Louis Shalako

Biography

Louis Shalako is the founder of Long Cool One Books and the author of twenty-four novels, numerous novellas and other short stories. Louis studied Radio, Television and Journalism Arts at Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology, later going on to study fine art. He began writing for community newspapers and industrial magazines over thirty years ago. His stories appear in publications including Perihelion Science Fiction, Bewildering Stories, Aurora Wolf, Ennea, Wonderwaan, Algernon, Nova Fantasia, and Danse Macabre. He lives in southern Ontario and writes full time. Louis enjoys cycling, swimming and good books.

Smashwords Interview

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a small, grimy, northern industrial town. The incentives to leave were very strong, but in order to leave one must have a skill.
When did you first start writing?
I returned to school in 1983 to study Radio, TV and Journalism Arts, so I must have been writing sometime before that.
Read more of this interview.

Books

A Stranger In Paris
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 61,430. Language: English. Published: April 29, 2023 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Historical
A Stranger In Paris is the ninth in the Inspector Gilles Maintenon Mystery Series. Gilles faces the most diabolical killer in years. The dead, blameless young men in the sunshine of life, are piling up. With political ferment and a busy and distracted police department, it’s a case of too many clues and not enough time.
Tactics of Delay
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 109,460. Language: English. Published: November 2, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Military, Fiction » Science fiction » Adventure
Outnumbered ten to one, Confederation forces under Lieutenant-Colonel Dona Graham must successfully defend the planet Denebola-Seven from an invasion of Unfriendly Forces, acting on behalf of the Mining Worlds and the Conglomerate.
A Submission to the Government of Canada on the Subject of Poverty Reduction
Price: Free! Words: 2,950. Language: English. Published: February 17, 2017 . Categories: Nonfiction » Politics & Current Affairs » Social policy, Nonfiction » Politics & Current Affairs » Social security & pensions
This is the one they don't want you to read. It has been suppressed on the government website. A submission to the Government of Canada on the subject of poverty reduction and housing. A highly-trained Canadian journalist, Louis Shalako has been embedded in this story for 20 + years.
Breakout
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 7,840. Language: English. Published: February 9, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Military, Fiction » Science fiction » Hard sci-fi
When the enemy heavy cruiser Scimitar disappears from her berth, Captain Jamie Maszco and the crew of Wolf and her sister ships must search in the blind for an enemy that is very stealthy—and very deadly. Space is getting distinctly warm around here. A short story of science fiction and the very near future.
The Golden BB
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 5,030. Language: English. Published: February 6, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Hard sci-fi, Fiction » Science fiction » Adventure
The first interstellar probe in human history has a mind of its own—or rather, four of them. A short science fiction story of the very near future.
The Confessor
Series: The Maintenon Mysteries. Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 62,390. Language: English. Published: November 6, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Historical
Investigating the bow and arrow murder of Marko Dubzek at a naturist park just south of town presents Inspector Gilles Maintenon with a pretty pickle indeed. The eighth in Louis Shalako’s The Inspector Gilles Maintenon Mystery Series, this intriguing noir mystery will not disappoint.
Operation Vermont
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 5,140. Language: English. Published: September 23, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Military, Fiction » Science fiction » Adventure
(2.00 from 1 review)
There's more than one way to skin a cat, or take out a star cruiser in Louis Shalako's science fiction, action-adventure short story of the near future.
# 99 Easy Street
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 60,700. Language: English. Published: May 12, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Historical
Mark is a jazz trumpeter just released from a mental institution. Amy, a recent graduate from the New School, is an anthropologist studying lifelong bachelorhood in the modern urban context. A dead hooker in the bathtub seriously complicates matters just when things are getting interesting. Life is not all it seems at #99 Easy St. It is, however, better than some of the alternatives.
The Golden Dragon
Series: The Maintenon Mysteries. Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 61,140. Language: English. Published: March 26, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Traditional British
Opera star Largo Banzini is killed by a dart from a blowgun at the end of Act One of The Golden Dragon. It’s an impossible crime, and Inspector Gilles Maintenon, who lost his wife Ann only a short time ago, has been a bit off lately. This is the seventh volume in The Inspector Gilles Maintenon Mystery Series.
