Charles Hobbs reached the top of a final hill. The vast winter darkness of the Atlantic stretched out before him. His eyes searched the expanse of sand between this grassy hill and the ocean. His c…
Source: FICTION — Early American Bankers
Month: February 2017
Sleeping at the Rum Cherry Motel
“Sleeping at the Rum Cherry Motel” falls somewhere between The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt. Todd McHugh is on the run from the law in my recent piece appearing in Twister Sister Lig Mag‘s “Payback’s a Bitch” issue. Todd is hoping to slip away to Mexico after murdering his wife, and he’s stopped for a few hours of sleep at the Rum Cherry Motel. Click the image below to see if Todd evades justice and melts away into the Mexican backcountry.
FICTION – Larissa is Coming
Onboard Theia, Sarah Chavous had just a few remaining moments to potentially save the Earth from an extraterrestrial attack. She lowered herself into the weapon compartment. Incredibly weak and fat…
Source: FICTION – Larissa is Coming
You First
I was fortunate enough to have a short horror piece published by Flash Fiction Magazine last week. I wrote “You First” in August.
I grew up in a somewhat isolated farmhouse, where (much to my family’s chagrin) the power and telephone frequently went out for long periods. I remember that the mildest thunderstorm often was enough to knock out our utilities. The power and telephone companies rarely had an explanation and certainly took their time restoring service to us. I had been reflecting on those childhood experiences before I started to write this story. The setting for “You First” is essentially my parents’ house, with some elements of my grandparents’ house (which was an even larger, older farmhouse that had a seriously creepy vibe on certain nights). The setting could easily be located in rural Pennsylvania or West Virginia.
“You First” takes place on the remote Hetherington farm, where two…
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An Eon-old, Icy Tomb
A mysterious spacecraft is discovered partially buried on the surface of Pluto in “An Eon-old, Icy Tomb” – my most recent science fiction piece to be published. Inspiration for this particular story came from photographs taken by the New Horizons probe. Pluto offers some absolutely breathtaking landscapes, shaped by both slowly unfolding geological events and violent outburst that can occur quiet suddenly.
The real backbone of the story concerns the primary characters attempting to flee from an erupting cryovolcano – no easy task. Most of the action occurs near the Wright Mons, which is the geological feature that drives the action. The origin of the ancient spacecraft owes to an eon-old curiosity of my own.
Pale Ghosts Magazine published “An Eon-old, Icy Tomb” in November of 2016.
Click on the image below to be taken to “An Eon-old, Icy Tomb” somewhere among the chaos terrain and wastelands of Pluto.
FICTION — The Fountain
The storm had sunk the Consuelo and the Santa Sara, leaving Francisco Herrera and Rodrigo Ibanez as the only sailors able to reach a nearby island. Anacaona, a female savage enslaved on a pr…
Source: FICTION — The Fountain
FICTION — Looking for Fun on All Hallows’ Eve
With vestiges of his costume still clinging to his body, Mike Berger drove along Armagh Avenue through downtown New Belfast. He had absolutely no luck at his brother’s party, and he couldn’t stand …
FICTION — Clockwork
The façade of the shuttered Galloway & Sons Department Store loomed over Armagh Avenue, preventing any moonlight from reaching the sidewalk. The normally raucous downtown bars were desolate, ev…
Source: FICTION — Clockwork
FICTION — A Christmas Tree To Die For
Kevin parked his jeep at the end of a meandering lane. A mottled afternoon sky spat snowflakes down onto gravel, leaves, and mud. Kevin jammed his keys down into one pocket and his cellular phone i…
A Visit to the Idea Factory 