“A Day in the Park” – a short story published in Glitterwolf Magazine

My short story, “A Day in the Park,” was published in Glitterwolf Magazine‘s special Halloween edition in October 2015.  Check out their website to find out more about the magazine or to order a copy.  You can also purchase the issue over at Amazon.

Here is an excerpt from my story (“A Day in the Park”):

I think of my day in the park, the hunt for inspiration, and the hope that a story would find me.  It found me alright, but I wasn’t careful.  An involuntary twitch, a nervous tick – a sharp, startling noise in the distance and it was all over; the firefly crushed in my hand, its neon mush warm against my palm.  I open my hand and find the sticky mess remains, still warm.  I’ll hold it there until it cools down.  It shouldn’t be much longer now – as long as it takes a dead body to go cold.  The image of a child’s body lying on a path in the park flashes before my eyes.  The blood pools along the backside as the flesh turns rubbery and cold.

The loss of such a tiny light is hardly noticeable in a night full of other lights, flashing on and flashing off. 

I take my notes from the park and rip them into tiny pieces.  The paper snow settles on the floor all around me. 

Want to read more?  Order your copy today!

[Glitterwolf Magazine]        [Amazon]

“The Price You Pay” – a short story published in Glitterwolf Magazine

A short story of mine called “The Price You Pay” was published in Glitterwolf Magazine, Issue 6 (July 2014).  Check out their website for more information.  You can also order a copy on Amazon.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the story:

The smells are the worst.  Each morning, it’s not enough that I wake on the very edge of the bed, bleary-eyed from another restless night caused by his ungodly snoring, frustrated and cold as I try to pull just one sheet back from his greedy hands; no, I must also face the awful stench emanating from his crotch.  It’s subtle but always there, this sour smell that reminds me of curdled milk, lingering no matter how often he showers.  Anytime I catch a whiff of that foul odor, I nearly gag, vowing then and there never to have sex again, not with him or anyone else.  That odor makes the idea of even touching another human being repulsive.

He’s my husband, but I didn’t sign up for this.

[Order your copy on Amazon to read the full story.]

“Pornography for the Gods” – a short story published in The Queer South

My short story, “Pornography for the Gods,” was published in The Queer South Anthology: LGBTQ Writers on the American South.  The anthology, nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, was published by Sibling Rivalry Press in 2014.

Order your copy from the publisher here.

You can also order a copy on Amazon.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the story:

“It says so in the Bible,” she said, her back to me.  I stared at the poofy, peroxide-tinged curls hanging down her back like orange cotton candy.

“Really?” I asked.  “It says that?”

“Yes, of course,” she answered with a certainty I didn’t yet know how to doubt.  “The Bible talks about demons walking the earth in different forms. Gay people are just one of ’em–one of the disguises they use.”

Although I’d never heard of these so-called demons before, it was hard to question my sister’s biblical expertise.  I mean, she could have been right since I never paid attention to anything in the Bible outside the book of Revelation.  Most of the rules and stories filling the rest of the holy book bored the hell out of me.  But what kid wouldn’t be captivated by tales of a great beast, the end of time, and all the other apocalyptic doom in Revelation?

“Sweet Lips” – a story published by The Gambler

Check out my short story “Sweet Lips,” published by The Gambler.  It’s free to read online!  It was published in March 2015.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the story:

On her way to the steak house, she thinks about what a nice, polite boy Buddy seems to be. He can’t be more than seventeen or eighteen. He’s so different from the other boys, the ones who hang around the parking lot at Simon’s every Friday and Saturday night, always waiting for something to happen. Or maybe she’s the one who’s different. The current batch of boys represent the new generation of rednecks with nothing better to do than park their pickups and shoot the shit with their friends, not exactly looking for trouble but not shying away from it either. With round canisters of tobacco stuffed in their back pockets and cigarettes handy on the dash, they’re largely indistinguishable from the boys who hung out there when Tiffany was a girl, which wasn’t that long ago.

[full story]

“Grow” – a short story published in ImageOutWrite v.5

My short story “Grow” was published in ImageOutWrite Volume 5 (September 2016).  Check out their website to order a copy: ImageOutWrite

You can also order your copy on Amazon

Here’s a brief excerpt from the story:

The botanical gardens look different at night, or so John imagined.  Even though the grounds were part of the university, only a mile or so down the road from his dorm, he’d never actually visited before.  As the trees rattled in the wind, he looked over at their crooked, knobby branches hanging over the gates like claws.  From there, his eyes landed on the thick, rusty chain padlocked across the front entrance.  There was something ominous about the place.  Still, seeing as how it was so removed from the bustle of campus life, it seemed like the sort of place one could use to take a break from all the noise – that is, in the light of day, during regular visiting hours.  At the same time, a certain comfort comes with the cold dark of night.  Beneath a silent, black sky, secrets can remain hidden in the shadows where they belong

“Saving Ben Affleck” – a short story from 2006

Back in July 2006, The Blotter Magazine published a short story of mine called “Saving Ben Affleck.”  Below is a brief excerpt; click here for the full story (it’s a pdf of the full issue, so just scroll down to find my story):

I just saw Ben Affleck. Ok, well, he’s not really Ben Affleck, who I don’t find attractive at all. But let’s call this guy Ben Affleck. You see, when I met him, I let him know how much he resembled Mr. Affleck … but not in a bad way.

From then on, I’ve referred to him as Ben Affleck.

At times, I can’t remember his real name. If I happen to be with a friend and see him some where around campus, I might say, “Oh my god — there’s Ben Affleck.”

Then, I have to explain that, no, Matt Damon’s celebrity friend isn’t hanging out at our little university herein North Carolina – it’s his younger, more attractive doppelganger …

[full story]