Salem and I both love our boat dock. It's fun to climb into the old rowboat on a calm day and feel the gentle rocking motion of the ocean. Sometimes we row over to Marblehead or out to Baker's Island (the inspiration for one of my earlier stories). In the bow of my blue rowboat you will find 25 stories to read before heading back to shore.
Arithmomania - (September 2019) A man facing the dissolution of his marriage suffers from not only insomnia but also arithmomania: the irresistible urge to count things. The Ballad - (December 2019) A rock star wants to write a song about one of his fans, a teenage girl whose father murdered her mother and then killed himself. The Book - (May 2019) Eager to be a rock 'n' roll star, a young guitar player agrees to sign over his immortal soul. The Catch - (October 2019) Grieving over the loss of a patient, a nurse seeks help by phoning a toll-free number advertised on television. Cynophobia - (October 2019) With a dog park about to be built across from her home, a woman suffering from cynophobia seeks Lionel Penn's help to overcome her fear of dogs. |
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Deadwood Dan - (April 2019) On a train bound to Tucson, a Texan tells a New York reporter tall tales about a Western lawman named Deadwood Dan. Delphi - (May 2019) Having reached the age of fifteen, a girl is finally able to access Delphi, the most advanced app ever conceived. The Elevator - (July 2019) A confused man finds himself facing a series of terrifying incidents inside an elevator car. The Experience - (May 2019) A genius research chemist, inspired by Dr. Timothy Leary, wants to develop a drug that allows a person to see God. Filicide - (October 2019) Four women meet as strangers at a crowded restaurant and discover they have something in common: a memory they would just as soon forget. |
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The Girl at the Rest Area - (November 2019) An architect must battle a sense of guilt when she learns the teenage girl she declined to give a ride to is missing. Grandpa Herb - (November 2019) A private nurse is hired to care for a ninety-year-old man who entertains her with tales of Ernest Hemingway and Depression era bank robbers. His Brother's Wife - (June 2019) A former Union soldier receives word from his brother that his sister-in-law has gone missing. Hooligans - (December 2019) A modern day New England Patriots fan decides to mimic the hooliganism that plagued Great Britain in the Eighties. In the Ruins - (August 2019) A time traveler journeys to the past where he leaves modern devices to be found by archeologists centuries later. |
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Inspiration - (October 2019) Seeking inspiration for his latest novel, a horror writer spends the night in a house where a famous unsolved murder occurred. The Kitchen Witch - (December 2019) After a long, successful career as a celebrity baker and star of her own television show, Martha Seacrest decides it is time to retire, but not before creating the world's largest gingerbread house. Marriage by Proxy - (November 2019) During World War II, a Bavarian farm girl learns she is pregnant and enters into a marriage by proxy to a soldier who is serving in the Nazi Wehrmacht. Pursuit of Justice - (October 2019) A bestselling mystery writer becomes possessive of his fictional sleuth: a beautiful Scotland Yard inspector named Gwendolyn Justice. Pygmalion's Plight - (May 2019) Yvette Delacroix, the Queen of Romance, condemns her favorite male character to one tragic love story after another. |
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The Rowlett Family Tree - (November 2019) A ninety-year-old Southern woman prefers to view the world through rose-colored glasses, until she is forced to accept the truth about her slave-owning ancestors. Sanctuary - (November 2019) After killing four people, a man seeks refuge in a twelfth century Norman-built cathedral where he is granted sanctuary. The Speakeasy - (September 2019) While on a date, Virginia Brackman visits a speakeasy located in the basement of a New Jersey funeral home. The Vacant Bridal Suite - (December 2019) A bride-to-be runs from Newark Airport, takes a bus to Oklahoma and checks into an old hotel, believed to have a haunted bridal suite. The Young King - (July 2019) Old Kristof tells the tale of a boy king who can turn things to gold with a touch of his hand. |