Their Guts,
My Garland
A detective story from a reality that won’t stay put.
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Optional book updates as the story takes shape.
The case · A novel in progress
A woman vanishes.
Reality doesn’t stay put.
On Halloween night in present-day New Jersey, a woman appears outside a roadside diner, clutching a leather-bound book. Moments later, she vanishes.
Detective Tannen has seen strange things before. But as he follows the case, the ordinary world begins to feel less certain—and the fractures in reality may lead closer to home than he knows.
The world of the book
Some things don’t stay in one place.
Here, reality splits. A room can be almost the same, a life almost familiar, and a small change can be enough to make everything feel wrong.
A missing person. An impossible book. A New Jersey night that keeps getting stranger.
A surreal horror mystery with detective fiction, dark humor, and a little Christmas unease.
Look closer at the book
Only fragments are visible: Dys … Pher.
A glimpse inside
“We split in dreams. We split in thoughts.”
In the introduction, a voice called Sunny offers a first look at Detective Tannen and the strange idea at the heart of his world.
Notice anything different?
In one version, the coffee mug is blue. In another, it’s red.
Is this book for you?
For readers who like their mysteries a little strange.
If you’re drawn to uncanny small-town encounters, shifting realities, detective stories with a pulpy edge, and humor in unexpected places, there’s something here for you.
The novel contains graphic violence and adult language. The free sample is the introduction.
About the writer
Meet Joey
Pedras.
A story nearly 20 years in the making
I first started this story as a short story on Myspace almost 20 years ago. It stayed with me, changed with me, and grew into Their Guts, My Garland.
I’m inspired by the work of David Lynch and Kurt Vonnegut, the mysteries of Christmas, and the ways an individual can change over time. This book brings those interests into a world of detectives, impossible encounters, and realities that refuse to sit still.
I’m Joey Pedras—a writer and creator who shares stories, film and television commentary, and the strange things that stay with us.
More from Joey
Step into another story.
Explore more short fiction, from strange encounters to stories of memory, loss, and the unexpected.
Swipe or scroll to explore →
- 01 / SHORT STORY
The Peaches
A childhood encounter at a peach tree follows Sarah into a chilling future.
Read The Peaches → - 02 / SHORT STORY
Mountaintops
A soul stranded on a snowy mountain reflects on survival, loss, and gratitude.
Read Mountaintops → - 03 / SHORT STORY
Red Wood
A red room, a dead lizard, and a memory that refuses to stay buried.
Read Red Wood → - 04 / SHORT STORY
Into The Slip
Featherman moves through a shifting landscape where time and identity blur.
Read Into The Slip → - 05 / SHORT STORY
Soda Man
A town of moths and a forest where time seems to stand still.
Read Soda Man → - 06 / SHORT STORY
ENTRY 33
A missing teenager’s writings point to a maze and a reality beyond comprehension.
Read ENTRY 33 → - 07 / SHORT STORY
The Scots
A man encounters a strange afterlife of bagpipes, suburbia, and moral questions.
Read The Scots → - 08 / SHORT STORY
Following Into Smoke
After his mother’s death, a man enters a surreal world within her apartment.
Read Following Into Smoke →
An early look
Enter the world before the book is finished.
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Get the introduction ↑Their Guts, My Garland is a novel in progress.
A message left behind
“When the night is too bright, find us.”
— Sunny