Stories
A sampling of my stories that live online.
A funny fave first, then all the rest in reverse chron order.
“Grading Bad” in Go Read Your Lunch, a Breaking Bad parody. Also published in Hobart.
“River Bottom” in Spelk, December 1, 2017. It can take years to dip back into the water.
“Letter to My Screwtop Friends” in riverbabble, June, 2016. A tale of temptation.
Painting: “The Sirens and Ulysses” by William Etty. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Study: Summer Vines” in Referential Magazine, June, 2016.
“Grace Note” in Flash Frontier, June, 2016, on theme “Stolen.”
“Dogs And Apples” in Story Shack, June 11, 2016. Illustration by Allen Forrest.
“Triple-X Hot” in right hand pointing, June 2016, Issue 99. A story of exxx-cess.
“Dhoti” in Matter Press, May 17, 2016 (previously in print in 2014 in Firewords Quarterly). Old man in a fog and the two grown daughters who wrestle with his fate.
“Oxygen Tank” in Spelk, May 16, 2016. Aging and a particular yearning.
“Author Bios from an Ancient Lit Reading” in The Higgs Weldon, May 13, 2016. Humor.
SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA, pen name THE BUDDHA, authored The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. Or did he? He, and I, and you, and they, are free of the illusion of authorship and not attached to the material. (and more … )
“Snickers Doodles” in Serving House Journal, Spring 2016. Love and scat.
“The Watcher” in gravel, April 2016. “The man took the fourth floor Hayes Valley walkup despite his pained legs and shortness of breath for the view it afforded of the young woman’s apartment across the street.”
“Good Answer” in Spartan, March 2016.
“Power Suit” in Pure Slush, March 2016.
“Special Project: Malala” in Revolution John, March 2016. Inside a troll’s mind.
(Where Trolls Belong – image by Doug Wildman via flickr creative commons)
“Anemones” in Flash Frontier‘s dance–themed issue, February 2016.
“For The Record” in 101 Words, February 2016.
“Lockbox” in Revolution John, January 2016.
“The First Man” in 101 Words, January 2016.
“Wedding Garden” in 101 Words, January 2016.
“The Death of a Well Liked Man” in Postcard Shorts, December 2015.
“A Sandal Scandal” in 101 Words, December 2015.
“Butterfly, Brick” in The Good Men Project, December 2014. Previously published in Nat. Brut. She said, he said, Venus, Mars.
“A Man Forbid” in SFWP, December 2014. A long–form Macbeth riff set in a California prison. “Sleep shall neither day nor night hang upon his penthouse lid/He shall live a man forbid.” See it read here on YouTube.
“That’s Not Love?” in 100 word story, September 2014.
“The New Captain Crunch Commerical” in Feathertale, August 2014. What do those bad boys do under there?
“Night Bloomer” in Doorknobs And Bodypaint, August 2014. Navigate to Issue No. 75 in the archive, left–hand margin.
“One Clear Shot” in Foundling Review, August 2014.
“Rabbit And The Professor” in Thrice Fiction, August 2014, at page 32. An odd couple. Illustration by David Simmer.
“The Charioteer” in Blue Lotus Review, July 2014.
“Elmore” in Mad Hat Lit, July 2014. “Elmore, twelve, listened to news radio under the covers. Health care mandates and budget battles, hiring freezes and tax reform. A world of magic inside that box.”
“Dough Boy” in Santa Fe Writers Project Journal, June 2014. He needs to knead. Previously published in Sugar Mule.
“Jolly” in right hand pointing, 2014. “Jia Li.”
“A Death In Venice” in Referential, June 2014.
“Sam Damn” in Foliate Oak, June 2014. “My very first words were `Sam I am.'”
“A Swingin’ Cat” in Story Shack, June 2014. Teen party. Illustration by Hannah Nolan.
“The Driving Instructor” in Mojave River Review, Summer 2014 at page 198. ” … and now his stare’s crawling over my chest.”
“Emerald Beauties” in SFWP, May 2014. Dorothy from The Wizard Of Oz in a realistic Dust Bowl context. A Shortlisted Finalist and a Notable Mention for Alternating Current’s 2016 Charter Oak Award for Best Historical Fiction.
“Crush” in Connotation Press, March 2014.
“Esther Taulitz” in Connotation Press, March 2014. (Scroll to second story)
“Cowboy Soul” in Boston Literary Magazine, Spring 2014. “He just couldn’t lie, and she loved him for that …”
“Our World, Your Home” in Two Words For Fiction, April 2014. An homage to Kazuo Ishiguro, with a nod to Mad Men.
