk at the very beginning, in the Land Before Life, Quince knows so much more than the empty Poor Souls who come to him. Compared to them, he is a big deal... moreQuince is a salesman, though he never goes door-to-door. He never has the need. What he sells is life itself. Sat at his desk at the very beginning, in the Land Before Life, Quince knows so much more than the empty Poor Souls who come to him. Compared to them, he is a big deal. But what will Quince do when he finds Life has something to offer him, too? And what’s so intriguing about this Life business, anyway? Read on, and you might find these and other answers, here in the first three stories of the Land Before Life: The Big Deal, The Other Options, and Handle With Care. less

If this is the Land Before Life, then where do all the Souls come from?Quince is in charge of handing out the lives... moreIf this is the Land Before Life, then where do all the Souls come from?Quince is in charge of handing out the lives. But it’s Bob who has all the questions, like:If Quince hands out the lives…who handed out Quince?AndWhat happens to the Poor Souls when they come out the other side of Life?But most of all:When do I get a turn?The thing is, how can Bob possibly have a go at running the Land Before Life, if all his boss will let him do is make the tea?But when Bob gets some help in putting Quince out of the way, he finds that running the Land Before Life is much more trouble than he anticipated. Worse, where has Quince even gone? Now Bob has to go on a rescue mission, travelling to the most weird and disturbing place imaginable: Life. Or at least, to a version of it…Diminishing Returns is a novella set in the Universe of Quince, salesman of fine lives new and used. Please be assured that this story contains levels of strangeness deemed optimal for its smooth unfolding.This collection also contains The First Flash Ten, ten tiny stories of magic, fantasy, humour and horror, which were originally posted on my website and were mailed out in my newsletter. Each story comes complete with a beautiful illustration, drawn by various artists and inspired by the story in question.These stories are now being cycled out of my website in favour of new stories, which will in turn be released in a collection. So if you want to read the first batch of tiny stories, this is the place to look…Tiny stories in this collection:Just Like VinylThe Hottest DayWorry, Worry, WorryMake It CountThe Next Act At The Divine Comedy StoreFirst DraftWhy They Chew UsExtractionClean EnergyThe Nothing At The Edge Of The Universe less