Commerce Raider
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 6,380. Language: English. Published: February 22, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Space opera, Fiction » Science fiction » Steampunk & retropunk
Hughy Terson, midshipman aboard the commerce raider Aquila, has charge of the prize crew aboard the captured passenger liner Princess. He’s an outlaw in the eyes of the Oligarchy. Getting Aquila to a safe haven is challenge enough. The beautiful and enigmatic Griffa Kathria Marte is another problem. Only a fool would trust her, or fall under her spell. A short and gripping space opera.
Armed Reconnaissance
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 3,350. Language: English. Published: December 11, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Military, Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories
(4.00 from 2 reviews)
Even in space there is a need for reconnaissance. A 'consultant' named Smith and Colonel Ann 'Screwball' McCluskey are going in harm's way. They have to see what's behind that nebulous cloud, especially after losing so many of their friends to an ambush. What they will find is anybody's guess but it can't be good. A short story of military science fiction.
How to Rob a Bank
Series: The Maintenon Mysteries. Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 64,270. Language: English. Published: August 29, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Traditional British
(4.00 from 1 review)
Inspector Gilles Maintenon has finally run up against an original mind—someone who’s very good at wasting his time. Their killer, using simple human psychology, has come up with a brilliant plan. Gilles would dearly love to meet the mind that conceived of that plan. He intends to do just that.
Speak Softly My Love
Series: The Maintenon Mysteries. Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 62,410. Language: English. Published: May 4, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Historical
To fall in love is to be young again. To count the cost is to die a little bit inside. In Speak Softly My Love, Inspector Gilles Maintenon goes out for a quart of milk and stumbles across a dead man. The trouble is, when the dead get up and walk away. They have one too many missing-person reports, too many wives, girlfriends and other mysterious blondes.
Under Your Skin
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 33,480. Language: English. Published: March 21, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire
Under Your Skin is a collection of short fiction. Nineteen of the edgiest stories from Louis Shalako.
The Conqueror
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 64,260. Language: English. Published: January 15, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Historical, Fiction » Mashups
The Great Khan, Jumalak of the Horde, leads a victorious army which must be fed and which might be dangerous to disband. His navy has doubled in size in two or three short years. His neighbours, including King Lowren of Lemnia and Eleanora, Queen of Windermere, can see which way the wind is blowing. In the coming conflict it will not be possible to remain neutral. An alternate universe.
Convoy Duty
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 3,580. Language: English. Published: December 18, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Military, Fiction » Adventure » Action
The Nike and other Fleet units are convoying a small fleet of civilian ships to Cancri system. When one of their number goes up like a flashbulb, it quickly becomes clear that the enemy has developed some new and very stealthy little ships. The civilian vessels can run and scatter, but flagship Nike's duty is clear. The one thing they will not do is turn their backs. A short story.
The Birdmen of Kor
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 3,400. Language: English. Published: November 28, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories, Fiction » Fantasy » Short stories
The bird men of Kor live in a brutal world that is very different in spite of its savage beauty. Whether it's hunting, mating or just soaring in the clouds, a strict hierarchy of status and merit is observed. As for the females, they are a prized commodity. It's open season at all times. A short science-fiction fantasy.
Anna
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 3,240. Language: English. Published: November 4, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » General, Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories
Anna changed my life. Anna was the perfect woman for an emotional cripple. She really brought me out of my shell. I'd been on the inside for a long time. Now I'm retired, just some scholarly old gentleman with his young wife. I even ditched the .45 Colt for Anna.
Leap of Faith
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 3,920. Language: English. Published: November 3, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Military, Fiction » Science fiction » Hard sci-fi
It was a leap of faith every time. The odds were always against them. Dropping into a deep-penetration strategic reconnaissance mission from near space takes a strong personality. Angela Yancey needs to get through to Jason Bridger before he kills them both. A short story.
Architect of His Own Destruction
Series: The Maintenon Mysteries. Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 66,230. Language: English. Published: October 27, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled
Aldrich Tobias, the man the critics love to hate, sits in La Prison Santé, awaiting the guillotine. The President of the Republic has asked Detective-Sergeant Gilles Maintenon to take another look into the case. According to Aldrich Tobias, ‘The artist is mad—always mad.” Maintenon is about to find out what that really means.
