Okay, so here’s the scenario: You’ve had enough. You’re motivated to action. The country is falling apart. The people are ready for a change, but no one is strong enough to lead the revolt. So you have an idea, just as clear as glass. What the revolution needs is a leader. But…

So you say you’ve never done it, right? You spend hours with your crew, just hanging out. Maybe you’ve gone a few places and you’re half-wasted. And there’s only one thing that can make it right – Cheetos. And not the new less salt, eco-friendly, heart healthy crunchy ones, the…

I thought of this the other day and can’t seem to get it out of my head. Imagine writing a scene where a character intends to commit suicide. He is emotionally at the end of his rope. He sees no other way out. So he makes his way to a…

This will be quick.  I have approximately 39 hours to convert two steno pads of notes into my novel, B-24. I already have 25 typed pages―single-spaced, no brakes. So, I figure that between what I have already, plus my notes and some elaboration, I should finish with a respectable page…

Whether it be a novel or a short story, the opening paragraph is often the deal breaker. If the first paragraph, and especially the first sentence, doesn’t grab the reader’s imagination, no matter how wonderful the rest of the story is, chances are that the reader won’t be there to…

Here’s an early Christmas present for you all.  An unpublished story that will remain on the blog until January 1st.  Enjoy. _______________________________ Times up! I hope everyone who read “The Family Business” during the holidays enjoyed it.  Especially the scary parts. Be sure to check back often for new content…

As a child of the fifties I grew up with the world―or more specifically, the war―of my father, World War II.  I didn’t know it then, but that world and that war was to be the last great victory for the United States. In those early days I was immersed…

He had never done anything like this before. Not once in his sixty years on earth had he ever run away.  He had never even played hooky from high school or cut class in college. Yet here he was, pulling into the parking lot of a strange bar in an…

Okay, so you’re a psychopath. You’ve killed. You’ve raped. You’ve tortured. And you’re good at it. You’ve never been caught. But now your hair is graying. You’re too slow for a knife. And you can’t swing an axe like you did when you were young. It’s time to start thinking…

Seldom is the concept for a story accompanied by a concept for a cover.  Let me know what you think…  With luck the full story will be finished sometime this summer. The Tangled Man Damien Cole is an ex-cop turned private investigator. He is a traditionalist―honest, but pragmatic. He owns…