Below you will find the short story, “Shelter Given,” that I entered into a bunch of contests a few months ago. By way of information, the scene happens about halfway through my first novel. The characters, Mitch and Lara, show up in my other novels as well. (Mitch in Double Dirty and Spectre in the Sun; […]

Read more "You’ll Need 22 Minutes to Read This"

Don’t you just love the idea of going from “X” to “Y” in a short amount of time? The idea of waving a magic wand to affect change has always been part of our collective fantasy world. It’s why winning the lottery (or any contest) is so appealing; it’s how those TV shows suck us […]

Read more "Extreme Makeover"

I have an acquaintance. She’s not really a friend. We don’t know each other well enough to use that word. This is not to say that I wouldn’t want to be friends with her. I would, but there just hasn’t been a chance to begin a friendship.   For many adults, the people in their […]

Read more "The Battle of the Other"

My oldest child was seven and a half months old on 9/11/01. I remembering being at work, where I investigated child abuse and neglect 37.5 hours a week, and thinking that the world was coming to an end. Dramatic and fatalistic as that thought was, I can confidently look back now and see that I […]

Read more "“Same as it Ever was.”"

This last week has been all about women; well, all about two women: Hillary Clinton and Emily Doe. On Monday evening, we were told that a handful of previously uncommitted superdelegates had decided to back Secretary Clinton thereby clinching the nomination of the first woman on a major party ticket for the presidency. Just three […]

Read more "If You have a Vagina or Know Someone who Does"

I feel a story coming on. And it’s not going to be pretty. In the last few days I have been trying to compile in my mind what my next novel is going to be about. I’ve kept my eyes open and have come across three significant things, or for the sake of drama we […]

Read more "Desperation"

This is not a photo of the actual hourglass I have on the windowsill in my writing space. Mine was a gift from a friend who, while we were both serving a Peace Corps Volunteers in Latvia, traveled to Poland and brought it back for me. I’m not sure why he chose that as a […]

Read more "Time Laspes"