Gone Lumberjacking

Read my short story " Outside of Cars " in Corium Magazine's Issue 19. I mean, if you want. Just so you know what you're getting yourself into, here's a bit of my correspondence with the editor. "Your story made me very uncomfortable, which means it made me feel something, which is what we look for at Corium. As long as it's well-written, of course! And your story is, so I am happy to publish it." Results will more than likely vary. Artwork by Robert Howell

decomP magazinE has published my short story "Melancholy Cure Prescription Strength". If you'd like to read it, click here .  If you'd like me to read it to you, click here and then click on the little play button near the title. It starts something like this... The screwdriver fails to disengage the airbag, so Anders drives through the old neighborhood to his childhood home and plows into the apple tree in the front yard. His teeth rattle like dice and draw blood, but his head throbs no more, no less from the impact. Fair warning: it's not a lullaby.

NANO's Volume 6 Number 1 features my latest piece of flash fiction, "Grandparents Heart Babysitting". Huge thanks to the editors - certainly for the inclusion, but also, and perhaps more importantly, for their attention to detail, their push to get every word just right. If you like things to read, short things, stories that move you and leave you wanting more, fictional flings, order your copy here .

As defined by Merriam-Webster , noir is crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak sleazy settings. Or, when in France (from Wiktionary ): Noir (adjective, masculine)   1. black in color            Ce chat est noir. (That cat is black.)   2. inebriated           Il est noir.* (He is drunk.)   3. of black ethnicity           Il est noir.* (He is black.) (*Not sure how to read the difference between examples two and three, but I'll leave that to the French to explain.) Earlier this year I wrote my first noir piece (see American definition). Black Heart Magazine was kind enough to publish it. Robert Howell was kind enough to create a cover. My thanks to you both.  Here's the first sentence: --> I followed the man who’d punctured a hole in my arm into the garage.  That's all you get here. For the rest, you'll have to go there .

Time's up! After months of what could be called working, Tom Vadakan & I are pleased to announce the launch of our web-comic series "Los Desperados". Please check it out and, by all means, if you like what you see, subscribe to it and share it with a friend. We've posted four pages to get things rolling. A new page will magically appear every Wednesday. If you're a first timer to the site, click on the image of the vintage trailer in the upper right-hand corner, and we'll promenade you to the start. www.losdesperadoscomics.com

My micro-story, "Warning", has surfaced on Monkeybicycle . I will leave you to wonder about its inspiration.