Well, it's the holidays and what's Christmas without a ghost story? What's that you say, Christmas is hardly the time for ghost stories? Well, I disagree. In fact, I was inspired by the great Charles Dickens to pen my homage to his classic ghost story: A Christmas Carol. I hope that Chuck approves. You can always let me know what you think. You can read the story for free -- here.

I admit it. I'd gotten rusty. I hadn't written anything new for months. So when Anotherealm.com revitalized it's flash fiction contest, I decided I had to jump back in. The theme was "Stranded." As usual the who, what, where, when, and how were up to the writer. I wanted to avoid the desert island but still have the sense that my hero is a castaway -- lost in both time and space. I was extremely pleased when this story won FIRST PLACE in the contest. Always an honor. You can read the story for free here.

Survivial Skills

Jean Golstrom, the editor over at Whortleberry Press, has come up with the coolest idea -- a collection of stories about our Summer Vacations. Yes, you read it right, the bane of every shool kid's life, the dreaded: "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" essay. Only Jean's idea was to let a bunch of speculative fiction writers go at it THEIR way. My contribution? It's a post-apocalyptic view of a "man-cation" where all the macho posturing and survival games really are about survival. And how you define your machismo may have a great deal to do with the kind of man you are. You can buy the collection from Whortleberry's Lulu page here.

This is the second featured story I've had over at Anotherealm.com. It's quite an honor given that the editor has said that he tries to avoid publishing two stories by the same author in the same year. (Anotherealm.com features one story a month so there's only 12 slots.) The story itself involves a yard sale but as so many people have said about my stories: "it's never just about a yard sale." I like this one and it's had some good reactions. It's also had some responses I never anticipated since people have read into it more than I knew I was writing. Always interesting. You can read the story for free --here.

This one has been bouncing around in my head for a while and given that the holiday season was upon us, I find it doubly satisfying to have this story (about a postal worker of the future) being read. It was meant to be a fun little read and I hope it makes you smile. It was published at SteelMoon.

I had a short story entitled "Cluck" that appeared on "U-Publish-On-Parade.com" in their "Future Stars" section. I was very happy to get it placed with this site since this story is sort of an oddball. It all got started when I was on a cruise. The ship's captain would make these daily nautical announcement's over the ship's intercom. For those interested in wind speed, knots, nautuical miles and the such, this was great. But, as you can imagine, most of the passengers weren't. The Captain must have known this cause he would end every announcement with an odd bit of trivia. It got so that you'd listen just to hear the trivia. Well, one piece of information stuck with me and I made it the basis of a story. Did it work? You tell me. The editor is moving the story to a new location and as soon as it's back up, i'll post the link here.

Paul Campbell and Chris Bartholomew are at it again with the second edition in this very ambitious print magazine. The concept is simple: focus on a handful of writers, display a selection of their work so that the reader can really get to know their style, and pair each story up with a talented artist who will give it an unforgetable illustration. As you can imagine the issue is a winner. I have 8 stories in this edition along with two non-fiction essays. All around it's a great deal. To find out more about the magazine, just go to the "Buy My Books" section for the link.

This one was written for the Static Movement Picture Contest. The idea is simple: write a story based on a drawing the web site has provided. The image they chose is pretty intriquing and the principal characters immeditely jumped into my head. From there it was a question of figuring out what they were up to. In the end I came up with a tale of Native American's, Shamans, and witches. It was appearing in StaticMovementonline.com but the e-zine is no longer around. Someday I'll find a new home for this story.

Last year I wrote fantasy story called "Homecoming" and it was published over on StaticMovementonline.com. The story was very well received and actually won a prize from the editor. Well, the ezine has decided to print a "Best of" collection and my short story was included in it. I really liked the story and was very happy to find it a home. Now, I'm happy to say that it's in print along with some other very good stories. If you're interested in the print edition, just go to the "Buy My Books" section for the link.

Here's one that I played around with for a very long time. It's more of an essay on ethics than it is a short story. But then George Orwell did so well with his thinly veiled political tretises that who's to say having a strong opinion doesn't make for an interesting read. You be the judge. It was appearing in StaticMovementonline.com but the e-zine is no longer around. Someday I'll find a new home for this story.

I'm not sure where this story came from. All I know is that I was in a mood one day and wanted to write something a little outside of my usual style. I wanted to write something that had an edge. What I ended up with was a Rock and Roll Sci Fi story. It surprised me and I have to admit that I'm hugely happy with it. I wonder how the readers will take it. How will you take it? It is presently appearing for free in Anotherealm.com. Click on the title and check it out.

Cause Life is Stranger than Fiction

I Read Pop Fiction

Two of my non-fiction essays got picked up for the first issue of "Razar." This lavishly illustrated magazine is produced by Paul Campbell and edited by Chris Bartholomew. It's sort of fun to have an essay published since I'm known for my fiction work. Of course, my essays are all about writing and reading genre fiction. The Magazine itself is pretty interesting since it focuses on the work of a select group of writers in each issue. Each story is then illustrated by some very talented artists. What you get is some wonderful tales with some wonderful illustrations. It's a great way to read and see a variety of work by some up and coming writers and artists. If you're interested in getting a copy, click here: Razar 1, The Beginning.