Short Fiction

Yet another time that a war was begun over a lovely woman ... but this time the war will end with a defeat, even though Bert will call it "a truce."

"Flower clairsentience," it's called, or "flower reading." Vampire writer Lydia Manx takes us with her to a friend's flower reading party. No one bothered to tell the medium there was a writer in the room, not even the spirits.

The nature photographer knows the importance of getting close to his subject in order to obtain the clearest, most natural picture. And it follows that the photographer must be a veritable genius at disguising himself and his equipment to be a success ...

It's the ever-popular question: "Why me?"

Marion Robert Morrison was born in Winterset, Iowa, in 1907. At the time, no one knew he would grow up to be an icon of the American West -- John Wayne.

Creatures of the supernatural who thirst for blood and emotional fears have taken a shine to Jenny, and the Wild West is about to get a bit Wilder...

Riding along behind a herd of cattle, the dust coating your hat and your sun-weathered face, you get a sense of how little stocks and bonds matter. It's the sky, and the movement of the earth beneath your horse's hooves that matter, and how they let your heart fill all that space that gives your life a meaning ...

The voices are always there. Jack has tried to drown them out with medication and mutilation, but they call to him, and sometimes, he can't resist going to see if he can help them ...

Ase Ur-Jennan receives a letter asking for help, and remembers an incident in the woods ...

Sand and Bernie go to the movies and giggle madly at "Shrek the Third."

Sometimes things only work if the boss believes they will work -- and if the boss is determined to believe they did work!

Moving to Lincoln Heights was a compromise, at best. I was born and raised in the city. I liked the convenience of having dozens of small stores all within walking distance. Mina had lived most of her life in a gated community; the sort of place where you needed a six-figure income and a relative in politics to even apply for residence. To her, I lived in a ghetto; to me, she lived in a police state. There were truths to both opposing opinions neither of us wanted to admit.

What are you willing to give up in order to do what you want? Will you sacrifice your time? Your morals? Your money?

Cloudraft the Wizard is eager to begin his vacation -- and my, won't he love to meet new people at the Nudist's Faire. Who knows, maybe he'll meet the broad and greasy sisters Knifeheart, Thiefheart, and Wolfheart ...</

It's disgusting to see someone's ear bitten off, but you had darn well better watch what you have to say about it afterwards!

The nightmares are never going to go away, Harry. Is it the lonely nature of your vampire life, or the memories of what might have been from when you were still human?

Aser and Danner manage to unload some cash, score some authentic minestrone, and meet a wizard and a griffin.

He was everywhere; she could not escape him. Then she found her fortune and knew what she had to do. Short fiction based on the Fever Dreams comic.

All spring we wait for the celebrations of May Day, the music, the dance, the celebration of our community ...

Have you ever wandered around an art show and tried to figure out the rationale of the judges? Have you ever made a work of art so wonderful you were sure you deserved a prize?

There are treasures and wonders to be found in the magical forests -- but you don't have to get greedy and mean about them ... !

What do you do with too much money?

The shadows of Old Town were her shadows, and the breeze drifting through the twisted lanes was her breath, and it spoke with her voice, saying, "Kill him ninety-nine ways ... " (Originally appeared 08-21-2006)

In Zimbabwe, law books and facts are respected, and taken into serious consideration. But the Elders know that there is much more to justice than sentences written on paper by strangers who may or may not have ever tasted the satisfaction of curried goat.(Originally appeared 04-03-2006)

In the middle of suburbia, a murder-suicide leaves a house haunted by the weeping of a baby, and a garage as cold as a tomb.(Originally appeared 11-07-2005)

Strange forces are at play, but no tiny, chirping, harbinger of the apocalypse is going to get away with destroying the world tonight.(Originally appeared 06-06-2005)

Spring is a good time of year to look at how we view the block we live on ... (Originally appeared 03-27-2004)

A fable, as told to children. (Draft excerpt from 'Natural Causes', a NaNoWriMo 2003 work-in-progress)(Originally appeared 11-08-2003)

An old fairy tale with a new twist.(Originally appeared 06-10-2002)

Adventure Scouts are helpful, polite, and work hard at being good. But darn it, it's hard to sell cookies when you're all hungry ... (Originally appeared March 31, 2003)