Welcome to my fiction blog! This site features my novella, "Dreams Before Waking," a story about a young man who runs away from home and finds himself drawn into the world of professional wrestling. I posted this work serially, in chronological order, so if you'd like to start at the beginning, you have to jump down to Post #3, Chapter 1 . I've also included on this blog my essay on Charles D'Ambrosio's short story , "The Point," and another essay I have written on Marilyn Robinson's Gilead . And finally, stories and essays I have published in other venues are linked in the bio at right. I live in Dubuque, Iowa. These days, I am focusing more on flash fiction. My most recent short-short, The Vacuum , was published in Flash Fiction Magazine in May of 2025. I do not have lofty ambitions as a writer. I have no illusions that I can make a living at this, or that the world needs my stories. But I love to write. And of course, I want to have my w...
reflections and whimsies on literary fiction