Horror Story Review: "Smoke Fantasy" by Thomas R. Jordan

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This brief tale involves a writer who, while he can imagine his villain’s traits, can’t picture his villain. He worries he’s beginning to lose his ability to write. Maybe it’s because he’s written so many character like this. The first paragraph in this fair-to-middling story is nicely evocative: “The hour hand was close on to one o’clock, and Sanderson was still working on his latest story. His reading lamp was the only light burning in the lonely house, and shadows clustered in the corner of the library waiting for their chance to be rulers of the night.” Sanderson gets up, stares out the window into the rain, looking for inspiration. He notices the smoke from his cigarette in the ashtray starting to form a cloud in the corner. In the gathering mist, he thinks he sees his villain. Alas! This story offers no surprises, even though I did like the opening. The only one who appeared surprised was Sanderson. I could not find any info on author Thomas R. Jordan nor could find an online copy of this story. _____ Title: “Smoke Fantasy” Author: Thomas R. Jordan (no bio info available) First published: Weird Tales March 1939 Source: ISFDB