The teachers' block at Thunder Crack High School was strictly off-limits. But when the bird kept by the monstrous Ms Ito began to affect the students' study, three brave boys hatched a plan to free it. But would they be able to outwit the dangerous Ms Ito, she of the wild hair and the brutal roundhouse chop? Would they be able to get past the ninja sentry and into the teachers' block? And was what they would find even a bird at all?Previously published in Weird Tales 352 (Dec 2008), Ms Ito's Bird is the lead story in a collection that veers from comic fantasy through dark sci-fi horror, action adventure and back again. Elsewhere we will find a car that doesn't like to be stolen, a jealous painting, and a mother-in-law who refuses to stop interfering, even after death.Nine of the ten stories in this collection have been previously published in various magazines including Weird Tales, Afterburn SF and Dark Recesses Press.A proud and noble Cornishman (and to a lesser extent British), Chris Ward ran off to live and work in Japan back in 2004. There he got married, got a decent job, and got a cat. He remains pure to his Cornish/British roots while enjoying the inspiration of living in a foreign country.He is the author of 33 published stories (the same number as his age) and the novels The Tube Riders and The Man Who Built the World.