Qwilleran's short and tall tales - Lilian Jackson Braun

When Jim Qwilleran retired to Moose County (400 miles north of everywhere) with his old electric typewriter and his box of yellow lead pencils, he intended to write a book--a novel of crime and investigation with a metropolitan setting. He never finished the first page! Instead, he listened to the folktales of local people. As a journalist, Qwilleran was a good listener. He never left home without a tape recorder in his pocket.

As descendants of pioneers told stories that had been handed down for generations, Qwilleran was recording a collection of Moose County legends worth publishing. He added some historic facts, stranger than fiction, gleaned from county archives.

Now Qwilleran had his book! He titled it Short and Tall Tales. Most of the stories were short. Some may have been embellished with retelling through the years. Qwilleran's informants swore they were true -- even though some had a supernatural twist that left one wondering. . . And one of them was strictly a "tall tale"!