I’ve written more than novels. These long-form shorts (Novellas, longer short stories) are available at reduced prices at all venues.
These are all standalone stories, but many of them derive from novels I’ve published, even novels that are not yet published. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The short story or the novel? The entries here link to the story at Amazon.com by clicking the cover art. Where they are available on Smashwords, I’ve added a link in the text.
Bug Hunt
A startling, frightening look at a slim proposition becoming undeniable fact. The first manned mission to Mars has not gone well. The grand discoveries have not materialized. The astronaut heroes have become public afterthoughts. And the planned relief is two years late. That would be bad enough. Living with the disappointment, the oppressive boredom, and the claustrophobic spaces would be one thing, but now the crew must deal with a very real danger creeping throughout their cramped quarters, a danger that may soon eat them all alive.
And they brought it with them.
Coming Soon to Smashwords
Ridealong
Welcome to the sleepy town of Conroy, where nothing hardly ever goes wrong. Hardly. But something disturbing slithers beneath the surface of everyday rural life here, and Sheriff Frank Keith must uncover it for the safety of his town. Bloody attacks, the odd behavior of wild animals, and the stranger behavior of secretive humans make for a mystery the sheriff may not want to crack.
Blood and Water
This story takes up where Isis Wept left off. Qebera, the soldier/farmer servant of the dead god Osiris and his queen Isis, journeys deep into the Middle Eastern desert in search of the treasures that will return his master to life. But his quest is fraught with unexpected dangers, for he cannot succeed without the aide of an addled visionary and a homicidal warlord, both of whom struggle over the same limited resource. An unpredictable fantasy gem.
And here are three Christmas stories for the reader who’s sick of Christmas stories. Yes, Virginia, there are evil men out in the snow who want to murder your parents and defile your way of life. Oh. Wait. Too much?
A Conroy Christmas
Revisiting the eerie town of Conroy, we find Chris Snow, unengaged hardware store employee, falling into a Christmas metaphor that could cost him and a peculiar young woman their lives. Also, the unborn baby she carries. Luckily for them, Conroy policeman Frank Keith is on holiday patrol. Can he help Snow protect the girl and end a dark conspiracy at the local coal processing plant? We hope so. It’s Christmas Eve and there’s, you know, holiday dinner and presents.
I’ll Be Home for christmas
Ho, ho, home from halfway across the universe, Charlese Tilbrenner, intrepid reporter for Galactic Geographic, takes her beau Bernie to meet the clan in Kansas. All the family angst, resentment, and regret of every full-on holiday dinner, and, in the end, a sweet dessert of hope.
Walter Cheatham’s cannibal Christmas
Walter Cheatham is a kind of detective. He finds lost things, like a little girl who’s been invited to Christmas dinner. As the main course. Bulling his way through a range of unsavory characters, reflecting on the inhumanity of man, Walter must rescue the girl, hopefully alive, before he loses his own fractured soul. A grim, gritty tale about the true meaning of Christmas.