Stories

Wanted criminal Hong Shen finally meets his end after being stabbed in the back by a comrade. As he makes his final resting place under a dead plum tree, he submits to death.

Instead, he receives two choices: die, or be given a second chance.

To take the second chance means he must complete a trial in the past in order to return to the present. But what he doesn't know is that the trial isn't only difficult for him, but even more difficult for the person he must be to fulfill it.

Issac Novotny barely made it home from overseas in one piece. Will his memories end up derailing his new life?

Not everything is as it seems, what would you do when faced with insurmountable odds?

The Cat Burglar is the first book of The Professions Series. It was inspired by the 2021 anthology theme An Unconventional Gift.

Kavan has an unsuspected encounter on his 24th birthday that changes his entire life.

The Professions Series series should best be read in order, but each book follows a different brother.

A place to put prompts

A place for my prompt responses and other experimental shorts.

Marc Wynn has accompanied his beloved aunt to estate sales for years, but he's never found anything he couldn't live without-until he meets Sawyer Calhoun. Sawyer wastes no time in revealing his romantic interest in Marc, but their promising first evening ends badly with Sawyer as adamant about broadcasting his sexuality as Marc is about hiding his. But when Sawyer hires Marc to restore his grandfather's house, their intense attraction grows into an emotional connection neither can resist. During the renovations, surprises come to light, and Sawyer must face his past when a tragedy threatens Marc's livelihood.

Plants and animals were my thing. The intricacies of nature intrigued me and yet there was an elegant simplicity that I loved.

6888 Ardra. Heavy gravity planet. Human-compatible atmosphere. Generally temperate climate; I’d aimed for the southern continent which had milder weather and a good mix of terrain.

“Damn Sonez anyway.” He’d tried to keep me on his ship instead of letting me explore the planet with a team after the probe returned. Well I’d stopped his plotting before he could ruin my life.

And I’d show everyone just what Essell Deray could do.

Website designer Scottie Ness is taking a well-deserved vacation from the grindstone, and he plans to spend it in the solitude of Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest around Mt. Adams. He’s prepared for everything—except the lightning storm that traps him in a wildfire. Or meeting Jax Quintero, an abrasive firefighter whose bulky uniform couldn't hide a jawline chiseled from stone and intense eyes that burned him with scorn. Or was that the flames surrounding them?

Maybe Scottie should have gone to Hawaii on vacation instead.

“The wound caused by a sword can eventually be healed; the hurt resulted from vicious remarks can never be undone.”

Under the rule of the Second Emperor of the Guan Dynasty, the Empire has begun to fall into civil ruin, with conspiracies running rampant and political unrest echoing throughout the land.

Yan Rui, a peasant of the lowest caste, has always been ugly since he could remember. Harassed and ridiculed because of his looks, the most he can do to stay alive is lick the feet of the wealthy and pray for scraps.

But when a blind man stumbles into his life, even the ugliest person can have a heart of gold.