Hello and welcome!
Two novellas and much of my short fiction are now published as print and e-books by 60 East Press. They’re in two collections, The Dad Who Stayed and Other Stories and Poor As I Am and Other Stories at Christmas. That 60 East Press link will point to you places where you can see more and buy them.
With a few exceptions, stories previously posted here which are now published in those volumes have only samples here. Here are the exceptions:
Five Free Short Stories from My Published Collections
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There Might Be Another Way (a short story)
After a sleepless night and a distracted morning at church, an impromptu lunch date may be Pia’s last chance to tell Doug how she feels. read now
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Her Voice (a short story)
A man gets up and goes to work in a burned-out forest which resembles what has become of his life. read now
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Invisible (a short story)
A seventh grade boy, a precocious artist, draws portraits of his family. Then he draws his sister’s best friend, when she doesn’t know he’s doing it, and that’s trouble. A short story. read now
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I Made Muffins (a short story)
An awkward early-morning scene on a man’s front porch causes a woman to reflect on what she really wants for her life. A short story. read now
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Marie (a very short story)
For a seventh grade boy, the last few days of the school year don’t turn out as he had hoped. A very short story (flash fiction). read now
More Short Stories Which Aren’t Published in a Collection Yet
Some or all of these tales are planned for a collection to be released in 2025, but they’re still hanging out here in the meantime. Some of them are a bit dystopian. Five of them somehow involve death (not a new theme for me) — four in the story’s reality and one in a dream (not to mention the title). One happened in Ireland. One happens mostly in a barber shop. One features an ancient, crumbling stone fortress. One starts in the Idaho desert at night.
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I Already Did (a short story)
An old stone ruin is the setting for a simple picnic, dramatic news, and a fateful choice. read now
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Wildfire (a short story)
Returning to the path was a relief. I belonged there, with my runner’s build and shoes to match. She belonged off the path, not so much with the grass and trees as with the soil underneath and the blazing sunlight. Her full figure belonged to nature, and her hair and skirt were fire. I shook off the impression and jogged away. read now
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Open Windows (a very short story)
A writer takes her short story about a marriage breaking up to her critique group. They debate what it’s about, and she tries to explain. A very short story (flash fiction). read now
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Not Here (a short story)
I had never been here before this hour, but I could feel that here was my home. This place had made war on itself for decades, then simply stopped and made peace. … My next song began where the first left off. A short story. read now
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I Dreamed You Died Thursday Night (a very short story)
A man’s dream causes him to wonder if certain things are as they appear. Gently dystopian. A very short story (flash fiction). read now
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Clipped (a very short dystopian story)
In the dystopian but still familiar near future, a divorced man’s hopes die in a barber shop. A very short story (flash fiction). read now
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Tantalizing Excerpts from Tales in My Published Collections
Under construction! In the meantime, visit 60 East Press for more information.
Some Chatter
I read in many genres. I’m especially fond of political, legal, and military thrillers — but I’m content to let others write them, along with the adventures of wizards, princesses, and vampires; the conflicts of nations and worlds; and the deification or enslavement of science.
My writing sometimes wanders in the fringes of dystopia. When it doesn’t, conflicting secular or religious ideologies may still be involved. But even when they are, I tend to write about people living life on an ordinary scale, not a geopolitical or galactic scale. Often they are people with religious faith.
There is magic in ordinary life, and great beauty if we choose to see it.
One enthusiastic and generous early reader of my fiction wrote,
A lot of writers invent a fake world, maybe because the real world isn’t worthy of them. This writer focuses on the real world and allows the reader to lose herself in the beauty and breathtaking quality of real life. Because real life is beautiful, even if it has rough edges.
I’ll be trying to live up to that for the foreseeable future.
Writing Is Fun, and So Is My Critique Group
When I grow up (and retire), I want to do two things: write novels and teach writing again. Meanwhile, I write what I can, when I can, and I’m having fun.
Over the past few years most of my short stories have been critiqued by a local group, Good AF Writers, my city’s chapter of the League of Utah Writers. (As far as I’m concerned, the AF is for American Fork.) With their help in most cases, several of my stories have won awards in one contest or another, and (so far) two have have found its way into print, both paper and electronic. I’ve written about the group here and here, and more recently here.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment, share, come back for more, etc.
From the Author
Thanks for reading!
Comments are always welcome, within the bounds of common civility and relevance. There’s a place for them below. Absolutely no marketing, please.
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And if you’re interested in my published fiction, check out my two published collections at 60 East Press.
