The Remains of Her Son

"I live and work in a roadside inn in the deep south of the Mekong Delta. During the war this was the territory of IV Corps, which saw many savage fights. Although the battles may have long been forgotten, some places cannot forget."

Crack the Spine, Issue 82

The Red-Devil Tattoo

"The prisoner pulled up his shirt with one hand. He looked composed. Winged ants and fire ants ran wildly across his legs as if they smelled something palatable. Sarge stepped back, and the prisoner’s gaze followed him, studying Sarge’s little red devil. He flashed his grin, the same devil grin on Sarge’s arm."

storySouth: Issue 36, Fall 2013

Of Bones and Lust (reprint)

 "The crowd stood, eerily quiet, gawking at the headless body doused in blood, tottering like an effigy in the cart as it creaked along."

Of Bones and Lust

Story of the Week selection 

(With reprint permission from WIPs Journal.)

The Devil's Mask

"There was no light in the room. She reached for the wall light switch and flipped it on. The single ceiling lamp shone a soft amber. The room, having a bed, a dresser, no wall mirrors, was thickly carpeted—the only room in the house so. There was no table lamp, for he had played with the light bulbs and crushed them with his hands. The bed sat low, its curved legs in deep chocolate finish, sturdy looking. He sat on the floor at the footboard, both hands tied to the leg of the bed. She saw that he wore a black mask, the devil’s mask worn by the hamlet’s lobster hunters. The mask, fashioned after the devil’s pod of water caltrop in glossy black, was sculpted to resemble a leering goat-horned demon. Seeing him in bondage with such a mask on, like he were being sacrificed to some dark gods, she held her breath momentarily, then sat down by him."

The Devil's Mask

a short story

SQUAWK BACK (September 8, 2013)