The Flora & Fauna of Transgressive, Balls-to-the-Wall Tableaus

THE FLORA & FAUNA OF TRANSGRESSIVE, BALLS-TO-THE-WALL TABLEAUS is author Jeffrey Stoker's fourth book. Personal and filled to the brim with pathos, it comprises two novellas, both of them struggling-artist-themed, and both of them wholly unpredictable. The first novella in the rotation, "The Dichotomous Epiphany," falls squarely under the Psychological Horror subgenre. Set in the early 1990s - Stoker wrote the novella between the years 1995 and 2000; however, due to the S&M overtones inherent in its pages, he sheepishly held off publishing it until 2024 - it centers on Arlene Phillips, an ambitious, unconventional teenager living in a small, hopelessly conventional Utah town. For years, Arlene has dreamed of nothing more than becoming a world-renowned artist. Unfortunately, most of the drawings and paintings she's produced thus far in her life have failed to meet her expectations. Now, as the sun begins to set on her high school career, the teen, desperate to prepare herself for college, devises a plan to enhance her visual-composition skills. The rub is that carrying out this plan will come at an incredibly high price. Moreover, there's no guarantee that the plan will even work. The second novella in the book, a comedy-drama titled "Port Wine Stain, Animated," represents Stoker at his sardonic best. Here we follow the exploits of Thad Wakefield, an aspiring writer who's on the autism spectrum. Despite the compulsions, tics, and fears that govern Thad's day-to-day routine, he's generally a productive, optimistic individual. And why not? He has a beautiful wife who's supportive to a fault, a pet armadillo that never ceases to amuse him, and a compassionate therapist who's dedicated to solving as many of his psychological hang-ups as possible. In short, life is good. Until it isn't. One day, for reasons far too complicated to go into here, Thad hits a stumbling block in the editing phase of his debut novel. How he chooses to meet this challenge, and the emotionally-draining path this choice ultimately leads him down, is something that even the sharpest of readers won't see coming.