Promise Pt. I “But you can’t hurt them, that’s the rule,” says Emma. There are trees behind the school, just past the fence, a forest with some walking paths and one hilly bit where people have made a bike park. Andy is breathing. It’s nice being around girls. There’s five boys total. Seven girls. Andy’s […]
Promise Pt. I
Marlow spreads her legs under the desk. Her denim skirt keeps her knees from parting too much. I could just run outside, she thinks. Down the hallway, out the doors, away from the school. I don’t have to come back. This morning, she smoked her first cigarette. It’s her last, too. As the teacher talks […]
Down Bubble: Ending
Down Bubble: Part I Down Bubble: Parts II & III Down Bubble: Parts IV & V “Ready navigation!” I yell. The men of the bridge are silent, watching the rocking of the boat. “What is happening out there?” cries Alain. “Man the torpedo bay,” I tell him. “Flood all remaining tubes!” “What are we shooting […]
Down Bubble: Parts IV & V of VII
Down Bubble Part I Down Bubble Part II & III Anton finishes the strapping on my suit. He fiddles with my helmet. “You disagree with this?” I ask him. He asks me to bend over, short as he is, to inspect the latching on my suit. “If I am to die, better to have the […]
Down Bubble: Parts II & III of VII
Something hits the hull with a clang and bounces off. Silence. A second object hits us, and for a moment I think we are saved, but then it explodes. The submarine lurches. No sooner has the noise receded than does a third and a fourth charge blow near us. The metal of the submarine groans, […]
Down Bubble: Part I of VII
“Fire!” I bark. The bridge tenses, and the vessel shakes as the torpedo slips into the water. “Did you string the line yourself? Did you?” I demand of my Second, Alain. “Yes, Captain!” I put my hand on a pipe and close my eyes. The torpedo is running fast, but my mind turns to the […]
Should You Give Your Writing Away for Free?
Give Your Writing Away for Free I give away my writing for free. I’ve been writing on this blog for years. I post several things, but not nearly everything I write. I’ve written three novels in the last six years, they’re not posted. Some of my longer short stories will never be posted, even though […]
Bugs
The Misty Hills Do you ever wonder why there are fewer bugs on your windshield when you go for a drive these days? There is a reason. I tried to write this morning. Got up at five, long before the rest of the family, but nothing came out. That’s okay. I continued to plot up […]
Writing in the Hills
I know, I said I wasn’t going to post much, but what I meant was, no new fiction for a while. That doesn’t mean I’m not writing. So far this week, I’ve completed the following 3,000 word stories: -the junky kids who decide that the revolution will be streamed -the journalist telling the story of […]
Be Still
Be Still There’s a consequential election coming in the United States, between divergent sides of what seems to be a moral divide. There’s a pandemic nipping at our butts. And I believe in climate change, but that’s funny, because I don’t believe in air travel or microwaves or water treatment – they just are. So […]