Stories

Damien Moreau has disappeared and his vanishing act causes waves. A well known figure in the world of art and antiquities who cannot be found raises questions. Not least from his protégé, the budding artist Ethan Blake. The investigative skills of Detective Eliott Carter are called upon, but the eventual turn of events leads only to a deepening mystery.

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.

Two for One

Book 2 The continuing story of Marc Alexander and friends as he navigates life in the family corporation, training, politics, lovers, mining, meetings and pirates. Helping people along the way as he starts his fledgling mining company. More problems than answers that can be easily attained.

This story is a prequel and sequel to my previous story, ‘The Boy on the Porch.’ While that was mostly Brendan’s point of view, this will be from the members of the Taft family's perspectives. It will cover things that happened before Nick was kicked out of his house, hit the necessary high points of what was covered in the first story, then continue on with their later lives, expanding on their pieces of the epilogue contained therein. I initially envisioned it to be Nick's story, but quickly determined it would be fairly short, so they all get some attention.

For sixteen year old Danny Anderson life is about to change. School is out and summer is here and hanging with his friends is all he wants to do, but there are some things he just can't share with his best friend, Nate. And then a handsome young stranger, not much older than he is, arrives in town and his world is turned upside down. The summer was now turning into something he could only ever dream of as he begins a journey of self-discovery filled with new adventures and experiences, a new friendship and just a hint of danger.

The boy in the well, told from the well's point of view.

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.

Eric has done well in his life. Born at the right time. Invested at the right time. Walked in on his boyfriend at the right time. To find him cheating. His plans for a world sailing trip vanished and he decides to take a few weeks to sail to Hawaii. Once again. At the right time.

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.