Betrayal

I was out for a run one day, and a simple thought occurred to me, “The half empty bottle slowly slipped from her fingers, falling to the floor and taking with it the last of her consciousness.  The bottle was finished, and so was she.” That became the start of the story, and chapter one in its entirety.

So, how did we get the? This book is actually written in reverse order. The book begins with the end of the story, and ends with the beginning of the story.

It is a bold and unconventional approach, and at times a challenge to write, but hopefully readers will enjoy it.

Singularity

His wife years ago before they could have kids. Fred McCallum and his wife were so in love. They talked initially about having kids, but somehow never did.

Fred is so alone, and scared. He has realized his branch of the family tree ends with him. There will be no branches or leaves on the tree after him. He is so lonely, so depressed, and he is terrified of dying alone. He begins obsessively thinking, “What if I had a heart attack at home and died? No one would ever know. Oh God, no one would ever know! Please don’t let that happen.”

He is so depressed, and really does not want to go on. He ponders ending it all. Will he? Would anyone really miss him?

Bronzed

Oh what a convoluted story this is!

He is sick and tired of the politicians’ constant sniping and their inability to get anything done. Something needs to be done to disrupt the political process, and he is just the guy to do it. Larry “Scooter” Jenkins plans to wreak havoc.  He will change the political landscape in the state.  He takes it upon himself to single handedly change the balance of power. 

With several dead bodies literally scattered about, Scooter has no plans of being caught. So naturally, he fakes his own death assumes a new identity. The truly disturbing pat of this story is that is could easily happen.

Jilted

Mark Saunders was devastated when Jeanie unexpectedly ended their relationship. Jeanie Marksum really is not a nice woman. When Mark sought answers, Jeanie provide none, and instead took pleasure in creating problems for him.

Though it is has been decades since they went their own separate ways, and she long ago forgot about him, Mark has never forgotten about her. Oh no, he does not want her back, he just wants her to pay. With him, it is an obsession, a thought always lurking in the back of his mind. Twenty five years later, he quietly tracks her down. He watches, stalks, and waits. Jeannie will pay, maybe even with her life.  Does love really every die?  Love kills.

NOTE: The roles of Jeanie and Mark may be swapped. Why? All because of one sentence. Guess I could change the sentence.

Poetical

A dark tale about a disillusioned poet who eventually becomes frustrated with trying to get published, unravels and — well, let’s just say not everyone lives.

#WIP XYX
(Dark Shorts)

Who knows if this will ever become a reality.

It is a working collection of dark short stories. It currently includes Breakdown, Divestiture, Figment, and Succubus.

These are all stories that were written at different points in time as a distraction from novels I was working on that time. These sidetracks were ways to clear my mind and get the creative juices flowing so I could re-engage with the novels.