The Unexpected Cosmology

The Night Eyed - And so there I was, writing this story just after watching some videos of survival in the mountains and it occurred to me to involve cryptids. I guess, after writing my first novel: By the Gates of the Garden of Eden, it shouldn’t come as a shock to me that I wanted to write about […]

Modern Epistle 1: The First Letter of Pauly to the Americas - The story of the “Modern Epistle” writing series began when I took a job delivering the local newspaper. Working in the middle of the night afforded me some small pleasures. During the day, I would write my novels, and at night, I’d drive around and throw papers out of my window. It became habitual for […]

An Island at the End of Time - In Islamic eschatology, the return of Isa (Jesus) from the Fourth Heaven will be one of the great signs at the end of the age, after the “Antichrist” is released and before Gog and Magog are released. At the first writing of this piece, I had not put God into the picture at all, but […]

Ouesso to Epena - My first novel, By the Gates of the Garden of Eden, is a story about a University student who hitchhikes the last part of his summer vacation. He is kidnapped by large beings who turn out to be Krampus, and is forced to work in their mines, digging tunnels. Chaucer leads a rebellion with the […]

Blood of the Pecos - It was ten thirty at night and things were pretty still at the Casey’s gas station in Brookston, Indiana. Jordan had gone to the men’s bathroom to clean up urine. Someone had peed in the corner instead of in the toilet. Gross, she sang. Super gross, she sang and laughed and cleaned it up any […]

A Problem of Coffins - When the editor of my newest short story collection read “A Problem of Coffins” he remarked it was by far the most enjoyable thing that he had read that I had written. It came as quite a shock to me, because I never intended for it to be any good. It was simply an experiment […]

The Last Five Minutes - This is a dream that I had during one sweaty night in July, 2002. The creation of this dream stemmed from a lot of prayer time on the carpet of my local church. I had deeply desired God to speak to me about my life and the disaster that it had become. I wasn’t satisfied […]

The Ride - When I first started writing this story, I had no intention of using anyone I knew in the story. As it grew and morphed into what it became, it was clear to me, that if Nathan Thompson and I were to ever hang out, this is probably exactly what would have happened if Quentin Tarantino […]

A Rising Tide Sinks All Shores - One A Fool and his Bible   “So, how are you with ‘health and wealth.’?” Doris Howard asked me, at the back of the church sanctuary. The second service had ended, and we were catching up on old times. “Oh, I suppose I want to be both.” I said, ignorantly honest of her meaning. She […]