"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."
         --Jessica Rabbit

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I’ve written a number of short stories and poems over the years, some of which have been published as noted below.  I don’t give my poetry any great shakes, though, so consider yourself forewarned.

Short Stories:

1. “To Be A Husband” - Written during my senior year of college, this story in many ways sums up some of my feelings about the meaning (and misconceptions) of marriage from a male standpoint.  It’s still in revision stages, but it’s more polished than some of my works.

2. “My Sobriety” - This story is the result of what came out after I was given the title to write something to go with it.  This is the way the story was meant to be at first, before my instructor at the time voiced his concern over the somewhat dark ending.  He changed his mind later, to my relief, since the story is so much stronger this way than with anything less provocative.  This was published in the Creative Journal (Spring, 2003), and won second place in its creative writing contest.

3. “Broken Glass” - This story was inspired by reading Charles Bukowski, so it’s very gritty and edgy -- for me at least.  It was an experiment for me to write in this method, but it helped to put it down on paper while at my favorite diner.  This story was published in The Adirondack Review.

4. “Confessional” - An experimental story where I try to tell everything solely through the dialogue between two people, the general theme is about the tension between doing what is right and the real world.  It’s not meant to be a condemnation of religion, mind you, but...I guess it’s easier if you read it yourself.  This was published in The Scrivener (Fall, 2003), and won second place in its creative writing contest.

5. “Maggie Makes a Hole in the Universe” - I had two days to write a story for the next edition of The Scrivener, and all I had was this title.  I tried several story ideas and approaches, but none of them worked.  Things were getting desperate.  And then I thought, “Why not write the Maggie story about being unable to write the Maggie story?”  Eureka!  This was published in The Scrivener (Spring, 2004), but there was no contest this time around.

6. “The Quiet House” - This was a story idea I had been kicking around for a while.  It is based on an actual New York decision that featured the famous line, “As a matter of law, the house is haunted.”  Who says law is boring?  The story was published in The Scrivener (Fall, 2004), and won third place in its creative writing contest.

Poetry:

1. “For Rosalinda And John’s Wedding” - A poem that I wrote as a wedding gift to my half-brother and his wife, it came to paper on the flight to Los Angeles where the wedding was held.  As to why it rhymes (most of my poems don’t in this fashion), I cannot say.  I don’t know where the poetry in me comes from.  Part of me wants to revise it, but perhaps it’s better left as a point-of-reference...a milestone of sorts.

2. “Hymeneal for Mike and Jazz” - So, what do you suppose happens when you write a poem for one sibling’s marriage and then another sibling gets married?  Yeah, they expect a poem for their wedding as well.  Not only that, they expect that you’ll read it aloud as part of the ceremony.  No pressure!  Since it’s a poem written for a wedding service, the proper term is “hymeneal,” which is something I discovered while trying to determine what the plural form of “hymen” was.  Go figure.

3. “Hymeneal for Millie and Peter” - And then the last sibling got married, so this marked the last hymeneal I’ll write.  A special story on this one: Peter has a brain tumor, and part of it is inoperable.  He’s doing very well now, but the specter of mortality still colored the wedding.  The hymeneal was my way of telling the new couple that without problems there’s nothing to triumph over, and I’m sure that together they’ll do just that. 

4. “In the Waiting Room” - A poem about the time after the accident, when things are bad and there’s nothing you can do about it other than wait and hope.

5. “One of These Days” - It’s not about dementia.  Really.  It’s a poem about the doubts and fears that keep one from going out and grasping the world.

6. “Seasons” - A short, simple little poem.  It’s better to either read into it way too much or don’t read into it at all.

7. “Riverfront Farm” - The place the poem describes is real...it’s an old mansion nestled on a hill that overlooks the Potomac River here in Virginia. It’s now mostly used to host flower shows and other events.