While my current days are usually spent pursuing goals of being a physics teacher, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and a filmmaker, those who know me know my first love revolved around the art of literature creation. That is to say, writing.
While I hate to say that the majority of my time is not spent writing fictional stories, I do spend a good amount of time dreaming about them. Here, you can view details regarding the status of some of my larger, novel-length projects which have been brewing for quite some time. The samples here represent my most significant work (believe me, I have dozens of started and stopped projects). You can even view samples of some of my work (an upcoming feature), although don't steal it. This section of the site is more for my benefit, to keep tabs on work. Feel free to send me e-mails or comments about the projects. Enjoy following my career.
While I hate to say that the majority of my time is not spent writing fictional stories, I do spend a good amount of time dreaming about them. Here, you can view details regarding the status of some of my larger, novel-length projects which have been brewing for quite some time. The samples here represent my most significant work (believe me, I have dozens of started and stopped projects). You can even view samples of some of my work (an upcoming feature), although don't steal it. This section of the site is more for my benefit, to keep tabs on work. Feel free to send me e-mails or comments about the projects. Enjoy following my career.
Unpublished Work
"Untitled WWII novella"
Type: Novella
Length: 'bout a 100 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Status: 1st Draft completed August 2008, haven't submitted it anywhere or done significant editing on it
Synopsis: A French mathematician begins a passionate, but superficial affair with a beautiful South American woman ten years his junior while she is in vacation in Paris in 1976. The relationship matures after she leaves France, to their surprise. But as they grow closer in spirit, the demons of the mathematician's past begin to stir, forcing him to confront once and for all the torment of his youth.
"The Crossroads Epic: The Lost Soul" (tentative title)
Type: Novel
Length: 'bout 600-800 pages, depending on how you format it
Genre: Contemporary fantasy, epic
Status: 1st draft completed July 2003, 2nd draft completed Nov. 11,2006. Currently, I am revising some of the characters and backstory to take advantage of some of my life experiences, if that makes any sense.
Synopsis: Tony Galloway, a byproduct of an oppressive government, is suddenly introduced to a world of freedom and unspeakable danger, the Crossroads, when he falls through a mysterious machine. With the help of three not-so religious zealots, he manages to avoid the maniacal General Eiselberg, hell-bent on Tony's destruction.
"Demetrius"
Type: Novel
Length: 'bout 180 pages, single-spaced
Genre: Murder mystery, light fantasy, snapshot literature
Status: 1st Drafts of parts 1 and 2 were completed in May of 2005, with snippets of Part 3 being written since.
Synopsis: A middle school student sees a strange figure during a snowstorm in 2003. A dog frantically barks in the middle of a night in 1977. The murder of a disabled boy shocks a community brimming with scandal in 1922. These events, while seemingly separated by time, are inextricably linked. The narrative is non-linear, using shorter, "snapshot scenes," instead of the more conventional chapters.
Note: This story is pretty much top secret. Literally nobody besides myself has ever read a word of this, mostly because, aside from the story, which is pretty damn fantastic, the writing is terrible. This started as an experiment which just won't stay dead, and I hope to have a full draft finished by the end of 2010.
"When Bobby Came Back," Writing competition
Type: One-act play
Length: 'bout 30 pages
Genre: Drama
Awards: Honorable mention
Status: This was originally written for a competition that took place in 2008 in Washington D.C. It is complete, although not submitted anywhere else.
Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Miranda eagerly awaits the return of her childhood playmate, Bobby, who journeys from the city every summer to Lake Harriet in the mid-1950s. What Miranda doesn't know is that Bobby contracted polio over the winter, an event that has had dramatic effects on his future and family.
"Carpe Diem," Script Frenzy
Type: Screenplay
Length: 100 pages (uncompleted)
Genre: Zombies
Status: Limbo. The first 20 pages or so are hammered out, but time restraints are pretty tight.
Synopsis: Dan and Ruth are about to visit their son in Fresno, CA. Dan and Ruth are being chased by zombies. Oh boy.
Type: Novella
Length: 'bout a 100 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Status: 1st Draft completed August 2008, haven't submitted it anywhere or done significant editing on it
Synopsis: A French mathematician begins a passionate, but superficial affair with a beautiful South American woman ten years his junior while she is in vacation in Paris in 1976. The relationship matures after she leaves France, to their surprise. But as they grow closer in spirit, the demons of the mathematician's past begin to stir, forcing him to confront once and for all the torment of his youth.
"The Crossroads Epic: The Lost Soul" (tentative title)
Type: Novel
Length: 'bout 600-800 pages, depending on how you format it
Genre: Contemporary fantasy, epic
Status: 1st draft completed July 2003, 2nd draft completed Nov. 11,2006. Currently, I am revising some of the characters and backstory to take advantage of some of my life experiences, if that makes any sense.
