Short Stories

Several years ago, I started writing short stories as a way to study the writing craft and tap into more creativity. Check out the concepts for my short stories:

BlackJack: The Dawn of Dark Pollution, Magical realism
— A light rail technician tries to fix light outages between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, while being stalked by a mysterious creature of the night. Read more.

Relic in a Bottle, Magical realism
— In this novella-length story, young workers at an Atlanta museum become entwined in urban legend, after a message in a bottle twists out of control. Read more.

Black and Tan, Literary fiction
— New in town, a single woman is met with a haunting experience all inspired by one striking feature: a stranger’s eyes. Read more.

Published!
The Cosmic Dance, Literary fiction
— A retired calculus teacher, who monitors satellite data for the next solar storm, recalls a night when his daughter led him outside the garage to solve a childhood mystery.
The Cosmic Dance is an excerpt of my Aurora novel, which can be viewed here.

Published!
♦ “Look Up,” Literary fiction
— Braving Lake Superior waves to view the Milky Way, a college student longs to ask her late father’s advice. Read more.

The Cellist, Literary fiction
— The original version of the story below. A serendipitous airport encounter between a passenger and a cellist is captured in music. Read more.

The Only Violet Stone, Literary fiction
— A longer version of the story above. Storms over Cincinnati lead to a flood of memories inside a vacant house, in a study of family dynamics and loss. Read more.

 The Prisoner, Literary fiction
— The constraints of a prison come to a family’s home, when they try to break free of their own emotional bonds. Read more.

Other Stories

Read a Story

A selection of short stories have been published on this website. Browse the navigation menus to read a story!

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