The Mysterious Case of Betty Blue
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 58,900. Language: English. Published: October 21, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Utopias & dystopias
Betty Blue is a personal companion to Olympia Cartier and worth an estimated $3.8 million. She's also a robot. Betty Blue opens the front door one evening and simply walks away. Why would she do such a thing? Is it a malfunction, or did something else happen? She's like a daughter to Olympia and her industrialist husband Doyle. Olympia is worried about Betty, lost and alone in America, 2030 A.D.
El Riñón
Price: Free! Words: 3,420. Language: Catalan. Published: October 17, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General
Harry ha hecho algún tipo de una partitura. Robo de un vehículo, bloqueado o desbloqueado, es lo mismo para él. Traje de baño tome lo que pueden obtener. Son lo suficientemente agradecidos a permanecer alto y hacerlo durante todo el día. La única pregunta es ¿cuál es en la cajita ingeniosa. Tal vez su amigo Mike podrá abrirlo. Una historia terror cortos.
The Kidney
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 3,440. Language: English. Published: October 12, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General
Harry has made some kind of a score. Theft from a vehicle, locked or unlocked, it's all the same to him. Speedos take what they can get and are grateful enough just to make it through the day . The only question is what's in the nifty little box. Perhaps his old friend Mike will be able to open it. A short horror story.
Buried Alive: the Death of Frederigo Velazquez
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 2,700. Language: English. Published: October 12, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General
Frederigo Velazquez is having a pretty good life so far. Getting a little older now, it's wise to plan for his familiy's future. The pre-paid funeral plan is one thing. The plush coffin with the emergency call button on the inside of the lid may not have been such a good idea. Especially since it doesn't seem to work.
Love, Money, Sex and Death in the 21st Century
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 24,270. Language: English. Published: January 18, 2014 . Categories: Nonfiction » Science & Nature » Evolution, Nonfiction » Social Science » Future Studies
Love, Money, Sex and Death. A mind-blowing series of essays concerning ten ethical and moral dilemmas facing modern science as well as the rest of humanity. The 21st Century is sure going to be interesting. A non-fiction hypertext, illustrated.
35 Again
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 2,110. Language: English. Published: January 3, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories
Doctor Horace Brooks has never met a patient he doesn’t like. He’s careful to go over all the issues with husband and wife before proceeding with gene-therapy and the modern fountain of youth. The only question is whether anyone is listening. Trendy country club members Ed and Michelle Newell being a good case in point.
The Fae
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 2,390. Language: English. Published: January 3, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Short stories
(4.50 from 2 reviews)
Blanchard has been tramping all up and down this valley with a rucksack and a camera on his back for as long as he can remember. And yet there is something, someone else out there. After exactly two short glimpses and a few indistinct tracks in the mud, he’s determined to get the shot of a lifetime. A short fantasy story.
Blessed Are the Humble
Series: The Maintenon Mysteries. Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 67,520. Language: English. Published: November 19, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled
It was a crime of pure arrogance. Madame Muriel Ducharme was murdered in what looks like a break-in gone wrong. It’s a little too pat for Inspector Gilles Maintenon. Nothing appears to have been taken, but the killer has thought of that too.
Planeta Fantasma
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 38,170. Language: Spanish. Published: November 15, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Literature » Literary, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire
Una colección de historias satíricas de la mente perversa de Louis Shalako.
Dark Satires
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 41,900. Language: English. Published: October 18, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Literary collections » Canadian
Dark Satires is a collection of short fiction with the focus on fun. Stories like The Kidney, The Death of Frederigo Velasquez, The Hive, and News From the Future will set you back in your chair, raise your eyebrows, elevate your heart-rate and quicken your pulse. Not for the faint of heart or the overly-sensitive.
Third World
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 63,550. Language: English. Published: October 14, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Adventure
Hank Beveridge and Lieutenant Newton Shapiro are a couple of nice guys whose worlds just happen to collide. Hank's getting up in years and Newton has his first independent field command. On Third World, women of marrying age are scarce as hen's teeth. Hank's still looking though. Newton has a job to do, no matter who gets hurt. The Empire is a long ways away, but the locals are at least peaceable.
