Category: Short Stories

July 21, 2018 /
September 26, 2017 /

Face it, women have a peculiar affinity for a certain room in the house. And, I’m here to tell you why: sanctuary. Imagine, if you will, a bustling household on a typical morning. People teeming with questions and definitive statements, such as, “Is there any granola left? Where are my…

July 29, 2017 /

Ms. Hellman wrote these when she was 23-24ish. I think at that time she was divorced, working at MGM as a reader, and had just met the love of her life, Dashiell Hammett. The stories are the first flexing of her literary muscle. They were published once, in a magazine…

April 8, 2017 /

I have a friend I met when we were nine. This picture of Mary Pickford reminds me of her, the solid gaze, the bold spirit, and the curls. She’s the only person I’ve ever known whose hair fell into perfect ringlets. Recently, she called out of the blue and we…

September 10, 2016 /

Hello! This excerpt from my novel in progress is for my friend in Seattle, Scott Parker-Anderson. I’m in a helluva good mood, because after months of being forbidden from typing (separated my shoulder joint, long story, tell ya later) I am back at the keyboard. For those of you who…

August 6, 2016 /

Hello kittens, I thought I’d show you this – La Miniatura – draped off in tarps against the weather. Talk about maintenance! The house was originally commissioned by a rare book dealer… Paper… Water… Paper… Anything wrong here? As a follow up to the previous post (in a round about…

August 6, 2016 /
June 19, 2016 /
May 12, 2016 /

For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by maps. From when I was a little boy maps, atlases, and globes offered a window onto the wider world out there, and, more than that, made it understandable. They represented mystery and the solution to mystery all at…

May 8, 2016 /

What got me started on this train of thought, was, of course, the Kid. He has a habit of referring to his elders as, “Boss,” however it all started with me and my very special name, “Crime Boss.” Irene Dunne was a nice upstanding gal who did right by her…