Disclaimers
1
Publishing is about selling stories to people. If those stories are available for free somewhere else, it's a lot harder to sell them.For that reason I will not be able to put anything here that I am actively looking to publish.
2
While I feel that it goes without saying, I've been advised to post this for legal reasons. The stories in this section are mine. Please do not copy, reproduce, take credit for, etc, any of these works.Before we get to the samples, I’d like to take a moment to offer some special thanks.
First to my sister, who has been a loyal editor and fan for most of my life.
To Jason, a good friend who has been instrumental both in helping me with the quality of my work, and in convincing me to go places with my writing that I never would have gone on my own.
To Donna, who somehow manages to find time to read and edit my stories despite having an underappreciated job, three kids, and a number of websites to watch over, including this one.
To Penpointers, a peer review group without peer.
Writing samples:
- Short Stories
A Terrible Itch Word Count: 4350Very much a twilight zone style of story. The problem is that the payoff isn't until the end and I'm not sure that the first half to three quarters is good enough to get people to read to the end. I need to rewrite this at some point, but for now it's on the back burner.
The Interview Word Count: 3320
This is actually a story I'm a tad bit disappointed with. It was intended to be a horror, a dark story with a twist at the end, but the horror just doesn't seem to make an appearance, and the 'twist' at the end is far too obvious. I'm not sure exactly what I need to do with this to fix it, and I'm not sure I'm attached enough to the story to try. But, hey, read it anyway. You might like it.
Causality Word Count: 6100
Another twilight zone style story. Same problem as 'a terrible itch' in that I'm not sure that the twist at the end is worth the journey, but also I got a response from a magazine that sends reviews of their submissions, and they thought the ending was unclear. That perturbed me. I thought it was quite clear. Was I wrong?
- Sample Chapters
The Lost TribesA space odyseey story I worked on a few years back. It could use a little . . . maybe a little more than a little editing. But I have a soft spot in my heart for this little tale, mostly because I like the universe it's set in.
Waking Up
A fun piece I started working on a few years ago. The premise is simple enough (though not directly addressed in the opening chapter): Corporations have taken over most of the responsibilities of governments. If you're injured, the company you work for has hospitals. if you're attacked or robbed, the company you work for has a security firm. If you're lucky enough to work for one of the big ones, that means you get taken care of. if you work for one of the little ones: don't get hurt.