AN OPEN DOOR – Chapter One

chapter one On Friday afternoons the mood in the typing pool was a gathering storm. Heads bent tensely over keyboards. Machines clacked. High on the wall hung a big clock like a cold sun above the room. As the hour hand moved toward five the atmosphere became electric. Edith’s supervisor, Miss Grett, running the show […]

The One That Got Away

originally published in Product Magazine THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY Meeting Moira for coffee is like getting my teeth cleaned. I know it’s going to hurt, I think of reasons not to go, then go anyway. For the dentist, there’s an appointment, and it looms on my calendar. Moira doesn’t make appointments. She texts and […]

Caleb’s Girl

originally published in Product Magazine   CALEB’S GIRL   Caleb says she’s so amazing, more like a goddess than a girl. He hasn’t been seeing her long and none of us have met her yet, so we accuse him of making her up.   He says she’s as real as anyone, only she smells like […]

People Ruin Everything

originally published in New Pop Lit The summer people choked the road, filled up the taverns, trashed the beachfront, and parked everywhere and anywhere, even in places they shouldn’t. Moss’s father was on the city council and had tried, unsuccessfully, to find funding to build a lot so driveways wouldn’t get blocked. The idea of […]

Maggie’s Ruse – First Three Chapters

coming October 1st from Unsolicited Press chapter one The floor creaked whenever Maggie shifted her weight. The Jimmy Choo stiletto pumps were killing her. Their cherry red leather called her name in the SoHo shoe boutique only an hour before, just after Kyle’s text message urged her to get her lovely butt out the door […]

Maggie’s Ruse, Chapter Two

coming October 2019 from Unsolicited Press read Chapter One here   Josh faked a lingering outrage over Maggie’s ruse. He was a sensitive person, he said. Such base manipulation was unworthy of anyone who claimed to be an artist. Marta sympathized. Her eyes smoldered with fury. He loved her a little for that. Secretly, he […]

Maggie’s Ruse, Chapter One

coming October 2019 from Unsolicited Press     CHAPTER ONE   The floor creaked whenever Maggie shifted her weight. The Jimmy Choo stiletto pumps were killing her. Their cherry red leather called her name in the SoHo shoe boutique only an hour before, just after Kyle’s text message urged her to get her lovely butt […]

“People Like Them”

originally published in The Mark Literary Review   He landed a good gig. Looking in on people’s homes would keep them in Aspen. The hikers were gone; the skiers yet to descend. Those in town now were there for the golden trees, and the occasional red and orange ones the dry summer had miraculously produced. […]

Moonlight On The Bay

originally published in O: JA&L As the rain got heavier, people moved inside. When the annual Art Walk was held in good weather, everyone stayed out and enjoyed the spring twilight. Last year’s mild temperature and clear skies meant poor sales. Tonight, just about every place was packed. Moving among the paintings on display was […]

Yellow

originally published in The Slag Review   More trees in the mountains went up, and the firelight was yellower than the day before. He called it the color of dry sand. The sun reddened, as if not in anger, but in grief. Who wouldn’t mourn? Homes lost, people evacuated, men exhausted from no way to […]