The Tale of the Yankee Traveler

When Jimmy Underwood meets Ray Bradbury, an author he has idolized for most of his adult life, he is traumatized by the encounter. The problem is that Ray Bradbury has been dead and gone for seven years, but this guy looks just like Ray, talks like Ray, writes like Ray, and even signs his name like Ray. Thus begins the stalking of a man who both is and isn't Ray Bradbury. But if he isn't, who—or what—could he be? The truth is sometimes a stone best left unturned. It's the worst problem a human being can have—how can Jimmy not get home to the truth? Because one way or the other, the truth always changes you forever.

The Tale of the Yankee Traveler, a bit longer than the average short story, is a tale of mystery, compulsion, and ultimately a lesson in courtesy from the author dubbed by ArtPlanet as "The Titan of Texas Fiction."