Lottery of Death
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 4,160. Language: English. Published: September 28, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories
War is hell, according to William Tecumseh Sherman. That was then. Now, war is a game played by established rules, by mutual agreement, by gentlemen, and only when all other means of problem resolution have failed. Suffering, real human misery, can be reduced or even eliminated when war is kept within boundaries. War is a much more attractive prospect in this satirical look at war in the future.
Ghost Planet
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 38,820. Language: English. Published: September 21, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories
A collection of short stories from the evil mind of Louis Shalako.
Engines of Creation
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 38,430. Language: English. Published: September 14, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Literary collections » Canadian
(1.00 from 1 review)
Short stories that pack a punch, including science fiction, fantasy, satire, humour, and a strangely uplifting mild horror. A collection.
Repelatron Raceway
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 14,620. Language: English. Published: September 13, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Hard sci-fi
Brett Harden, 21 years old and Formula E World Champion, is third in the Repelatron Racing series. He also sits third on the grid at the Las Vegas Grand Prix for anti-gravity, 'repelatron' cars. The series is heating up and drawing world-wide attention from race fans everywhere. Always in the back of his mind is the love of his life, Melanie. The time for some sort of decision is looming.
Nanobots in the Lawn
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 2,470. Language: English. Published: September 11, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Hard sci-fi
It's just another working day for Fred Thorsen when he arrives at the Wheatley's for a little lawn maintenance. Unfortunately, the bug and weed-killing nano-bots in the slurry he's applying have other ideas. As long as you don't snort it, it's perfectly safe...right? A short story.
The Healer
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 4,930. Language: English. Published: September 9, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Space opera
Kyle Mootrey is a cute guy and everything, but Rebecca is beginning to wonder what he’s up to. The Earth colonists from Ark Two are settling in to what turns out to be a rather barren planet. Kyle is hoping Rebecca can keep a secret. Kyle has an alien friend who is hurt, and only Rebecca can help. A short story.
Nano-robots dans la Pelouse
Price: Free! Words: 2,670. Language: French. Published: September 1, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Weird fiction
Technicien de maintenance de triage Fred Thorsen n'a pas été vu telle une mauvaise journée jusqu'à ce qu'il arrivé à la maison grandiose de la Wheatley. Ensuite, les choses commencent à aller un peu de mal. Telle est la vie. Une histoire d’horreur courte.
The Assassins
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 7,290. Language: English. Published: February 15, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » Classical Greece & Rome
Emperor Domitian hates Christians. He isn't too fond of philosophers either. The Assassins will cut anyone's throat for a few pieces of gold, so that's no problem. The popular Heron of Alexandria is brash and outspoken. In addition to teaching school and building an aeolipile, history's first reaction motor, he has some other surprising skills.
The Art of Murder
Series: The Maintenon Mysteries. Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 63,350. Language: English. Published: October 31, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled
Inventor Theo Duval appeared to be having the perfect life. A locked room with the only key in the decedent’s pocket, a book on hypnotism, and one very rich and very dead inventor, present Inspector Gilles Maintenon of the Surete with a problem. Why would a young, healthy, successful man, one with a beautiful fiance, and a thriving company ever want to kill himself?
Horse Catcher
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 79,510. Language: English. Published: October 1, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Adventure, Fiction » Fantasy » General
Twelve thousand years later, low on reaction mass and with 20,000 colonists aboard, Ark One is coming in hot. Captain Sandra Jensen and Astrogator Dooley Peeters have a plan to save her. There is the question of how they will be received, on an Earth that has returned to barbarism. That is, if they can slow her down enough to get a shuttle away.
The Game
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 5,860. Language: English. Published: September 26, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Hard sci-fi
How much of who we are is tied up in what we know? If something wiped our 'knowledge,' or higher education, but left our basic faculties, the ability to speak and to act, would we all be created equal again? In The Game, everything must be learned the hard way. The learning curve is painful. The price of a mistake is a laser bolt through the head. A short story.
The Apparition of the Virgin
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 3,100. Language: English. Published: September 10, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories, Fiction » Mashups
At the helm on the Great Lakes, Georges is convinced the Virgin has appeared, and with a young family to support, the message has great meaning. When he's a little too insistent, people think he's mad. But all is not real in this masterful parody of an international science-fiction undersea crime thriller. A short story.
