SHORT FICTION

COLLECTIONS

February 2013
DEAD LETTERS: STORIES OF MURDER AND MAYHEM

Winner of the House of Crime and Mystery Readers' Choice Award for Best Short Fiction Collection

This collection features nine stories of crime, horror, and, uh, whatever the heck you'd call a tale that takes place at the North Pole and stars an elf-detective. Featuring the Donald Westlake-inspired "Action," which first appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine; the Anthony-nominated novella "The Hitter," which was selected by Harlan Coben and Otto Penzler for THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2011; and a brand new, never-before-seen... (More)



October 2010
8 POUNDS: EIGHT TALES OF CRIME, HORROR, AND SUSPENSE

"This set of dark tales has an unparalleled sense of place... Of special note here is the story 'The World Behind.' It is the best single short story I have read in years.”
-Crime Fiction Lover

 Spinetingler Award Nominee for Best Short Story Collection

These eight tales run the gamut from small-town horror to old-school, whiskey-slugging noir, with a touch of coming-of-age adventure thrown in for good measure. Featuring the Spinetingler Award-winning... (More)




ALL SHORT FICTION

"A Minor Irritation" Shotgun Honey (January 2025)

"Christmas, 1983" Beat to a Pulp (December 2021)

"Murderers' Row" Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (July 2019)

"Con Season" UNLOADED 2 (anthology; Down & Out Books, July 2018)

"The Group Home" BLOOD BUSINESS (anthology; Hex Publishers, November 2017)

"The Approach" (digital short; Mulholland Books, August 2016)

"Mansion on the Hill" TROUBLE IN THE HEARTLAND (anthology; Gutter Books, December 2014)

"The Lizard's Ardent Uniform" THE LIZARD'S ARDENT UNIFORM & OTHER STORIES (anthology; Beat to a Pulp, June 2014)
  • Reprinted in The Fall Creek Review (July 2014)

"A Dying Art" All Due Respect (November 2013)

"Pretty Little Things" Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (July 2013)
  • 2014 Derringer Award Finalist
  • Featured on the Word Crimes podcast (October 2014)
  • Included in CRIMINAL WORDS (audiobook; Word Crimes, December 2014)

"The Follow-Through" Beat to a Pulp (June 2013)
  • Reprinted in BEAT TO A PULP: HARDBOILED 3 (anthology; Beat to a Pulp, November 2013)

"One Man's Muse" DEAD LETTERS (collection; February 2013)
  • Reprinted in River Heights Book Review (June 2015)

"The Great Plains" MURDER AND MAYHEM IN MUSKEGO (anthology; Down & Out Books, November 2012)

"Not Forgotten" SHOTGUN HONEY PRESENTS: BOTH BARRELS (anthology; Shotgun Honey Books, October 2012)

"An Open Door" BEAT TO A PULP: ROUND TWO (anthology; Beat to a Pulp, May 2012)
  • Reprinted in Beat to a Pulp (July 2014)

"The Putdown" Grift Magazine (March 2012)
  • Collected in DEAD LETTERS (February 2013)

"The Final Bough" Angry Robot Books (December 2011)
  • Collected in DEAD LETTERS (February 2013)

"Green" CRIME FACTORY: THE FIRST SHIFT (anthology; New Pulp Press, September 2011)
  • Collected in DEAD LETTERS (February 2013)

"A Night at the Royale" PULP INK (anthology; Needle Publishing, August 2011)
  • Collected in DEAD LETTERS (February 2013)

"The Man in the Alligator Shoes" Beat to a Pulp (June 2011)
  • Collected in DEAD LETTERS (February 2013)

"A Native Problem" BEAT TO A PULP: ROUND ONE (anthology; Beat to a Pulp, October 2010)
  • Collected in DEAD LETTERS (February 2013)

"A Rip Through Time: The Dame, The Doctor, and the Device" Beat to a Pulp (September 2010)
  • Reprinted in A RIP THROUGH TIME (anthology; Beat to a Pulp, November 2011)

"The Hitter" Needle Magazine (August 2010)
  • Reprinted in THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2011 (anthology; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 2011)

  • 2011 Anthony Award Nominee for Best Short Story

  • Collected in DEAD LETTERS (February 2013)

"Action" Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (May 2010)
  • Collected in DEAD LETTERS (February 2013)

"Eight Pounds" Thuglit (December 2009)
  • Collected in 8 POUNDS (October 2010)

"A Better Life" The Feral Pages (October 2009)
  • Collected in 8 POUNDS (October 2010)

"The Well" Flashes in the Dark (February 2009)
  • Collected in 8 POUNDS (October 2010)
  • Reprinted in FEEDING KATE (anthology; Gallowstree Press, November 2012)

"The Toll Collectors" Beat to a Pulp (February 2009)
  • Collected in 8 POUNDS (October 2010)

"The Big Score" The Back Alley (July 2008)
  • 2009 Derringer Award Finalist

  • Collected in 8 POUNDS (October 2010)

"A Simple Kindness" Spinetingler Magazine (January 2008)
  • Collected in 8 POUNDS (October 2010)
  • Featured on the Crime City Central podcast (July 2012)


"Seven Days of Rain" Demolition Magazine (September 2007)
  • Winner of the 2008 Spinetingler Award for Best Short Story on the Web

  • Collected in 8 POUNDS (October 2010)

"The World Behind" Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (June 2007)
  • Collected in 8 POUNDS (October 2010)