short story Archives » Video Games are Real

Girl Found Alive at Bottom of Swimming Pool. Seeks Vengeance.

June 9, 2014

I haven't been writing much lately (aside from general outlines in prep for YouTube video making...but I wouldn't count that). So when fellow Write Club alum Gayle Towell approached me about contributing a story to her new Microfiction Monday Magazine project, I hesitated. But then, I figured 100 words (the limit for stories to appear on the site) wouldn't be too difficult to squeeze out. And while that ended up being partially true, I also very much experienced how rusty I had become even in the short few months since I've last written any fiction of substance. Well, my effort--a story about a man and woman being scared of their child--which I am pretty proud of, went live today. Click over to Microfiction Monday Magazine to read my story "When Susan's Daughter Sank." It's visceral, dark, and language heavy, just like I like 'em.

Reading Brian Evenson to my 4 year old

January 11, 2014

Four years ago I read a passage from Brian Evenson's creepy story "Eye" to my toddler (watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S522l8f0q1s). I revisit the experience to see if my child's reaction to and perceptions of the story have changed.

The first glimpse at the novel in-progress, live at The Dying Goose

January 4, 2014

Damn, just when I was sitting down to do some honest writing on this novel that I'm way far behind on (on my admittedly self-appointed deadline), I get the news that my story "We'll Learn Together" is now live in the new issue of The Dying Goose, meaning I've got to announce the publication to the world. #egoproblems. Be sure to read the rest of the stories, too, especially "Commute" by my fellow The Velvet Born Chris Deal. I suppose it's fitting though that if time is being robbed by this publication announcement post that it would be for "We'll Learn Together" as the story will likely make its way into the very novel that I'm not currently writing. So, I guess you faithful readers out there can consider this story the first glimpse at what will become my first novel in 3 years (minimum; it's impossible to say how…

Organ donation as a front for petty theft: Three Days Ahead, new fiction in Thuglit issue 8

November 16, 2013

My story, "Three Days Ahead," has been published in the recently released issue 8 of Thuglit. I've been reading Thuglit fairly consistently since Nik Korpon's entry (issue 2, I believe), and have come to really like it for it's straight-forward, no nonsense approach to crime fiction. That being said, I don't actually write straight-forward, no nonsense crime fiction. Actually, I've never really considered myself a crime fiction writer at all. Many (maybe most) of my stories do contain crime elements, but as actual crime writers will probably attest, crime alone does not a crime story make. But I had an opportunity. I originally wrote a similarly themed story that ended up being a bit of a mess. So, during a rewrite of that story I ended up with "Three Days Ahead," which by comparison to the early version is much more focused, much more emotional, and a lot less flashy-for-the-sake-of-flashy.…

Interviewed at Slit Your Wrists Magazine, bar tabs, story origins, and suicide – yours, not mine

July 16, 2012

The amazing Laurance Kitts interviews me for his Slit Your Wrists Magazine website, a site that frequent visitors may recognize; my story "Sebaceous" appeared there back in April. Laurance knows how to ask questions without bowing to a person's ego, so you can read this Q&A without anticipating a pretentious me basking in the warmth of praise. I mean, sure, Laurance does feed me some softballs, but...those are easier to chew.

New story, “The Lipidopterist,” read live at The Meshuggah Cafe, recorded by Booked Podcast

March 15, 2012

The fellows over at Booked Podcast are gents in the truest sense of the word. By that I mean they are whimsical placcards on the bathroom doors of bar restrooms. Also, they happen to be amazingly active participants in the podcast and reading communities, so much so that they are dedicating many future episodes of their podcast to live readings as recorded during the 2012 AWP Conference in Chicago, IL. Though my reading, done at The Meshuggah Cafe in St. Louis on February 28th, wasn't officially part of the AWP Conference (which started February 29th in Chicago), the entire week blends for me into a single mess of drink, friends, and drunk friends. This recording captures the first time I had read "The Lipidopterist" out loud in front of an audience. All-in-all, I think it worked. Have a listen, then check out Booked Podcast for more. Be sure to subscribe…

Artifice Magazine likes me

June 23, 2010

And I like you, Artifice Magazine. A bit more praise here for the Oprah Read This >> Oprah, Read This project.