Synopsis: Tony Galloway, a byproduct of an oppressive government, is suddenly introduced to a world of freedom and unspeakable danger, the Crossroads, when he falls through a mysterious machine. With the help of three not-so religious zealots, he manages to avoid the maniacal General Eiselberg, hell-bent on Tony's destruction.
"Demetrius"
Type: Novel
Length: 'bout 180 pages, single-spaced
Genre: Murder mystery, light fantasy, snapshot literature
Status: 1st Drafts of parts 1 and 2 were completed in May of 2005, with snippets of Part 3 being written since.
Synopsis: A middle school student sees a strange figure during a snowstorm in 2003. A dog frantically barks in the middle of a night in 1977. The murder of a disabled boy shocks a community brimming with scandal in 1922. These events, while seemingly separated by time, are inextricably linked. The narrative is non-linear, using shorter, "snapshot scenes," instead of the more conventional chapters.
Note: This story is pretty much top secret. Literally nobody besides myself has ever read a word of this, mostly because, aside from the story, which is pretty damn fantastic, the writing is terrible. This started as an experiment which just won't stay dead, and I hope to have a full draft finished by the end of 2010.
"When Bobby Came Back," Writing competition
Type: One-act play
Length: 'bout 30 pages
Genre: Drama
Awards: Honorable mention
Status: This was originally written for a competition that took place in 2008 in Washington D.C. It is complete, although not submitted anywhere else.
Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Miranda eagerly awaits the return of her childhood playmate, Bobby, who journeys from the city every summer to Lake Harriet in the mid-1950s. What Miranda doesn't know is that Bobby contracted polio over the winter, an event that has had dramatic effects on his future and family.
"Carpe Diem," Script Frenzy
Type: Screenplay
Length: 100 pages (uncompleted)
Genre: Zombies
Status: Limbo. The first 20 pages or so are hammered out, but time restraints are pretty tight.
Synopsis: Dan and Ruth are about to visit their son in Fresno, CA. Dan and Ruth are being chased by zombies. Oh boy.
Published Work
"The Soufflee," Bemidji State University, 2006
Type: Short Story
Synopsis: Jerry, an executive, is married to Abigail, a chef. Jerry becomes wrapped up in his work and devotes all his spare time toward getting a new promotion. When he doesn't get it, he frantically runs across a murky city to save his marriage.
"Without Reason," Nuvein Magazine, 2007
Type: Short Story
Synopsis: Jane is abducted by Paul, a serial killer with an unusual motus operandi; he places his victims into a dark room, and murders them only when they turn on the lights. But Jane is not the helpless schoolgirl Paul believes her to be, and what should be a short confrontation quickly escalates into a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
"The Wolfhound," Periphery, 2010
Type: Short Story
Awards: Selected as a Fiction Award Winner in Periphery, Issue 47, by Andrew Porter, author of "The Theory of Light and Matter"
Synopsis: Patrick, a college drop-out and now a single-parent, decides to go for an 18-mile run in the Virginian countryside. The idyllic atmosphere brings him more pain than comfort, however, as the wounds of a terrible family trauma become evident. Near the end of his run, he is attacked by a large wolfhound, an encounter that leaves him shaken and changed.
"Alive," Periphery, 2010
Type: Poem
Awards: Selected for a Poetry Award in Periphery, Issue 47, by Johnathan Williams, founding editor of linebreak.org.
Theme: Today is tomorrow's yesterday.
Type: Short Story
Synopsis: Jerry, an executive, is married to Abigail, a chef. Jerry becomes wrapped up in his work and devotes all his spare time toward getting a new promotion. When he doesn't get it, he frantically runs across a murky city to save his marriage.
"Without Reason," Nuvein Magazine, 2007
Type: Short Story
Synopsis: Jane is abducted by Paul, a serial killer with an unusual motus operandi; he places his victims into a dark room, and murders them only when they turn on the lights. But Jane is not the helpless schoolgirl Paul believes her to be, and what should be a short confrontation quickly escalates into a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
"The Wolfhound," Periphery, 2010
Type: Short Story
Awards: Selected as a Fiction Award Winner in Periphery, Issue 47, by Andrew Porter, author of "The Theory of Light and Matter"
Synopsis: Patrick, a college drop-out and now a single-parent, decides to go for an 18-mile run in the Virginian countryside. The idyllic atmosphere brings him more pain than comfort, however, as the wounds of a terrible family trauma become evident. Near the end of his run, he is attacked by a large wolfhound, an encounter that leaves him shaken and changed.
"Alive," Periphery, 2010
Type: Poem
Awards: Selected for a Poetry Award in Periphery, Issue 47, by Johnathan Williams, founding editor of linebreak.org.
Theme: Today is tomorrow's yesterday.