The Clone
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 2,910. Language: English. Published: August 12, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General
(4.00 from 1 review)
All it took was a human hair and the smell of the past. Cloning the first big love of your life thirty years later might not be such a good idea, even when you have the means to do it. A short story.
Snake Girl
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 2,210. Language: English. Published: July 28, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Occult
On a solo canoe trip in Algonquin Park, Mason Richards has plenty of time to think. That's not always a good thing. It's never too late to make some positive changes in your life. It might be long overdue. A short story.
The Jesus Christ Show
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 2,540. Language: English. Published: July 21, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire
Jesus Christ has his own late-night talk show, where the emphasis is on fun and truthiness. Tonight's guests include The Magnificent Louis, author of 'De-Bunking the Sasquatch Myth,' as well as Chinese acrobats and a girl who can climb into a pickle jar. A short story.
Time Storm
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 75,840. Language: English. Published: June 2, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Hard sci-fi, Fiction » Fantasy » General
(4.00 from 1 review)
Althea is the source of piezo-temporal crystals, which distort time and make interstellar space-flight possible. The planet is uninhabited, and the Company has a monopoly. Everyone has a secret, and with such a small wintering party, life can be pretty boring until everything goes terribly wrong. On Althea, staying alive is half the battle.
On the Nature of the Gods
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 66,840. Language: English. Published: March 30, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Steampunk & retropunk
If there’s one thing the evil Dr. Emile Schmitt-Rottluff can’t get enough of, it’s samples of your precious bodily fluids. He’s the gaslight era's virtuoso of illicit cloning and mind-bending manipulation of the human genome. He’s got his eye on Jeb Snead, one of the toughest men who ever lived, and his sexy mutant girlfriend, Miss Kitty.
Selected Poems
Price: $1.88 USD. Words: 4,610. Language: English. Published: February 4, 2012 . Categories: Poetry » Canadian Poetry
Poetry inspired by fantasy, nature, mythology, love and heartbreak. If poetry is the language of the soul, it's also the non-literal use of words to convey emotional meaning. It is about feelings rather than clearly-fixed ideas. There's beauty here as well as darkness.
Redemption: an Inspector Gilles Maintenon mystery
Series: The Maintenon Mysteries. Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 65,030. Language: English. Published: November 29, 2011 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled
Recently widowed and inspired by a boyhood fascination with Sherlock Holmes, the middle-aged Inspector Gilles Maintenon of the Surete is on a walking vacation of Dartmoor when he stumbles upon death in mysterious circumstances. When the woman he is falling in love with is brutally murdered, Gilles swears that he will never rest until the case is solved, the killer is caught, and justice is done.
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Louis Shalako's tag cloud

1926    21st century    35 again    99 easy street    action    action adventure    adventure    algonquin park short story    alien    alternate history    anna    apparition virgin    ark one    armed reconnaissance    assassins    beauty    bedroom comedy    betty blue    birdmen of kor    bizarro    breakout    brett harden    buried alive    canadian    classic    collecion    collection    commerce raider    crime    dark    darkness    dartmoor    death    debut    detective    detectives    dystopia    echapbook    el rinon    engines of creation    essays    fantasy    fiction    french    futurism    gamespace    ghost planet    government of canada    habitat    hardboiled    heron of alexandria    histoire courte    historias cortas    historias corte    historical    historical fiction    horreur    horror    horsecatcher    housing    how to rob a bank    humor    humour    inspector gilles maintenon    inspector maintenon    jazz    la pelouse    leap of faith    lottery of death    louis shalako    love    maintenon    maintenon mystery    military    money    murder    mystery    mystery thriller    nanobots    nanorobots    nature    noir    noir crime    nonticion    novel    novella    operation vermont    parody    pensions    philospher hero    pioneering planet    poetry    police procedural    poverty reduction    redemption    repelatron racing antigravity cars    romance    romantic adventure    satire    satiros    sature    science    science fiction    sciencefiction    series    sex    sexy robots    short    short stories    short story    snake girl    space opera    speculation    steampunk    submission    surete    tactics of delay    terror    the clone short story horror    the confessor    the conqueror    the fae    the game    the golden bb    the healer    the jesus christ show parody satire shrot story sasquatch myth the magnificent louis latenight    the kidney    third world    thriller    timestorm    traditional british    traditional british detective    under your skin    undersea    weird western    young adult    younger readers   

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