Copy of Overview
Winner of the 2016 R.M. Kinder Award for Realistic Fiction
On a small tourist island in the Gulf of Thailand, Feeling sells coconut drinks to the farangs who file off the boats at the pier. At only nine-years-old, he knows that there is more to the world than his tiny island, but his chances of leaving are limited. Feeling believes the story of his fates lies in the hands of Lok, the best marble player on the island. Fate provides Feeling the chance to play a game against Lok, and the outcome enlightens a greater truth Feeling might not be mature enough to fully comprehend.
Published in Pleiades, June 2017
Herman sits in the chair he's carried around his hometown for three decades, and the narrator, a man whose boyhood obsession with Herman followed him into adulthood, finally finds his place in life.
Published in Weave Magazine, July 2014
Zach, a Louisiana transplant to New York City shares an apartment with a flamboyant lounge singer who prods him to wrestle the bubble imposed on him by his small town upbringing. As Zach explores the city, he begins to understand what opportunities his new life has to offer.
Published in Bartleby Snopes, March 2014
A son enjoys a day at an Italian street fair with his mother on the anniversary of his father's death. The tensions between them come into focus and reveal a need he thought he'd long overcome.
Published in Litro Magazine, December 2013
Jimmy finds the body of Quint Holster, the man who once saved Jimmy's father's life. The once town hero had fallen from his pedestal, and Jimmy reflects on the effect Quint had on his relationship with his father as he revels in Quint's death. But Quint's death isn't as mysterious as it seems, and Jimmy is confronted with his own failures as a son.
Published in Paper Nautilus, December 2012
Picking up hitchhikers is a dangerous practice, but Tarot doesn't learn lessons well. When he pulls over for a stranger with a guitar, their ride from Phoenix to L.A. brings Tarot's past bubbling to the surface. It isn't quite clear who's picking up who.
Published in Fogged Clarity, September 2012
Published in Berkeley Fiction Review, May 2013
The days of his sexual prowess long behind him, Victor makes another effort to find a woman to love him, even worship him the way they used to. But the voice of reality has taken over, and taunts him during their blind date. He tries to shake the pull of youth, but we are sometimes our own worst enemy.
Published in Crack the Spine, May 2015
Rose finds his boyfriend's mother has died on the couch, but he won't wake up to take care of her.
Published in Fiction Southeast, April 2015