"Lucifer Falls"

I had stories in Volume 1 and Volume 2 of Michael Bracken's Mickey Finn anthology series, sat out Volume 3, and returned for Volume 4 with this story.

"Lucifer Falls" is a one-off, told in the first person by a top editor at a top New York publishing house. He's unhappily married, and when he and his trophy wife Lucille take a vacation in upstate NY's Finger Lakes region, he has some tough decisions to make about his (and her, and their) future.

Lucifer Falls is a real waterfall in Robert H. Treman State Park, and Laurie and I were there during an anniversary trip to Conesus Lake in 2021. I often write stories set in places we've visited, and that's what happened here after — unlike the couple in the story — we both returned home safe and sound. I played around some with the story's layout: since the narrator is an editor, I included some editorial "notes to self," which Michael originally thought I'd left in by mistake! Fortunately, he sent me a proof to check pre-publication, and I was able to tell him those notes are actually part of the story!

Mickey Finn 4 was published by Down and Out Books in December 2023. Sadly, Down and Out went out of business with no advance warning in October of 2025, orphaning literally hundreds of novels and anthologies and leaving their authors and editors -- as well as the authors and editors of novels and anthologies scheduled for publication but as yet unpublished -- scrambling to find alternate homes for their books. As of October 29, 2025, it might be possible to find a copy of Mickey Finn 4, new or used, somewhere online, but it might not be. When and if editor Michael Bracken is able to find a publisher to rerelease it, I'll update this page with a link to show where it's available.

Return to Bibliography.