Short Fiction and Creative Nonfiction from the Heartland
ABOUT ME
I grew up in La Porte, Indiana, and my childhood there informs my stories, especially those set in the mid-twentieth century. La Porte is a short drive from where Lake Michigan last kisses the Hoosier State. It’s a modest county seat tucked into verdant farmland, with cracked sidewalks and solid people. A controversy recurs occasionally: whether to put a space between the little “a” and big “P.” Other controversies and eccentricities have glimmered below the surface, the kind I like to write about. Characters are my fascination.
I’m thankful for these Winter Gifts:
"Saving the Turtles," a flash fiction story published in MacQueen's Quinterly, Issue 20, on September 15, 2023, has been nominated by MacQ for the 2024 “Best Small Fictions” Anthology. Read it as my featured story.
“Bridge Club,” new fiction, has been published in Hypertext Review. Find it here. The recipe for Ginger Ale Salad (yes, it’s a real thing) is on my blog.
The manuscript for my collection Secrets and Other Hobbies was one of ten manuscripts shortlisted by indie publisher Dzanc Books for its 2023 Short Story Collection Prize.
“The Wall at the Back Garden,” a dystopian flash fiction story, was awarded fourth place for the 2023 Larry Brown Short Story Award by the literary journal Pithead Chapel.
WHAT’S NEW
FEATURED STORY
“Saving the Turtles”
“I stroked my loaner bracelets from Teal, who’d said they were Wonder Woman cuffs for strength and also immunity from projectiles. Teal used bracelets a lot at school.”
