Red Jacarandas: Three Weird Tales of Los Angeles

by Jeff Polman

Two original screenplays wrapped around a short novel: Three chilling, thrilling, and undeniably weird tales of Los Angeles.




In AFTERSHOCK, an L.A. psychiatrist/author is displaced by an earthquake and rents a guest house on the grounds of an abandoned Spanish villa deep in Santa Monica Canyon, only to discover that her new abode is severely haunted by the ghost of a tortured young actor from the 1950s.

ONE EYE OPEN follows the journey of Leo, a homeless man living in L.A. whose life is a hazy string of wandering from encampments to food lines. Then in one pivotal moment while perched on the rail of a freeway overpass, a vision from beyond turns his world upside down and ultimately, his life.

In LOVED ONES, when TV actress Gina Coogan is found murdered on her Sherman Oaks doorstep, two of her most obsessive male fans escape for a golf weekend in the desert-with unexpected, twisted results.

Genres: Horror

485 pages, Paperback

Published January 11, 2022

About the author

Jeff Polman was born in Hartford, CT in 1954, grew up in Longmeadow, MA and graduated from the BDIC program at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He worked for the Advocate Newspapers and Boston Phoenix before becoming Arts Editor for the Vermont Vanguard Press in Burlington, VT for its first five years.

Having enjoyed his time as a student filmmaker, he moved to Los Angeles in 1982 to pursue screenwriting. He has written over 20 scripts and has had two low-budget thrillers produced, Grave Secrets (1989) and Benefit of the Doubt (1993), a Miramax release which starred Donald Sutherland and Amy Irving. Baseball has long been one of his passions, and his season replay blogs have all been turned into published books: 1924 and You Are There!, Play That Funky Baseball (released as Ball Nuts), Mystery Ball '58, Twinbill (featuring "Dear Hank" and the Bragging Rights League"). He has also written Web articles for The Huffington Post, ChicagoSide Sports, Fire Brand of the American League, Seamheads, The Hardball Times, Baseball Prospectus, New England Baseball Journal, and The Platoon Advantage. His previous novel, The Invasion of Normandie, is a timely comic fable about the allure and dangers of celebrity.

RED JACARANDAS, to be released in January of, 2022, is a unique trio of "weird tales" about Los Angeles, two original screenplays wrapped around a short novel. Having grown up in New England watching countless scary movies as a youth, his new project is a return to his supernatural thriller roots. He lives in Culver City, CA with his artist wife Carmen Patti, and can be followed on Twitter at @ReddJeff8 or emailed at jpolman54@gmail.com

Reviews

[Bibliophileverse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected the book, Red Jacarandas by Jeff Polman to be a horror book, but, instead it was a mix of horror, thriller and mystery. The book consists of only three stories, of which, two are excellent. Only, the second story was confusing and a little bit too long. For me, the book is good for a Sunday read when you do not want to read something complex.

I would like to give the book 3 stars. Thanks to Book Sirens for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

Read full review on bibliophileverse.blogspot.com

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC free from BookSirens and this is my voluntary honest review.
Three chilling tales!
Such a creative idea!
It contained unnecessary cuss words! Not really needed.
The writing style was different. Kind of choppy, but it held my attention. It was a page turner! Find out for yourself!
Read!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was very lucky to read Jeff Polman’s collection of strange LA tales early. The book drops Jan. 11 and I rec it for anyone who wants frightening tales set in the strange fame-starved hell that is Los Angeles. Fave of three was the screenplay LOVED ONES