Pepper’s Ghost Second Edition Now Available

The second edition of my first novel Pepper’s Ghost is now available. Read the first chapter, and while you’re there, sign up as a subscriber. My fiction and updates reach your inbox once a month. I love sharing extraordinary stories (fiction short and long) about ordinary Americans. Good stories don’t, and shouldn’t have to, conformContinue reading “Pepper’s Ghost Second Edition Now Available”

ScreenCraft Cinematic Short-Story Competition and Pepper’s Ghost Second Edition

My short story “Cash In the Past” is a quarterfinalist for the 2024 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short-Story Competition. Also: Pepper’s Ghost second edition available 22 February 2024. And while you’re there, sign up as a subscriber. My fiction and updates reach your inbox once a month. I love sharing extraordinary stories (fiction short and long) aboutContinue reading “ScreenCraft Cinematic Short-Story Competition and Pepper’s Ghost Second Edition”

Year-End Goals and Joys, Pepper’s Ghost Second Edition, and Advance Readers’ Copies

And while you’re there on Substack, sign up as a subscriber. My fiction and updates reach your inbox once a month. I love sharing extraordinary stories (fiction short and long) about ordinary Americans. Good stories don’t, and shouldn’t have to, conform to the dominant aesthetics and politics.

Pepper’s Ghost Second Edition Cover, Release Date, and Advance Readers’ Copies

BEHOLD THE GORILLA-GIRL! Charlotte Alexandra Long is determined to leave all she knows: her ill-fitting office job, her unreliable boyfriend, and the city she has lived in since adolescence. But leaving that life requires leaving her haunted father who wants nothing but the best for her yet reminds her of a past he’s not readyContinue reading “Pepper’s Ghost Second Edition Cover, Release Date, and Advance Readers’ Copies”

Happy Halloween: “Christ Air” on Substack. Plus: Pepper’s Ghost second edition update.

A mother retrieves her son’s birthday gift from diabolical hands. I compose myself and follow the route my map suggests and stand under a sign shaped like a fist jammed into a pig’s backside. The metal gate creaks open, and out steps a family of four dressed in black except for the daughter dressed likeContinue reading “Happy Halloween: “Christ Air” on Substack. Plus: Pepper’s Ghost second edition update.”

Pepper’s Ghost Second Edition, 2024 Coverfly’s ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition, and Inroads on hoopla

And while you’re there, sign up as a subscriber. My fiction and updates reach your inbox once a month. I love sharing extraordinary stories (fiction short and long) about ordinary Americans. Good stories don’t, and shouldn’t have to, conform to the dominant aesthetics and politics.

“Like Land Does” – A story from Inroads

A few semis cruise through the parking lot or rumble alive. Landscapers take a break from mowing. A delivery-truck driver jabbers with them before loading a dolly. No one honks at me to have my pump or pulls into empty stalls. My legs are already numb from the first hour of sitting—a few more left.Continue reading ““Like Land Does” – A story from Inroads”

Inroads: Stories – Now Available

I’m pleased to announce Inroads, my second short-story collection (and fifth book), is now available. Thank you to everyone who helped produce and promote this. Extraordinary stories about ordinary Americans. A stock-car driver gets money any way he can for his son’s birthday present. A girl meets a horse for the first time. Two firefighters helpContinue reading “Inroads: Stories – Now Available”

“Clean Slate” – A story from Inroads and NetGalley

Inside the SUV, Gerald uncovers his phone from beneath a stained and wrinkled copy of the festival’s schedule highlighting the Tasting Grand Prize and its amount; in the margins—Mark’s calculations for new equipment, additions to the brewery, more marketing; on the reverse side—Gerald’s scribbles and ideas for labels and brands. But the screen flashing NEWContinue reading ““Clean Slate” – A story from Inroads and NetGalley”

Inroads Now Available on NetGalley

Inroads, my latest short-story collection, is now available on NetGalley, and you can help promote it before and after it’s published on 23 March 2023. If you are a NetGalley member, you can read, review, and recommend it. If not, sign up and be part of a community helping authors and publishers promote digital-review copiesContinue reading “Inroads Now Available on NetGalley”