Some of my stories. See the books page for a complete list of stories.

*also/only available as an individual eBook

NEW! Mystery

In this period mystery, New York City detective Max Baldwin travels back to his hometown upstate to attend a small weekend gathering at Ludlow Manor, a wealthy family's estate surrounded by woods. When he arrives he finds that the other guests are four men he attended school with as a boy. The five of them were involved in an incident in the woods that still haunts Max. He explores the mansion, meeting a girl named Adelaide and then later hearing a woman crying. The first night the other four men are murdered, and it is up to Max to find the killer. During his investigation he learns the butler believes the ghost of a young woman named Anna Ludlow haunts the mansion. Past and present collide as Max learns shocking secrets about Ludlow Manor and its residents.

Spotlight story:

Delirium is the fifth story in my first book of short stories, Storied Existence. I wanted to write a ghost story with a kind of "traditional" Gothic feel. I set it in the mid-1800's in and near London, because well, of course! The story mostly takes place in a huge country house inhabited by two servants and their mistress, Elizabeth Broughton, who is very ill with influenza.

At the beginning, Dr. Martin Barrett is in his London home with three of his colleagues having a drink. This opening scene is a little short. I wanted to jump right in to Martin telling his ghost story, which involves events that took place at the Broughton home while he was there caring for Elizabeth. Her husband James and their two children had just recently passed away in an influenza epidemic.

It seems their presence can still be felt in the house. The housekeeper claims to have seen the ghosts of the children, who she says are waiting for Elizabeth so they can move on. There are strange occurrences - objects are moved, there are mysterious footsteps, and James appears at the top of the stairs. Martin, who is fighting his own demons, brushes these things off at first, but then comes to wonder if something supernatural is happening.

I wanted to add a bit of romance to the story too. Martin is grieving the death of his fiancee Charlotte. His emotions are stirred when Elizabeth, in a delirious state, mistakes him for her husband and kisses him.

Martin's beliefs are challenged by his vivid grief over Charlotte, the elusive presence of James, and the mischievous ghosts of the Broughton children. Delirium delivers heart-pounding tension while treating the spirit world with a mix of skepticism and reverence.

Contemporary Fiction

Brian always wanted to be like his father - perfect. He was nine years old when his father died, and now at thirty-six, he has a career he loves, but a personal life he can't get a handle on. He tends to sabotage himself when it comes to relationships, and is now even at odds with his brother, Scott, over Alison, Scott's ex with whom Brian has just ended a relationship. Then Brian is diagnosed with brain cancer and given maybe one year to live. As he comes to terms with his fate, he examines his life decisions and unresolved issues, and with his time running out, he makes one last effort to get things right.Dealing with long buried emotions, he tackles the sibling rivalry between himself and Scott and grapples with his feelings for Alison.

He begins to accept his self-perceived flaws and finds out he's more like his father than he thought he was. Along the way he feels himself growing closer to the memory of the father he thinks he disappointed and about whom he learns a secret. "All The Things I Meant To Be" is a story about a family's emotional journey of love, loss, regret, forgiveness, and remembering not to take anything for granted.