Click on the pics below to read excerpts from the stories in my first collection
DEAD SOULS published by Necro Publications.

And the Lake Shall Cry No More...

Rory watched as his father talked to one of the Creekers. This one was a squat man not much taller than Rory. He stood in front of Rory’s dad, his body bent at an odd angle, like a wedge. He looked up at Hank, his raspy voice came through the crisp morning air. “We hoped this’un been good.”    “No. Sorry. I think she’s tapped, Tobias. Maybe the next one,” Hank said flatly. Then looking up and past the bent little man he gave a quick nod and asked, “Is this her? She’s been here before. One of your daughters, right?” Read more...

A Better Man

Oh, great, he thought when he stood on his tiptoes to see into the bathroom mirror. He only managed to see himself from the neck up. Two large, doe eyes, ice blue, stared back at him. Tony’s hair fell around his face in soft, light brown curls. He had a small, upturned nose--a little piggish. Puffy cheeks and soft pouting lips.    Well, at least I’m cute, he thought and shrugged. Read more...

Bully

I saw Jimmy’s shadow disappear from the outside of the shed, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew he was still there, crouched low within jumping distance of the door. I waited for a minute and slowly slid the bolt away from the door and jumped in the corner to the side of the door. Instantly, Jimmy’s huge body burst into the room. His speed propelled him deep into the center of the shed. His head darted back and forth as he scanned the room for me. He began to turn, and as he did I brought the rounded metal side of a shovel down on the back of his head. He dropped instantly. I took a deep breath and smiled. School was in session. Read more...

Everything...Will Be Just Fine

Then, Bobby would fall to the ground--helpless. The once bright summer grass turned brown as Bobby struggled to be free. The more he struggled, the more he sank. The mud sucked him in; his legs would go numb. And as Bobby stopped his struggle, muscles aching, he opened his eyes wide and watched, as the beautiful woods grew darker. Chomp. Chomp. The void expanded, consuming all. Chomp. Chomp. Light. Grass. Trees. Bobby’s soul. But not the memories. Oh, no. They must stay. They stick to him like a tick clinging to an old dog’s ear, like a barnacle encrusted on a forgotten skiff...    ...like an unwanted child to an alcoholic mother. Read more...

Growth

It was mid-summer and the novelty of freedom had given way to sheer boredom. A couple of weeks ago, Phil and Johnny had blasted out of their six-grade classroom full of plans for the summer, but now, those plans seemed to have fallen through a crack only to be replaced by never-ending search for something interesting to do. Read more...

Spin-Cycle

Hard at the thought of cracking her in the mouth. Hands grip the wheel tighter.    Cops said take a drive...calm down. Fuck 'em! First her, then her goddamn momma.    A quick glance in the mirror. Eye swollen like a ripe plum. Read more...

Libra

Harry heard the front door open and close. He wiped his hands on his stiff, blue-jeaned legs. Had to look good when meetin’ people, Harry thought. He ran one hand through his neat marine-cut hair, more out of habit than necessity and rubbed his face with his other. Need a shave, he thought as he slowly turned to meet his host. Harry heard footsteps as someone entered the kitchen and when he turned completely around, Harry found himself looking into the barrel of a .357. The scales were tipping. Read more...

tick-tock

A dark figure stands alone in the center of the room. He looks at the ceiling, no longer feeling the wind against his back. He pauses only for a moment and then lowers his head and closes his eyes. He removes his black shirt and folds it carefully. He lays the folded shirt on the bed gently and looks at it briefly. He then removes his shoes, socks, and pants; he does with the pants as he did with the shirt. He lays the pants atop the shirt and pats them, smoothing out the wrinkles. A sigh passes his lips and he moves back to the center of the room. The room is dark, but occasionally explodes with light as the lightning from the storm bursts from the clouds. Read more...

Kill Me Again

It’s probably safe to say that none of this would have happened if Tom’s wife hadn’t spilled a simple glass of water on the floor. That’s what set him off. Tom considered himself a calm, rational man, but after twenty years of putting up with Helen’s “little quirks,” as he liked to call them, he was riding that fine line between levelheaded and insane. The water spilling moved that line deep into the realm of insanity, and left Tom standing right in the middle of it. Read more...

The Hill

“What you’re telling me can’t be.” Simmons was trying hard to grasp what the doctor was saying. The pain rifling through his brain was making the task even more difficult. Most of what happened up on the Hill was a blur, but one thing Simmons did remember was Jones telling him Slug had taken it bad in the leg. That and the image of Jones hanging in the air with the top of his head blown off were two things Simmons remembered clearly. There was, however, another part of the overall image that was nagging at Simmons, but he didn’t want to mention it to the doctor. Not yet. Read more... .