A List of Short Pieces (Fiction and Nonfiction) I Have Published
(Not including scientific publications)
Listed below are all of my published works of fiction, poetry, and some nonfiction. Not listed are the novels I’ve written which are given their full due on their respective pages on this website. I’ve had rather poor luck in publishing short fiction; almost all of my short works have been published locally in the Albuquerque area through SouthWest Writers. Only two articles, one short fiction and one poem were ever published in national venues. However, as luck would have it, both those publications are now defunct. Since they were online only, their content is, unfortunately, largely gone. The short fiction piece was, to my great relief, reprinted in the online journal Defuncted in 2022.
When I started writing my first novel in 1998, I began reading writing magazines and books on writing to learn the art and business of writing. Always a good idea. I also attended meetings and talked to and listened to authors, editors, agents, publishers and whoever, and one piece of advice that occasionally came up was that in order to get recognized as a writer of fiction, it helps to publish short works in literary journals. They made it sound so easy: just send it in and get it published. I tried it, but it never worked for me. Except locally, as I noted above, I’ve had poor luck in getting any short fiction published. It’s not for lack of trying, tho. After hundreds of submissions of “literary” fiction and science fiction, and a similar number of rejections, my acceptance rate is virtually nil. I have, therefore, put most of my emphasis on getting my novels published by the self-publishing route, because that way no editor stands in my way to reject it for any one of an unknown number of reasons. A couple of short works and excerpts from longer works are published on this website, if you care to take a look. They should give you a good idea of my writing style and preferences in writing fiction.
Short Stories:
“Mountains High,” Originally published on my (now defunct) blog, 2010. Now present on this website. See the “Short Stories” page.
“Bones,” Originally published on my blog, 2014. Now present on this website.
“Seat Belt,” The Sage (Newsletter of SouthWest Writers), June, 2018.
“The Storm,” Foliate Oak Literary Journal, December, 2018. [Journal is now defunct.] Reprinted in Defuncted, September, 2022.
“The Star Falls . . .,” A Diversity of Expression, SouthWest Writers 2022 Writing Contest Anthology, October, 2022.
“Annabel,” Woven Pathways, SouthWest Writers 2023 Writing Contest Anthology, October, 2023.
Memoir:
“The First Line,” The Sage, January, 2017. [Published anonymously as an entry in a contest.] Republished in SouthWest Writers Sage Anthology, 2018.
“From Right and Left, A Short Memoir,” The Sage, June, 2020.
Poetry:
“Then She Went Away,” Barefoot Review, June 20, 2012. [Journal is now defunct.]
“Green,” The Sage, April, 2017.
“The Sky,” New Mexico Remembers 9/11, Pat Walkow, ed. Artemesia Publishing, 2020.
Book Reviews:
“Santa Fe and the Atomic Bomb,” A Diversity of Expression, SouthWest Writers 2022 Writing Contest Anthology, October, 2022.
First Chapter of an Unpublished Book:
“The Diplomat,” from Warrior, the third book in The Anthanian Imperative Trilogy. A Diversity of Expression, SouthWest Writers 2022 Writing Contest Anthology, October, 2022.
Op-ed Pieces:
“Independence Day—A Slight Alteration,” The Sage, July 2014.