stories
A Native American woman on the run sits down for a game of cards in an old west saloon, knowing the game's mystical luck may be her only chance to find her daughter. 21 pages. Grand Prize Winner of the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award. Reprinted in the charity anthology A Dragon and Her Girl and in Chinese translation in the magazine Science Fiction World.
Pirates raid a merchant vessel to steal the magic locked away in its hull, but one of them has his own agenda and doesn't mind leaving a few bodies in his wake. 14 pages. Originally published in Deep Magic magazine.
A boy in ancient China struggles with his magical duty and his place in the world. 3 1/2 pages. Originally published in New Myths magazine and reprinted in The Best of New Myths Volume 4.
Last Flight of the Star Jumpers
For the special forces squad known as the Star Jumpers, storming a spaceship is nothing new. But when they enter a ship that has gone silent, they soon find out this enemy will be like none they've come up against before. 31 pages. Originally published in Black Infinity magazine.
An elderly sorcerer who has been searching for a way to be useful to his kingdom gets more than he bargained for. 25 pages. Originally published in Writers of the Future Volume 33.
Even Vampires Have a Speed Limit
A soldier whose vast armory of modern weapons still isn't enough to kill the vampires who taunt him bets his life on one last-ditch effort. 4 1/2 pages. Originally published in Stupefying Stories.
The Lost God-Warriors of Dhujapur
When demons come to slay his entire city, a young boy finally sees through the legends that blind his society. 3 pages. Originally published in Factor Four Magazine.
A selfish young man gains the ability to see beyond himself and is forced to decide whether or not he's going to continue living only for his own desires. 13 pages. Originally published in Broadswords and Blasters magazine.
After he dies, dashing space adventurer Austin Severs realizes he should have thought through his life choices a little more carefully. 3 pages. Originally published in Every Day Fiction magazine.
A soldier with a rare ability discovers the end of World War III was just the start of the real war. 14 pages. Originally published in the Weird World War IV anthology.
Lost within their own soul, a person with no name remembers why they choose to forget. 4 pages. Originally published in Galaxy's Edge magazine.
When his arch-nemesis comes to finish their personal battle once and for all, a supervillain decides there's only one way to win this war. 4 1/2 pages. Originally published in Daily Science Fiction magazine.
about
Hey there!
As a young man, I loved writing science fiction and fantasy stories but had no plans for doing so professionally until senior year of high school when one of my professors thought a short story I wrote to fulfill an assignment was suspiciously high in literary merit and threatened to have me expelled for plagiarism. That was when it first occurred to me that I might have the skills needed to become an actual author.
I spent my early career in my hometown of St. Louis, working in private equity to support my family. When the kids outgrew the labor-intensive toddler years, I found enough free time to write short stories. You can read my favorites by clicking the titles above.
When my children grew into teenagers and I was no longer needed to coach little league and help them with their math homework, I decided to retire from writing short stories to focus on novels and a few other writing projects that I'm excited to share when they're ready.