No Crab

About the Book

No Crab includes several short stories by Delbert Devins.  Written with a science-fiction bent with twists that hearken back to O. Henry.  Known more as a novelist, Devins explores shows us stories of people swallowed by the horror not necessarily of their own creation:  a young man stumbles across a formula to predict the stock market; a man with no identity in a mental ward tries to lead his psychiatrist to an answer; another man is convinced he can diagnose disease merely by observation; another man tries to convince people he can learn to play the piano by merely watching.  Each of these shows the character struggling with science and colliding with common sense, a journey that leads the reader to its conclusion, the story of the wind and the trees that makes us all wonder about our behavior, what it means to be human, and the nasty predilection we have for killing each other.

No Crab includes several novel excerpts from Silence Whittaker’s first book, The Stone Gods Did Not Make A Sound – material that is in different form or taken out altogether.  Accompanied with insight and commentary from the author, each becomes a mirror for the creative process and provides insight into decision-making and the triumph of economy over verbosity.  Also included is Whittaker’s latest work, One Trick Pony, set on a non-public school campus for emotionally disturbed children who are unable to function in public schools because of violent or sexual behavior.  It is a story about a young teacher learning to trust but also not to trust, a young girl learning to believe in herself, and a young man struggling against what everybody has been telling him all his life – that he’s not useless.

About the Author

Delbert Devins was a researcher, physics professor, and president of an electronics company before he retired in 1996. His Jake and Rhonda books trace criminal investigations of forgotten crimes, centered in the California desert but focused nation-wide. This is the first collection of his shorter work. Silence Whittaker (Matthew Devins) has written three books and teaches emotionally disturbed children in Turlock, CA. His other books through Xlibris are titled, The Stone Gods Did Not Make a Sound and A Thing So Small. He has won several awards for his short fiction.