Summer 2025

 This summer I had two author appearances of note. My friend (and fantastic writer himself) Mark Stevens invited me to the Mesa Verde Writer's Conference in Mancos, Colorado. It was an opportunity to pimp my books in a new venue and meet writers new to me. I gave a workshop on writing motivation, Demons and Angels, Why You Don't Write and Why You Do, and participated on a panel, Versatile Voices, about finding and presenting your voice across genres.

 

My fellow panelists, left to right: Jim Tritten (retired US Navy aviator), Lisa C Taylor (conference co-director), Catlyn Ladd (writes horror and the metaphysical), and Shannon Lawrence (fantasy author).

 

 

After returning from Mancos, I followed up on a invitation from the Regis University's Mile-High MFA in Creative Writing and the Center for the Study of War Experience for a veterans' reading and Q&A. From left: Ryan Charaba, Steven C. Dunn, and me. Zooming in: Khadijah Queen. Off camera: Jeff Curry. The other vets on the panel read from their non-fiction memoir, sharing pointed and poignant recollections from their military experience. I was, as usual, the outlier, since I've never written about my military service, and my observations are filtered though fiction. In my earlier work, I tended to go for absurdities and low-brow humor, but remember:

The deepest truths are found in fables. 

Coming soon: More fables as in a collection of my published short fiction and my crime novel. Stay tuned.

Autumn 2023

What I love about autumn is that it doesn't sneak up on you like spring or summer. You go out one morning and the brisk weather says, "Autumn is here! Put away your shorts and get your jacket and gloves." Denver's first real snowfall of the season carpeted the ground with leaves. 

I'm in the recently published horror anthology Midnight Roost from WordCrafter Press. My contribution "Immediate Intervention" looks at the consequences of people born in artificial wombs. Being a horror story, it doesn't end well for the central character.

The anthology Ramas y Raices: The Best of CALMA I'm editing for the Colorado Alliance of Latino Mentors and Authors is on track. We've just finished the copy-edits and are progressing into formatting, cover design, and final editing. Then we'll be sending copies out for review. Stay tuned.

Summer 2021

These past years I've had several short stories published, which throws me back to my first attempts at writing fiction. Thankfully those early stories remain forever disappeared, like Mafia snitches. This year I signed contracts for three short stories, all horror. The first was "Blucifer" for the StokerCon 2021 Souvenir Anthology, that I wrote about in my last post. The second story "Xipe Totec" was for Shadow Atlas: Dark Escapades of the Americas. Check out the awesome cover below. This tale draws upon Mexican fables that I heard as a kid. I also included a particularly gruesome account of human sacrifice as practiced by the Aztecs. Strange as how we file details in our memory to be repurposed later. The third story I'll explain in my next post. 

This year I had two books published, the Western novel Luther, Wyoming, and Broken Destiny, that I co-wrote with Mark Verwiel. As a WWII armchair historian, I've always wanted to write a novel about that war but never had a good story idea gel. Two such attempts are likewise buried and decomposing with my first short stories. Then as a ghostwriter, some of my clients proposed manuscripts about WWII and off I went. The other stories were about the Pacific, one of which was Forgotten Letters. However, Broken Destiny is not a novel, but a historical account of Sergeant William M. O'Loughlin, who perished when his airplane was shot down over Italy. The setting and events have links to A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (all three men served on B25s). Both Miller and O'Loughlin were tail gunners and bombed some of the same targets though they were posted to different units so probably never met. Heller served as a bombardier. In the book I mused that had O'Loughlin survived the war, perhaps he too might've penned a literary classic.

Winter 2020

Hope that 2020 is off to a great start for you all.

What's in store for the year?

Thus far, I have two short stories slated for publication this year. Both stories will be in horror anthologies from Hex Publishers, It Came From the Multiplex and Psi-Wars. Here are the covers. Pretty awesome!

I was busy in 2019 completing book-length freelance projects plus a smattering of short fiction. My audiobook for Rescue From Planet Pleasure hit the streets. I also had the opportunity to share my knowledge of storytelling in writing workshops with Regis University and Lighthouse Writers LitFest. Touring with the Bard's Tower gave me the chance to rekindle old friendships and start new ones.

Check out my appearance schedule on the Events page. Still tuned for updates.

Fall 2017

It's a Denver Post #1 Bestseller!
Blood Business, the latest anthology from Hex Publishers hit the streets like a spray of gunfire from a drive-by shooting. Josh Viola and I had the pleasure of editing a fantastic offering of short fiction from a stable of amazing writers. This book is something we're truly proud of.

"...a unique, compelling, dark production very highly recommended for fans who like their crimes tinged with psychological depth and horror..." D. Donovan, Sr Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

And let's not forget this amazing cover. Get your copy here.

For you Felix Gomez fans, book seven is in the works. In this latest adventure, the series take a detour as you can surmise from the title, Steampunk Banditos: Sex Slaves of Shark Island. Despite the new setting, fear not, Felix won't disappoint. There's plenty of action, intrigue, and weirdness.