Stories

Ralph has a successful web-design firm, lovely twin daughters and an ex-wife with whom he is on reasonable terms, though his parents persist in regarding him as a disappointment, disliking his choice of career and general lack of ambition. But, in the wake of his divorce, he experiences a return of feelings and ideas that he hasn’t had since his teenage years when an affair with another boy at school left an indelible mark. And now, he has to decide, does he want to be that person who hides, lashes out at any suggestion he might be gay, or does he want to break free.

Former Delta Operative, Sam Trammel’s entire world has just collapsed and with no other option, he returns to Florida to bury his twin and his past. Ben Santiago is an Episcopal priest, a man with a checkered past, and a close friend of Sam's family. After a chance meeting brings them together, the two men navigate the tangled web of regret and forgiveness as friendship turns into love despite the obstacle of Sam's PTSD, and his reluctance to move toward Ben instead of away. Family and new friendships help Sam to rebuild and realize that sometimes the path to healing and finding home, is by confronting your past head-on.

The impact of the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 was felt around the world, but in few places more than in New York City. Not only is New York home to the second-largest Jewish population in the world, but it’s home to peoples of many cultures, including a large Arab American population. In my New York Stories, New York Holidays and New York Anthologies series, I’ve introduced characters who might well have been in Israel at the time of the attack. October Fire is a 6-part story about Jewish and Palestinian New Yorkers who persevered in the face of hate.

Oliver is an Asian American teenager who struggles with his sexuality as he falls in love with his best friend Cody. He lives in a small town where he attends high school and plays baseball and basketball as he learns who he can trust as he comes out of the closet.

Prentiss was a small-time comedian. This was probably pre-ordained since maybe second grade. His name guaranteed he would need to become a master of quick comebacks. Prentiss Plummer left itself wide open for all manner of pee-pee and plumber jokes. But something happened and he was no longer small-time. Then, after a few weeks of Las Vegas shows, he couldn’t give tickets away. And then, things got weird.

Former policeman Dan and art critic Vaughan’s relationship has an unfortunate start, but second time around they find that life has something different in store for them. Amidst interfering family members and lively friends, their relationship develops. But then Dan’s employer, Francis Heyward starts to take an interest. Heyward is seemingly stupendously rich, a giver of notorious parties and the possessor of an enviable art collection. There’s a question of whether a line should be crossed, and whether Heyward can even be trusted at all.

Prompt #385 –

Brendan Nelson had a tough week at work. He is a Project Manager at a small software company. Nothing went well on his current project. The last delivery to QA (Quality Assurance) was a total failure, the techs couldn't even install it. Add to that, a serious problem in the development of a new feature arose. Finally, on top of that, the customer was screaming about a bug that hadn't been fixed for months, and now it apparently crashed the system. As if things weren't bad at work, he had to come home to a surprise.

A recent college graduate has a painful coming out to his family but gets a surprising response from his father.

Mike finds himself in an unexpected and uncomfortable situation. New school, new town, new family, and most notably, new roommate. And life seems to only get crazier every day.

This is the story Enrique Alberto, just another ordinary guy. But not everything is as ordinary as it seems.