It is deep night. The hair sticks to the back of my neck. The fan stands in the corner, whirring and sputtering. It complains of the heat as much as I do. I cannot sleep. A black curtain of summer drapes itself over my shoulders and the rest of the room, daring me to move.…

love The doors stood wide open. I could see the long rays of afternoon sunlight reaching through from the space between the barn boards. Queen Anne’s lace and sunflowers dotted the unused paddock. The weather vane, an old heron, dipped its head towards the east, waiting for sunrise already. The rich crimson red walls wrapped…

Waiting for your voice to reach me, I lay in darkness and hold my breath To slow the pounding beat of my heart ~ Gracie perched on the wooden window sill with one leg dangling from the second floor. She stretched her bare foot and rubbed her heel on the rough brick. The maple tree…

The wind had whispered for a long time that this day would arrive, though I will admit that I refused to believe that it could happen. It was not that I did not want to believe, but doubt had wound its way through my branches and roots and I could not let the truth drop;…

I tipped the red coffee mug up towards me and looked in. The last remnants of breakfast lay sprinkled across the table. If I had been a fortune teller, I could have read the crumbs like tea leaves. I drank the last mouthful of coffee and set the mug to the side and leaned forward.…

Cora opened the side door of the house and stood on the grey concrete porch. The steps were wet from the rain overnight and the street was quiet. She closed the door behind her, listened for the click of the lock before stepping down. Signs of spring sprinkled down with the rain. Somewhere up in…

Sparta Line [my entry for the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge 2011 – heat 8 round 1] “Are you sure you know where we are supposed to turn?” I asked Leonard. I suppressed the urge to take out my Beretta and press it to his temple. We had been driving for 9 hours, and Leonard…

….. part 1b me: Did you know that up until today I have been referring to what you do rather than to you directly? crit ick: huh? me: sorry let me use small words so I don’t confuse you. crit ick: …. me: Instead of calling you by your proper name, I have been focused…

  I didn’t intend to have a conversation with the crit ick today, but after this morning’s outburst, I thought it was best if we sat down and hashed a few things out. This is an excerpt from our conversation. It will seem a little one sided at times, but, please bear with me. There…

The massive white owl painted on the underpass surprised Nika as she drove on her way to the studio. The graffiti had not been there the week before. She would have noticed. The painting covered the entire piling from the sidewalk to the concrete cloverleaf it supported. The owl’s yellow piercing eyes nearly forced her…

I managed to reach the 50,000 word count for NaNoWriMo in the evening of November 13th. The story is no where near completion, but I thought I would share a couple of excerpts from it. Keep in mind, this is raw, unedited word vomit here. It was an intense thirteen days – my third year…

Lola touched her tongue to the back of her teeth and ran the top along the ridges. She flicked her fingers at the flies as she walked down the curved driveway towards the house. The tree trunks that lined the laneway were thick with underbrush. Lola thought it looked like the trees were wearing socks.…