Fiction

This story appeared in the Winter 2019 issue of Glimmer Train.

“She thought maybe this will help. Stop in Eureka, before I get home. Maybe that will give me some ideas. Eureka! I might say.

Nothing else had worked. Not getting high before the drive, which had seemed like a good idea at . . . → Read More: Short Story: Your Lucky Day

This story appeared in the Fall, 2016 issue of Construction.

Anna had been asked to bring wine. It was what she did, after all. Each day. She brought wine and greeted customers. And came to their tables. And if she was moved, she spoke at length and if she was not, she just flashed . . . → Read More: Short Story: The Physiology of Heartbreak

Another short story about a car ride, but this one quite different. It appears in Raritan’s Summer 2015 Issue.

She got into the car. As instructed, she put the key in the ignition. She turned the key. It seemed so ridiculous. The car clicked. She turned the key again too hard. The car . . . → Read More: Short Story: Hazards

This is another car ride story, but this time of a very different nature.  It ends up in the town that is the focus of my novel, “Ghost Road.” It was published in the January/February 2013 issue of Eclectica. It made the list of the 50 most notable stories of 2013, the initial phase . . . → Read More: Short Story: The Last Highway

This is a short story I wrote about a romantic car ride. It was the story of the week at Short Story America, February 18, 2011 and has also been included in the Short Story America Anthology, Volume II.

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It was dark when they got into the car and there was rain on . . . → Read More: Short Story: Under the Hood

This short story was written in the wake of 9/11. It appeared in Confrontation 96/97 in fall 2006/2007.

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On the day of the tragedy, I went into a church and tried to pray. Having been raised without religion, I found myself unable to summon the necessary feeling, or at the very least to . . . → Read More: Short Story: Good Samaritans

This story appeared in Northwest Review, Volume 39, Number 2, 2001.

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But our contractor says, “Jerry, please.”

And of course I say yes, because I don’t know why.

Maybe I’ve gotten soft. When my child says to me, “Daddy, come on, come on,” I say, “Yes,” because it’s like revenge. Plus, my . . . → Read More: Short Story: Our Prism

This is a short story I wrote about a group of teenage girls. It appeared in Pank Magazine, in April 2009.

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Sempe has a small blue star on her right cheek that everyone thinks is a tattoo. It’s not, it’s what, when she looks in the mirror, makes her think most of her . . . → Read More: Short Story: No More White Boys

This is a short story I wrote about a lost cell phone. It was published in Pank Magazine in October 2008.

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She got into the cab on her way to the airport. She sat down and gave her instructions. “To the airport please.” The cab driver mumbled something. From what sounded like far . . . → Read More: Short Story: To Jennifer Lee, I owe you $10

This is a story about childbirth, among other things. It appeared in the Summer 2000 issue of the Laurel Review.

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“Hey,” my neighbor says to me. I’m vacuuming bits of Christmas tree outside my door. “Did you see this?”

I look down the hallway. We have never passed a civil word before this. . . . → Read More: Short Story: What Are These Feathers on Me?

This is another of several stories that explore the material that became my novel, “Ghost Road.” This story appeared in the spring, 2000 issue of Concho River Review.

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Thelonius Houston stood on the front porch, considering the view. From where he stood, he could see a plowed field, a croquet court, a ring . . . → Read More: Short Story: The Extinction of Giants

This is one of several short stories I wrote from the material that is now my novel, “Ghost Road.” This story appeared in the Fall, 1998 issue of RE:AL.

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Catherine beat her hand against the porch door, trying not to sound frantic. Inside, a sleepy-looking couple sat on an impossibly white couch. Catherine’s . . . → Read More: Short Story: Mr. and Mrs. Nowhere

This is a short story about three friends which appeared in the summer, 1996, issue of The Laurel Review.

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He begins by apologizing.

“Right here, in front of you both, my two best friends in all the world, I want to say, I’m very, very sorry.”

It doesn’t help, at least in her . . . → Read More: Short Story: Three Brazilians

This was my first published short story after college. It takes place in a car dealership and appeared in the Spring/Summer 1996 issue of Confrontation.

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Above the sales floor, little decorations, like tiny solar systems, blow in the created afternoon breeze. There’s confetti. Everywhere there are cars. New ones, gleaming ones, practical ones, . . . → Read More: Short Story: The Gull Wing Mercedes