Traveling Weird Trails: A Huckster Tales Collection

The Huckster Tales #1

by Jeff Chapman

Weird tales from the ever-weirder Old West.

Jimmy and Orville are back for more supernatural mayhem in these four stories. Their penchant for finding trouble is as keen as ever. In "The Wand" Jimmy and Orville face off against a dangerous witch who will not accept no for an answer. "The Miracle of Ed's Purgative" brings our hucksters face-to-face with a sasquatch who refuses to leave. The dead witch in "The Wayward Corpse" will not stay in her coffin. "The Flaming Emerald" challenges Jimmy and Orville to return a stolen jewel to an angry ghost.

If you are interested in weird tales with a healthy dollop of humor, hitch a ride on Jimmy and Orville's wagon. The Huckster Tales are for you.

166 pages, Paperback

Published April 28, 2024

About the author

Thanks for visiting my page. I write software by day and speculative fiction when I should be sleeping. Dark hot chocolate fuels my evenings. My work ranges from fairy tales to fantasy to horror and ghost stories. I've been writing all my life but decided to become super serious about it and pursue publication a few years ago. My work has appeared in various anthologies and magazines. I live with my wife, children, and cats in a house with more books than bookshelf space.

My recent novels include The Great Contagion and Cat Sidhe: Into the Witch Lands I from The Merliss Tales series; The Black Blade: A Huckster Novel from The Huckster Tales series; and The Sniggard's Revenge: A Fantasy Adventure.

Get two FREE short stories, a fairy tale and a weird western. Details at www.jeffchapmanbooks.com.

You can learn more about my stories and find links to my work in various formats at www.jeffchapmanbooks.com.

Reviews

[Shana W]

If you enjoy supernatural stories that are slightly creepy and full of humour, I recommend that you read these 4 gripping tales. Jeff Chapman is a fabulous writer, describing his characters' personalities and the settings so completely that you feel as if you are there.  These short stories keep you on the edge of your seat.  They are creepy, unpredictable and funny; I felt compelled to keep reading to find out how they ended.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[L. Coulter]

A science fictiony, horrory, westerny, blend of short stories, this book is weird. . . yet it really works! As strange as strange can be, wound perfectly together with humor and intrigue, each story kept me hooked to their ends, and when I finished I was left wanting more.

[Jerry]

I listened to the audiobook version of this and it was a real hoot!. The were 4 tales of the weird Old West that are most enjoyable because of the main characters, Jimmy & Orville. "Hucksters" is an apt description and I kept envisioning them as a version of Laurel & Hardy with a supernatural bent. The copious use of "grandma's sayings" added just the right spice that lent authenticity and humor to the whole collection. I thoroughly enjoyed these and I hope there are future misadventures for these two knuckleheads.

[Sass Green]

This is an engaging group of four short stores - though to me it was more a main story told in four parts. It features two old-school con artists named Jimmy and Orville.

Orville, in his yellow tweed suit and cardsharp mentality, is the leader. Together, they travel the countryside looking for market days, fairs, and witch hangings to sell their wares to a large crowd. Though their objective was to just make a buck, they encounter the supernatural everywhere they go – but initially do not recognize it as such.

As the first of the four stories open, they create a show featuring a “magic wand” they bought in a pawn shop, replicated many more by hand, with a plan to sell these cheap imitations to the crowd who comes to watch their show. But when they refuse to sell a girl the original pawn shop magic wand, she puts a curse on Orville. He becomes so sick he would die unless he gives it to her.

Then the pair then get mixed up with a dead witch in a casket, who’s not “dead” in the way they had expected. Now they are realizing they are not dealing with things in a “normal” world.

I liked the story for the excellent writing which call to mind the work of Mark Twain and to a lesser extent Henry James. Very rich well-developed characters. Excellent dialogue and banter. And a good story told in four parts. I enjoyed their clever antics and how they were about to outsmart, outwit, and successfully sell trinkets to the gullible townspeople.

[David Taylor]

Four awesome Traveling Huckster stories!


When Jeff Chapman offered me a review copy of the audio book of Traveling Weird Trails: A Huckster Tales Collection there wasn’t a moment of hesitation before I accepted his offer. How could anyone familiar with Jimmy and Orvile turn down an opportunity to go on more adventures with Jeff’s hapless Hucksters?

The four stories contained in this collection will not only entertain you, but they will also introduce you to more of Jimmy’s Grandmother’s philosophy lessons. Each of these stories will give you a new appreciation for both Jimmy and Orvile as they work to extricate themselves from their self-induced situations.

While the stories themselves are highly entertaining, when you couple them with the excellent narration of David Bosco you are in for a real treat. David does an excellent job of bringing Jimmy and Orville to life with his voices. I swear, I can listen to his narration with my eyes closed and watch each of their mannerisms and actions as they progress through the story.

[J.R. Gibson]

Travelling Weird Trails are sort of a cross between Western and horror. Even though it was very different to things I've normally read before, I enjoyed this collection of 4 stories, because the heroes were well fleshed out and lovable characters.

Jimmy and Orville are a brilliant duo of protagonists, travelling merchants trying to sell their wares (sometimes deviously) but running into various strange things along the way (usually resulting in them losing more than they gained). This includes a sasquatch, and a dead witch that won't stay dead. The interactions between them were without doubt one of the best elements of these stories, but arguably the best part was Jimmy's grandma's anecdotes, my favourite one being: "A bug that respects its place is one that does not get squished". Definitely worth remembering!

[Laura]

Audiobook: I enjoyed this group of four short stories a lot. I was entertained by the combination of the aura of a western background along with some fantasy elements including ghosts, a sasquatch, and magic. I liked the characters Jimmy and Orville; with Jimmy being one of my favorites. I was amused by the dialogue and by some of the situations the two characters stumbled into in each of the short tales. I'm looking forward to more stories featuring Jimmy and Orville. I thought David Bosco's narration was great, and his performance enhanced the story's entertainment. I was given a copy of the audiobook. I volunteered, without financial gain to post this review which reflected my honest opinions regarding these stories.

[Becky]

I really enjoyed listening to these four short stories. Orville and Jimmy are a stitch. Con men traveling the countryside trying to make a buck. Jimmy is the assistant, but has to keep Orville in line. A lot of western. A little paranormal. A little fantasy. A little danger. A lot of words to the wise. A lot funny.

The author, Jeff Chapman does the preface and would make a very good narrator. Nice voice. But David Bosco is the voice of the old west. Nice job. 5 stars for him as well.

Thanks Jeff and Story Origin for the book. This is my honest review.

[Jane Reid]

This book comprises four stories with a blend of western adventure peppered with outlandish plots, supernatural elements and much amusement, sometimes with dark humour. It is based around Orville, a huckster, and Jimmy, his apprentice, as they traverse the wild west looking for quick money. Besides the author's brilliant description of the characters, Jimmy's grandma's wise anecdotes make this book even more engaging. I recommend this entertaining book.

[Kat M]

Jeff Chapman does a fantastic job in writing this collection of book, it had that element that I wanted and enjoyed the overall feel of this. It uses the weird element that I was hoping for.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kevin Cannon (Monty's Book Reviews)]

An interesting collection of supernatural short stories. The audio version is nicely narrated