Have you ever wondered how far a grandmother would go to get the hottest Christmas toy for her baby granddaughter? I never did until I witnessed how desperate my mother was to get a Cabbage Patch doll in the early 1980's. A fist-punching brawl between mothers and grandmothers at Toy "R" Us that forever changed my childhood.A shorter version of this 950-word essay was first published in Soft Whispers Magazine (November 2009).

With hundreds of police officers lining the street across from the cemetery on one side, and 3,000 Hells Angels attending a funeral and a shooting at the same service inside the cemetery, the resulting traffic jam between the two sides made for an interesting Saturday afternoon on October 15, 2011.This essay IS NOT an account of the funeral for Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew and the subsequent shooting that took place inside the cemetery. This is about what happened outside the cemeter...

A bored intern at the U.S. Department of State mail room takes home mis-routed diplomatic letters to steam off the colorful stamps for her collection, starting a war with an obscure island nation of Nowhere in the South Pacific during the 2008 presidential election.An original 5,560-word short story ebook.

Little Suzy and her dog, Spot, are trap inside the detached garage on her late grandfather's ranch in Morgan Hill during a fierce thunderstorm with an unspeakable horror from inside a handcrafted lunch box that hungers for revenge against her family.This 4,000-word short story was first published in the "Big Book of New Short Horror" anthology (Pill Hill Press / September 2011).

John Wormwood, a veteran news reporter for The Silicon Valley Gazette, witnesses a satanic human sacrifice that opens the bronze doors of the Rodin's The Gates of Hell statue at Stanford University, unleashing the Horseman of Death into the world, and runs for his life with the biggest Pulitzer Prize winning news story of his career.This 5,340-word short story was first published in Strange Tales of Horror anthology (NorGus Press / February 2011).

A trio of short stories about spiritual faith in uncertain times."A Leap of Faith" - A young man contemplates suicide by leaping in front of a speeding train when an old bus driver shows him the miraculous wonders of everyday living that makes life more meaningful."The Devil Came A-Collecting" - A middle-aged man wakes up at midnight to find the devil from an old amusement park ride waiting to collect his little boy soul for a sin he committed in kindergarten."Saved...

An experienced contractor runs the gauntlet for a late night tech job at a financial institution in the heart of Silicon Valley, getting past the trigger-happy security guard, dealing with younger co-workers who expect to get paid fabulous money for doing nothing, and saving a desperate project manager when everything goes wrong.This 4,190-word short story was first published in Fictionaut (02 January 2014).

As three veteran spymasters discuss the future of a senior spymaster running late for his own surprise birthday party, the uninvited spook across the street listens in and disagrees with every word they say.This 1,000-word short story was first published in The Storyteller (July/August/September 2008).

As their respective dates wander off for refreshments and then the dance floor, George, a low-level C.I.A. analyst from San Francisco, and Gracie, a medieval history student at Stanford University, compare notes on why their dates conspired against church rules to see each other at a wedding reception in the manure capital of California.An original 1,700-word short story ebook.

After confronting a prominent attorney with three young sweet things for not leaving a generous tip, Charles Goodwin, the cannibalistic owner of The Giggling Mongoose, fumes at not being able to teach the old goat a lesson in restaurant manners until the scorned wife makes him an offer he can't refuse.This 5,530-word short story was first published in "Behind Locked Doors" anthology (Wicked East Press, March 2012).

As Claude prepares his surgical instruments for Plain Jane, a petite prostitute he brought back to his motel room, she unnerves him with her cravings for alcohol, inexplicable incidents that belies her plain appearance, and knowledge of the Las Vegas serial killer. Naked underneath a ceiling mirror that exposes all, the wild and passionate sex of a one-night stand begins. One will walk out alive, the other in small pieces.A shorter version of this 3,730-word short story was first p...

If you're ever invited to attend the Apple Store Job Fair at the Cupertino headquarters, don't drink the water. The employees pushing the cold bottles of water are store managers. If you find yourself with an urgent need to urinate during the two-hour presentation and activity session, don't use the restroom. You will piss away your job interview if you do.An original 8,300-word essay being published for the first time.