Tag: Writing

A Meditation on Swimwear – Published by Thrice Fiction Magazine

My short story ‘A Meditation on Swimwear’ has been published by Thrice Fiction Magazine (Issue No. 23, August 2018).  Follow this link to access the pdf version of the issue.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

Knowing he won’t return for a few hours, I finally let go, abandoning the idea that what I’m about to do is wrong.  Left alone with the clues and artifacts of his life, of his essence, I stop resisting and fling the door open to whatever comes next.  I’ve never allowed such freedom in his presence, which might be half the problem. 

Click here to continue reading. My story begins on page 35.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.  Enjoy!

Year in Review: Writing in 2017

The past year has been a great one in writing for me.  A few of my stories have found homes with some great journals.  It’s also the first time my work has been nominated for awards.  Below are highlights of things that have been published over the past year.  I’ve included links, so make sure to give my stories a read – and check out all the wonderful journals that have published them!

  • My short story Be a Good Girl was published by Cold Creek Review (Issue 3). I’m happy to report that they’ve nominated the story for a 2018 Pushcart Prize!
  • Oyez Review published my story No Splashing in their Spring 2017 issue. Read the full story here.

This year, I’ve also made significant progress on a novel I’ve been working on.  I’m still writing the first draft, but I’m over 300 pages in and nearing the end.  I don’t want to say too much, but it’s a dark story set in the South. It centers around a group of high school students during their senior year. The story opens with the mysterious death of two of the characters, who are also twin brothers.

A close friend has been reading over another novel I wrote to offer notes and general feedback.  It’s much further along in the drafting process.  This story also takes place in the South, but the narrator is much younger.  I describe it as my Southern Gothic novel that doubles as a coming-of-age story.  No Splashing, the short story mentioned above, is a reworked version of one of the chapters from the book.

I’m always working on various projects, so it’s wonderful to see them reach an audience, big or small.  2017 felt significant in a lot of ways – I hope 2018 is even better!

Daisy May in the Driveway – published by Literary Orphans

My short story ‘Daisy May in the Driveway’ was just published by Literary Orphans (in Issue 31: Harryhausen).  Click this link to read the full story.  Here’s a brief excerpt:

Nobody knew what Daisy May was doing parked in the driveway, sitting perfectly still, her hands gripping the wheel as she stared straight ahead, not looking at our house but just beyond it, to the backyard, the pasture, and the dark woods in the distance.

“I’m calling the sheriff,” my mother said.

“Now, don’t do that,” Daddy told her. “She’ll get bored before long. No use in making a scene.”

Click here to read the full story.  Leave a comment to let me know what you think!

‘No Splashing’ – A Short Story of Mine Published by Oyez Review

My short story “No Splashing” was recently published in Oyez Review, volume 44 (Spring 2017).  Visit their website for more information about getting your copy of the issue.  It’s not yet available for purchase at Amazon, but I’ll update this post when it is.

In the meantime, enjoy this excerpt from the story:

Jake wonders if the girls and guys are paired off into couples.  It seems everyone in high school is obsessed with finding someone to go steady with — a boyfriend to hang all over, a girlfriend to paw at when no one’s looking.  Jake can’t believe he’s on the cusp of such a strange new world, where going steady and driving and parties are everything — a place where full grown adulthood is the next step.  If he finds it challenging to fit in and act normal now, he can’t imagine how much harder it will be when he’s older.  It’s like there’s this set of rules he never got a chance to read.  Even when he figures out what he should be doing, it’s usually too late.  When he leaps into the deep end of the pool, nothing pleases him more than landing the perfect dive with little to no splash, which is the exact opposite from all the other boys who aren’t happy unless they’ve soaked innocent bystanders.

Again, visit Oyez Review for more information about getting your copy today!  Enjoy!

“Big Cat Head” – a short story of mine published in Sun Star Review

A short story of mine called “Big Cat Head” has been published in Sun Star Review (Volume 1, Issue #3).  The issue is free to read online, so go check it out!  Here’s a brief excerpt from the story:

While drying off in the bathroom, I heard the strangest noise coming from the living room.  I had just finished showering after one of my regular runs along Riverside Drive and froze in place, listening closely.  It wasn’t a single noise, actually.  A loud whooshing sound erupted first, like a large, extraordinary bird beating its wings against the sky.  Then, the creaking sound of springs, like someone taking a seat on my couch.  It’s an old piece of furniture that cries out as you settle into a comfortable position.  It’s not so much the sounds that were strange in and of themselves, though they were; it’s the fact that they existed at all.  No windows were open, ruling out a gust of wind as the source of the whooshing sound.  And who would be sitting on my couch?  I live alone and never have guests over.  The noises couldn’t have been coming from the television since I rarely turn it on.  I don’t even have cable.  Nothing came to mind that could explain the unexpected disturbance.

Read the full story here – and let me know what you think!

A Night of Fiction

Come out for a night of fiction at The Bureau of General Services – Queer Division with authors Gerard Anthony Cabrera, Brad Windhauser, and Cameron L. Mitchell (that’s me!).

The event takes place Saturday, December 3rd, 7pm-9pm – the venue is located at 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY 10011 (inside The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center).

I’ll be reading a short story of mine called “Grow,” published by ImageOutWrite (vol. 5).  You can order your copy directly from their website or from Amazon.

I hope you’ll come out for what is sure to be an exciting literary event!  In the meantime, here’s a brief excerpt from “Grow,” the short story I’ll be reading:

With the garden full of vegetables he could still see, the potted flowers hanging over the porch with their sweet scent, the eggs hatching with chicks, the calves and pigs out in the pasture, and so many other things, his childhood had been marked by a series of transformations, big and small.  Sitting in the dark outside the botanical gardens, John wondered if he would ever change.  Could he grow into something else – someone different?

“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 …