Looking ahead, James could see the train snake around a curve. Then centrifugal force gently shifted him away from the coach window. In...

Okay – we’re back to fiction. This one’s a stand-alone story from my dark side. “Your girlfriend’s here.” Miguel grinned over the counter...

I’ll be back to short stories next week, but a year ago I was blogging primarily for writers, talking about reasonable expectations,...

A stand-alone story, first published in The Maverick, Show Low AZ. Glaring sunlight intruded on Alec’s dreams. He rolled over, willing...

Novel Bites is a series of short stories from the perspective of secondary characters in my novels. Sometimes the story is straight from...

Novel Bites is a series of short stories from the perspective of secondary characters in my novels. Sometimes the story is straight from...

Novel Bites is a series of short stories from the perspective of secondary characters in my novels. Sometimes the story is straight from...

Novel Bites is a series of short stories from the perspective of secondary characters in my novels. Sometimes the story is straight from...

Novel Bites is a series of short stories from the perspective of secondary characters in my novels. Sometimes the story is straight from...

Novel Bites is a series of short stories from the perspective of secondary characters in my novels. Sometimes the story is straight from...

Novel Bites is a series of short stories from the perspective of secondary characters in my novels. This is a scene from Running Away,...

The house is so small that the sound of brush against teeth carries down the hallway to the bed where I’ve been lying on my back,...

It was the damned dogs that caused all the trouble. If they hadn’t barked all the time, we wouldn’t have gotten evicted, which the wife...

I’m a salesman—spend half my life driving from one pitch to the next. It gives me time to think. That night I was driving through the...

“I can’t believe Charlie’s dead,” she wailed. Joe put the phone down next to the refrigerator. The sobs continued over the speaker as he...

Benny swallowed the end of his drink and looked at his last chip, a dollar. It was all set up to favor the house. Benny knew that. He’d...

Carolyn lumbered through the airport, a backpack slung over her left shoulder, her right arm stretched by the weight of her carry-on. Big...

I put The Incident up over the summer because I was going to be on the road while my home was for sale. 8400 miles later, I’m home again,...

When I get back to the campfire, Mom’s just poured water on the coals and ash. Hot ash flying into dry needles can start a forest fires...

It was a Friday afternoon, last class of the day, last full week of school. There was a substitute. She was new and would probably never...

I had to go back to court at the end of the school year. The teachers at the court school all gave me good letters and the judge asked if...

In the hall, we all had to wear one-piece jumpsuits. Most of us wore orange. Blue meant you had extra responsibilities and privileges....

It was an electronics store. We should have known they’d have cameras, even if we didn’t see them. There wasn’t any audio. It looked like...

When Mom caught me walking home alone one day, I assured her it was fine, that Angelica and Natalie had to stay after for talking in one...