If you were around a century or so ago, and you knew him well, you might call him Bill. On a legal document, William Sidney Porter. If you read any of his 300+ published stories, you knew him by his pen name: O. Henry. The name now commands a prestigious short story award, but more than anything, his work effectively trademarked…… Continue reading Behind: “First Rodeo”
Category: Short Stories
Behind: “Two Bad Hamiltons and a Hirsute Jackson”
Violet Celucci is a better angel and an inner demon. A frigging genius is how Vi might describe herself, a bastion of sanity in a disorderly world, a process improvement-seeking missile. An over-obsessed stickler for efficiency is how she’d never describe herself. Sorry, Vi. The truth hurts, and so can life. Tough as you are, I see the breaks in your armor. I…… Continue reading Behind: “Two Bad Hamiltons and a Hirsute Jackson”
Behind: “Death or Taxes”
Behind the Writing Scenes of “Death or Taxes,” published in the July ’14 issue of Mysterical-E. Summer 2011: it was that purplish state of dawn. My eyes flew open. My breath caught in my throat. Inspiration had come. It was ready to bubble out, like it or not. And I liked it. In short order I had finished 1800…… Continue reading Behind: “Death or Taxes”
Behind The Short Story: “Aix to Grind”
Yes, I was in Aix-en-Provence, and sure, I was studying a Picasso in a museum’s first room, only a token velvet rope between me and it, and okay, I even thought, “man, this is how many million euro hanging how many steps from the door?” But no, I wasn’t casing the joint. I’m no thief. I am a…… Continue reading Behind The Short Story: “Aix to Grind”