Category: <span>publications</span>

“Holes in Heaven” — Isthmus (January 2016)

My story “Holes in Heaven” was published in the January 2016 issue of Isthmus.

First Lines

In addition to its other powers, the Arizona heat compels decay. My forty-year-old apartment building with its Class C construction and Title Eight clientele didn’t stand a chance. The stench had overtaken my bedroom months ago, the epicenter of my carefully assembled physics experiment. Even with a bandana tied around my face, the room stank like clam bellies festering in the desert sun.

I tossed another stack of torn and stained newspapers, Gila Bend Suns and Arizona Republics, onto the edges of … Read more

“The Woman in the Woods” — Necessary Fiction (February 2016)

My story “The Woman in the Woods” was published in the February 2016 issue of Necessary Fiction.

First Lines

Papa’s Death and the Orphan Train

No matter how many times Horace told her different, Eliza knew her brother was wrong. The woman in the woods didn’t look the least bit dead. The woman in the woods looked beautiful. With her long flowing hair and a leaf-gold cape, she made Eliza think of an ancient Irish queen. Of course, the woman didn’t speak as she made her way along the trail. The woman was communing with her subjects, the dead … Read more

“A Pinhole of Light” — Black Static (September 2016)

My story “A Pinhole of Light” was published in the September 2016 issue of Black Static.

First Lines

Waiting

Like this life, the afterlife is unfair. A woman dies at twenty-nine and leaves her infant daughter behind. Eight years later she is still trapped on the other side. When I’m in my happiest frame of mind, I imagine Veronica searching for my darkroom each time I turn on the blood-red light. In my darkest moments, I know I’m failing her. She still hasn’t arrived.

I’m an experienced photographer. I should be able to do better.

Forget ghost stories and … Read more