February 22, 2021

Novella

Tyler Willson has been a lot of places, and done a lot of things. In order to provide for his wonderful wife and four (practically...) perfect children Tyler has worked as a ditch digger, preschool teacher, telephone survey taker, hand-truck builder, forklift driver, combat engineer, finance clerk, training manager, help desk analyst, database administrator, logistical overseer, and IT manager... Still, in his dreams, he is always a writer.

Cliff is a loser. His wife married him just to have someone to torture and control. His father-in-law would love to see him dead, and the prisoners at the Death Valley Penitentiary would be more than happy to make it happen...

When a prisoner manages to escape, Cliff finds himself all alone in the middle of the desert, tracking the armed and dangerous killer...

Cliff finds himself all alone in the middle of the desert, tracking the armed and dangerous killer with no food or water, and a shotgun with only one shell...

. As the desert wears away at him and the prisoner, will Cliff find the inner strength to finally succeed at something?

Conclusion. Cliff finds himself all alone in the middle of the desert, tracking the armed and dangerous killer with no food or water, and a shotgun with only one shell. As the desert wears away at him and the prisoner, will Cliff find the inner strength to finally succeed at something?

Short

Raka is learning a lot as he searches for Ol' Bob, not the least of which is that all his weaponry and money are gone ...

Crouched in a concrete pipe, with metal-jacketed slugs being fired at the rate of about 300 rounds per minute is not the most comfortable place in the world ...

What could be more wholesome than a family trip to the zoo?

I don't care what the police said. It was that stupid bird's fault.

Dint your Momma ever tell you that gettin' pie-faced drunk could get you took advantage of?

Nate and Sammy have a dangerous job -- protecting humanity from the witches who attack and hide from the government. But isn't there a kind of shell-shock from battles like that?

The battle is staged, but Command has given them no backup... what do they expect them to do?

Will is tired of that cat, and knows just the way to get rid of it. He just doesn't know enough about quantum mechanics to understand the consequences of his plan.

Here's the recipe: icy winter, grumpy wife, over-stuffed car, add a new baby, and mix all together in a move ...

Rude people who don't want to take the time to talk to people are just asking for it ...

Word is out on the street: Great Lenin plays some mean ball. Do you care to join him?

The entire navy is on the lookout for him, but the morning fog is on his side.

He was a "go get it" kind of guy, and nothing would stand in his way to get what he wanted ...

The Man with a Problem has a solution ...

Suspicious of magic, the mercenary soldier Raka keeps his distance from its practitioners as much as possible. Until the feeble old shaman named Ol' Bob gives him a trinket in thanks for a good deed and his opinion begins to change... (Originally appeared 2008-12-29)

Well, sure, they're built with taxpayer money, but who is it that really owns the road?

If you were marooned on an inaccessible island with just one person, who would that person be? Think again -- would you really want to risk spending the rest of your life with that one?

To be able to hear another's thought is like being suddenly put inside another's skin ...

Poem

Poetry by Tyler Willson.

Ah, Muse, where have you gone?

For all mothers with an understanding heart ...

Poetry about a thrill in the dark ...

Poetry about looking around for the source of the mud that clogs our vision ...

Why do we say the game-talk? We all know what it really means ...

A vision in words of desert survivor.

Tribute to those old friends who are so essential to our work ...

Poetry for a cold and lonely time.

Tyler Willson begins Poetry Month with a sonnet to his wife.

One thing to be said, but kept from being said ...

Another sonnet from Tyler Willson to his wife.

Tyler Willson continues his verse about family and love.

I haven't had so much as a bite, but this is still the best/ time of my life...

Bright moon lights dark nightscape; Black clouds come unbidden to mar the beauty ...

Insignificant things contain
the meaning of life ...

A list of projects as long as my arm -- Where to begin? How to endure, finish?

A whimsical look at the life and death of a pet beetle, told in the style of Dr. Seuss.

Essay

Grief is an emotion we dread, yet need to embrace ...