“Wang Dang Doodle,” a short story I wrote, is set in the 1980s Chicago blues scene and appeared originally in Challenger 36, edited by Guy and Rosy Lillian. WANG DANG DOODLE Kent McDaniel Joe glanced at Robert and Lori feeding crickets to the tarantula in the dry aquarium. Lori, who was nineteen, […]
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Self-publishing an e-Book
April 19, 2013 
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I’ve always been leery of self-publishing. For one thing, I dislike the idea of paying someone to publish my work. I feel it should be the other way around. Besides which, I know that the vast majority–and I mean vast–of self-published books sell almost nothing. Maybe a couple hundred copies if the writer’s lucky. When […]
Read moreAfter The Magic
September 26, 2012 0 Comments
This story, which originally appeared in Wild Violet, falls pretty much on the cusp of traditional fantasy and magic realism. AFTER THE MAGIC On the courthouse lawn stood two gleaming statues of golden stone, a man and woman holding hands, smiling at each other. Both stood on no base but their own feet and […]
Read more“Up On The Roof”
February 12, 2012 0 Comments
Here and there Watchdogs roll on their caterpillar tracks, looking like miniature tanks, except for the steel jaws. At the edge of the grounds a wall of azure light shimmers, and on an acre of lawn, several fruit trees stand at various points. Jackson Kane stands by a ladder under the apple tree. Atop the […]
Read moreWALKING TO CAPE CANAVERAL
October 16, 2011 0 Comments
WALKING TO CAPE CANAVERAL Kent McDaniel Surf washed in, and the darkening sky glittered with stars. On the beach, Alan McVickers lay, grizzled head on his sneakers, bare toes in the warm sand. From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed brown shoes. A large body in tan slacks and blue work […]
Read moreAbsolutely Zeke’s Blues
August 15, 2011 0 Comments
This originally appeared in Downstate Stories in 2006. It’s a strange mainstream story or perhaps slipstream, deptending on how you see it. ABSOLUTELY ZEKE’S BLUES Monday night at Captain Ahab’s, six customers were in the bar, and one was applauding after each song I did. But then I knew him, and he probably wanted a […]
Read moreAND THE GLORY
August 15, 2011 0 Comments
This story originally appeared in Palo Alto Review, Fall 2009. They called it a “fable.” I thought of it as soft science-fiction or surreal fantasy. It occurs to me now that it might be a slipstream story. I meant for it to a have an element of satire, too. It benefitted from critiques from Rich […]
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