Short Stories
Black Eyed Susan
True love can develop in a number of ways. Sometimes it happens at first sight. Sometimes it takes warm beer, teenage nights at the beach, misunderstood conversations and a lot of persistence. A little luck never hurt either. This story contains one of my top ten favorite moments.
Continental Drift
Published February 21st, 2008
Two people visiting Europe under some not very ideal circumstances wind up brushing up against each other’s lives ever so softly on the moonlit beach of Cannes.
He’ll Always Have Paris
Published October 18th, 2007
Dorian is the head of a lab researching a breakthrough technology for the treatment of those suffering emotional trauma. But one night he decides that this not-quite-ready-yet treatment would be the perfect thing to fix his failing marriage. Mix The Matrix with the set from the original Frankenstein movie, add a dash of couples therapy, stir, then pour into a tall glass made out of old Twilight Zone episodes and you’ll have a sense of some of the flavors this story calls to mind.
Jacob Checks Out
Published November 15th, 2007
A confused narrator tries to piece together the life of one of his oldest friends, Jacob. Various parts of Jacob’s life are held up to the light, from childhood through present day, as friends try to find the cracks that eventually led to Jacob’s unconventional exit.
Knots
Published March 20th, 2008
In the course of my job I’ve given a lot of baths to little girls. There aren’t a lot of jobs where this can be considered a normal thing, but as a nanny that’s how it goes. Over the past few years there are few things I’ve come to dread more than having to comb out my girls’ hair once bath time is done. I put myself in their shoes one day and the idea for this story came about. Simple and touching.
Light-Years Ahead of His Time
Published December 31st, 2007
This story was published out of sequence because I got somewhat derailed during the Holidays by family and then I got sick and blah blah blah. At some point leading up to this story I decided that I wanted to write something about “worm-holes and morons.” This is the result of that wish.
Liquid Calling
Published July 12th, 2007
This story examines the obvious connection between aluminum foil, a Manhattan real estate broker approaching his seventies, and the Cold War. Follow Micheal Morzeny on the last sales call he’ll ever make. This story has a recap. This story contains one of my top ten favorite moments.
New York City Marathon
Published July 26th, 2007
The day of the New York City Marathon brings vast crowds to Manhattan. Some come to run the race. Some come to watch the race. Some come to get drunk and watch the race. And some come knowing full well that there is more than one way to run a marathon. This story contains one of my top ten favorite moments.
Private Showing
Published October 4th, 2007
A simple story about a man struggling to deal with loss. This is one of the shortest pieces I’ve ever written. This description will be equally short.
Scarface’s Burden
Published November 29th, 2007
A reworking of one of Jonathan Coulton’s songs. Explore the various inner workings of a mad genius’s compound through the eyes of his most loyal assistant, Scarface. Between maintenance on the golden submarine, keeping the various departments happy, and getting his boss back on his feet, Scarface has plenty to keep him busy during a long winter day.
The Donkey of Vincento
Published April 3rd, 2008
I have absolutely no idea how to describe this story. I read a lot. And I’ve read a lot of translations. And they always strike me as being just a little off and missing just a little something. Somehow, with this story, I wound up trying to capture that odd sense of not quite understanding what is happening while reading a classic story from another language. A donkey, a village, a festival, and a simple stupid story of love. This story contains one of my top ten favorite moments.
The Pea Pod Gambit
Published May 1st, 2008
Atticus and Seth have the perfect setup: a three bedroom apartment with a third roommate who is never around because he is always over at his girlfriend’s house. But when their roommate’s relationship ends Seth and Atticus decide to take matters into their own hands in order to get things back to just the way they were.
The Rags
Published August 23rd, 2007
It’s not often that you get to see what happens when a modern day writer attempts to rewrite a literary masterpiece using a laundromat as his setting and talking clothes as his characters. This is probably a good thing. But for those of you who ever wondered what that might look like, this is your story. This story has a recap.
Uneven Shading
Published May 15th, 2008
Marshal finds himself unable to concentrate at work, and what’s worse, he’s come to realize that he’s disappearing from view entirely. When his boss takes note Marshal is sent home to try and figure out where the rest of him is.
You’re Allowed to Order Takeout
Published February 7th, 2008
This was a strange story in a lot of ways. I had to carve this out of very little. It’s short and it’s minimal, but for some reason I can’t stop thinking about it. Basically we visit with Neil, who has just welcomed his second child into the world, and watch as he tries to find his emotional footing again. This story contains one of my top ten favorite moments.
Popularity: 6% [?]