“The Muffin Man” in Cheap Pop, April 2014.
“Mud Boy” in Story Shack, March 2014. Mud boy, blood boy. Illustration by Cait Maloney.
And read here with Writing Without Walls at Beast Crawl, 2015.
“The Constant Cap” in Pithead Chapel, January 2014. Old dude won’t doff his cap for the Anthem. See it read as part of Quiet Lightning’s collaboration with the 25th annual National Poetry Slam on August 9th, 2014 in Oakland.
“Bitter Root” in Zouch, January 2014. “It’s seasoned with tears.”
“Don’t Like This” in Literary Juice. Facebook. Baaa!
“Bobbing Heads” in Boston Literary Magazine, Summer 2014. “Those are heads floating by, ten or twelve floating heads …”
“Bed Buds” in Postcard Shorts, March 2014. Man, cat and dog all, all in a bed.
“Fig Tree Gazing” in SFWP, February 2014. “A fig tree, gazing on a fig tree, becometh fruitful.” Previously published in Compass Rose.
“Striving For Perfection” in Grey Sparrow Journal, January 2014. PR, idealism, and layoffs.
“The Roadkill Collector” in Mojave River Review, Winter 2014 at page 163. Illustration is the cover of the flash collection The Roadkill Collection. See Books page of this site.
“Del” in riverbabble, Winter 2013. (Also in print in Thema)
“Hunger For Peace: A Mob Fairy Tale” in Beatdom. Homemade hippie gonzo flick.
“The Douchbag at the Gym” in Postcard Shorts, December 2013.
“Raspberry Jell–O” in Black Heart Magazine, December 2013. “I loved girl things but I didn’t even know I was doing them ’til I got punched in middle school.”
“Hanna–Barbera” in Postcard Shorts, November 2013.
“Beauty Interference” in Full Of Crow, Fall 2013. Football and the French.
“My Peace” in Crack The Spine, November 2013. Father, son, bonding, gun. At page 6.
“A Zinzinnati Red” in Doorknobs And Bodypaint, September 2013. Communism and baseball in the midst of the Cold War. Navigate to Issue No. 71 via the archive, left–hand margin. Hayward Fault Line contest winner.
“Search Committee” in Doorknobs And Bodypaint, September 2013. Navigate to Issue No. 71 via the archive, left–hand margin
“Commas in the Right Place” in Doorknobs And Bodypaint, May 2013. I mean, what is writing, really? Dorsal contest winner. Navigate to No. 70 via the archive, left margin.
“The Dickens Code” in Doorknobs & Bodypaint, May 2013. updating of Great Expectations in micro. Navigate to No. 70 via the archive, left margin.
“Truby” in Word Riot, 2013. “When Michael Truby lost his job …”
“The Short Happy Life of J. Alfred Macomber” in Zouch, July 2013.
“Sherman Zahd” in Hobo Pancakes, June 2013. This story was originally published in Mobius (print) and has also appeared in Pulse. “Oh god, Sherman’s odd, crazy little Sherman Zahd.”
“Pop-up” in Grey Sparrow Journal, Spring 2013. “Dude was crazy.” Baseball stuff.
“Rearview” in riverbabble, Summer 2012. Father–son stuff.
“Apollo’s Light” in Doorknobs And Bodypaint, November 2011. First place, Hayward Fault Line contest. Beware of Greeks bearing prophecies. Navigate to Issue No. 64 via the archive, left–hand margin.
“Blue–Aahd Monkihs” in Doorknobs And Bodypaint, November 2011. Evolution and Scopes. November, 2011. Navigate to Issue No. 64 via the archive, left margin.
“Insidious” in Doorknobs And Bodypaint, August 2011. Navigate to Issue No. 63 via the archive, left margin.
“Donuts” in riverbabble, Winter 2011.
“The Deke” in Switchback, Spring 2011. Here I read it at the Switchback launch party. In the picture I’m reading it at Litcrawl 2011.
“Woodsmen” in riverbabble, Winter 2010. Dad, teen son, Wordsworth in the woods.
“Ryan’s Catch” in Slow Trains, 2010. You’d most likely have to like baseball to like it.
“Worms” in Prick Of The Spindle, June 2010. Had anyone ever sung this as a blues? “Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I’ll go eat worms.” He sang it as a teardrop dirge dripped straight into the freshly-dug earth.
