Selected Short Stories
Nashville Review
They Kept Riding
All the departures from our subdivision meant more abandoned houses. The patrols had to make sure that no dogs or teenagers—or worse, dogs and teenagers—were squatting there. It was a lot to oversee. “Some days I don’t know how I do it,” Mindy confided to the icemaker.
Sequestrum
So Doth the Swan
Clearly, I, Celine, have made a miscalculation. Misled by a stranger, an outsider, that large-knobbed Trumpeter Swan whom I most certainly was not flirting with.​
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When the man snatched me up, I was all for it. I didn’t even fight. I said Show me the world! But the Trumpeter Swan must have been lying. He promised...
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Necessary Fiction
Mycophile
Her friends and family saw how pale she was becoming. How reclusive! She needed to ditch this man and get her life back, they said. But the woman knew they were jealous. No one could classify an Hericium erinaceus, blindfolded, like he could.
One night he leaned over and whispered in her ear: “Darling, will you do something for me that no one’s ever done before?
Additional Publications
My butt starts to go numb on the metal folding chair, and I remember the paperwork we still have to complete. I show Ricky our disclaimer that while we make every attempt to create a quick and comfortable execution, there may be rare mechanical or operator errors, unforeseen delays that lead to unwanted pain or panic, etc...etc ... He signs it with barely a glance.
"Will you come back and read more?"
This is not the way we typically do things. I'm scheduled three visits with each client: an introductory session, a midpoint check-in after they've moved into their special cell at Covely-Bell and the execution itself. But he's Zach's friend, so I tell him I'll see what I can do.
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-Better Austens, published in The Best Mystery Stories of the Year (2022)
from The Mysterious Bookshop Press. Available here.