Short Stories and Other Pieces

Sometimes I write odd pieces that wind up becoming short stories or writing exercises. Lately, I’ve been submitting them out, and a few have seen the light of day. Usually they aren’t related to either my business writing or my novels, but you might enjoy them.

Take a look and have fun. Let me know what you think……

I have had stories published in other magazines and sites. I’ve listed them here, although they sit somewhere else on the web. Please check them out and support those editors and publishers smart enough to recognize my genius.

Extra bonus question: why do readers and journals in the UK and Ireland like my stuff more than American publishers?

A lovely start to 2023. On January 1, Corvus Review published one of my odder Flash Fiction pieces; “Stuffed Pikachus.” This story might someday be the basis for a longer piece, I’m fascinated by carnie culture.  Download the Winter/Fall 22/23 edition. I’m on page 48.

This story has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. It’s a flash piece, and deeply personal. A Simple Purse first appeared in 300 Days of Sun, from Nevada State College.

This is my first really graphic horror story. The Voyeur was published Sept 22 2022 in (I kid you not) Horror Sleaze Trash ezine. It’s NSFW, and I hope you enjoy it.

Force Equals Mass Times Acceleration (F=ma) What if you were waiting to hear if you’d killed a man in the ring? A little darker than some of my boxing fiction but what the heck.? Another Storgy publication. This one was published June 7, 2021

The Cutman   Yeah, it’s another boxing story.  Once again the folks at Storgy.com gave a home to some of my work. There is an incredible network of writers coming out of that litmag and we’re supporting each other beautifully. I had to do something creative between finishing the final proof on two different books AND getting started on the second in the Johnny Lycan series. I also wrote a post about why I write so much about boxing.

Ava, Lana and Old Bob Campbell. This story was 20 years abrewing but I wrote it in 2019 and it came out September 1, 2019 in Ragazine. It’s one of the first pieces I got feedback from my new colleagues at Sin City Writers. As you can read in this blog post, it began as an urban legend my wife related 20 years ago at a dinner party: did you hear that Ava Gardner and Lana Turner had a 3-way with some gas jockey in Palm Springs? As an aside, this is the second magazine (along with eFiction) that is going out of business the issue after publishing one of my stories.  The link take syou to their site. If it doesn’t stay up, I’ll post it on a page here.

Los Angeles, 1952 Written in 2017, this is one of my favorite stories, even though it never really found a home.  It’s about boxing, the end of old Hollywood, and a first date that may or may not be going well. This story was published as a serialization, with part 1 appearing Sept 1, 2019 in Issue V of Twist in Time Mag. The second part will be in Issue VI in Novmember. Read part 1 here

Dien Bien Phu, 1954 has been published by an American Litmag! Twist in Time Magazine is one of the most beautifully designed websites, and they do a wide array of time-themed stories and poetry. Enjoy this tale of a Legionnaire in the waning days of France’s involvement in Vietnam.

The Forger of Cairo This is my first attempt (okay in 30 years or so) at a full-on horror piece. Old-fashioned it may be, but the folks at Storgy called it “cracking.” It’s also where the Mcguffin for Johnny Lycan’s first adventure, “The Anubis Disk” came from.

The Clairtangentist is my first attempt at urban fantasy and the first thing I’ve written about my new home of Las Vegas. Blessings on Storgy.com for running it (on my birthday, no less) and for supporting my other work like…

The Towel  You may have noticed that boxing is a recurring theme in my short pieces. What’s not to like? Great settings, physical action, and enough toxic masculinity to start a fraternity. Again Storgy really supported this story, blessings be upon them.

The Last Good Cigar Day of the Year.  I enjoy a good cigar. If you live in Northern climes, like I used to, it can be a tough thing to deal with six months a year. This story was Scriggler’s story of the day and one I’m very pleased with.

Bayamon, 1978 has been published by DodgingTheRain, an online literary magazine out of Ireland. It’s about one of the all-time great prize fights, or at least the build-up to it.  You can read it here for free, which should tell you what I got paid for it, but such is the writer’s life…. You can also now read it on my site under Short Stories and other Pieces, specifically here

“Tio Fernando’s Field Trip,” is the first short fiction to be published in a professional magazine. It’s in EFiction Magazine. Since it’s now gone out of business, you can read it  on my site.

The 2017 Rivulets Anthology contains a piece I really like, “Through the Arbor Vitae.” It’s amazing what an overheard snippet of conversation can conjure, isn’t it? You can read it on its very own page….

On the End of Magick is a real departure for me. It is an attempt at fantasy in the vein of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I think it’s a lot of fun. It was featured in the 2016 Rivulets from Naperville Writers Group.  You can read it here.

On The Rail  tries to capture the thoughts of someone during the 2 minutes or so of a horse race. It was selected to appear in Rivulets 27, the annual anthology from the Naperville Writers Group.

Come on, One horse, you’re supposed to be a stalker. ‘Course so was Ted Bundy and look how that worked out….

You can read the full story here.

Of course, if you enjoy the shorter pieces, you can buy my novels and nonfiction on Amazon on my Author page