Bill Hebner

Sci-Fi stories from a hidden bar on Long Island. The regulars have humor, heartache, and empathy to spare. This is the second of his first two books about the bar (the first is Callahan's Crosstime Salloon), both filled with short stories, and its regular crowd of barflies. I don't want to give away anything more, story-wise, but these books have created multiple communities online that go back to USENET, if not farther. Spider has his alter ego, Jake, as a character for the purpose of telling the stories first hand, but even he has his own story to tell. The only other piece I'll impart is the motto of the bar, which so many fans have taken to heart and is the central theme of all the iterations of the virtual Callahans' pubs: "Shared pain is lessened, shared joy increased." It's a simple premise with lots of heart and compassion.