I wrote this piece of flash fiction earlier this year for a writing contest. It did not win, so I thought I’d publish it here. Flash fiction and short stories in general were never my strongest suit. I’ve always favored longer, more epic storytelling (an influence from my years of growing up on a steady diet of soap operas). One of my early novels was a multi-generational epic that a writing mentor suggested I break up into different novels, something that, ironically, I resisted at the time (ironic because now I am enjoying writing serials that let me explore those epic soap opera storytellin ..read more

Previous Chapters The Portal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Chapter 7 The showroom was as large as the sitting room but far more cluttered with the artifacts Xandreleusmarin collected. On the other side of the room was a platform. It was large enough for a single dwelling, fully furnished with all the necessary living arrangements. This, Kira presumed, frowning at Mister, was to be the display case for his latest acquisition. The Z'Dhia's gaze was not directed toward the platform, but a glass case to t ..read more

Chapter 6 It looked like a dragonfly—long, sleek body with four, translucent wings the colors of a stained glass window—but it had a long tail and a funnel mouth designed to suck blood. When it buzzed past the large window, a beam of light briefly struck its wings and cast a cavalcade of colors across the table and floor. It buzzed softly as it lingered over the table for a few seconds, a soft, blurry outline against the fading shade of light before it zipped across the room in circles. The Portal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a ..read more

The Portal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Previous Chapters Chapter 5 There. She saw him again. This time more clearly. He was standing in the window staring down at them several stories above, but, in a flash, he was gone. From that distance, she couldn't read the look on his face, but she imagined it was apprehensive. As she climbed out of the boat and stepped onto the gritty soil, she grabbed her traveling bag and pulled the strap onto her shoulder. She began to regret not bringing her weapon. Sh ..read more

Chapter 4 The Portal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. "At last!" Xandreleusmarin exclaimed as he dashed away from the window and gleefully rubbed his hands. "At last, he comes!" The collector was not the sort to do little jigs when he was excited, but at that moment he did, a hop and a little skip and a laugh as liberating as it was joyful. It bubbled up unexpectedly from the pit of his stomach. It had been years since he felt that way. The last time he felt this exuberant was when he acquired the vol ..read more

The Portal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 The tributaries throughout the woodlands of Bellavaran were long and winding. The beds were deep and lined with thick vegetation and the gnarled roots of hzana trees. Leaves and branches clotted the river's surface, impeding their progress, but with the Dkokli standing in the middle of the wooden boat, rowing with his walking stick, they proceeded at an evenly, if leisurely, pace. As they traveled up the quiet river, the canvas ..read more

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Agent Kira Wood leaned out of the knothole of her domicile and filled her lungs with fresh, clean air. The sun had risen over the northern hemisphere of Bellavaran, but its heat barely penetrated the canvas of foliage above. The air was as green as a candy apple, and glittered in a mist that formed in the atmosphere, coating everything beneath it. Was it any wonder the Starrians, when classifying planets in their star system, named their nearest neighbor Bellavaran, which, in Betan-English meant Green Planet? The inhabitants of Bellavaran, the Dkokli, who lived in the sm ..read more

stone tower on top of hilly island, surrounded by lake, surrounded by red woodlands, with fireworks in twilit sky Chapter 1 The Portal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Xandreleusmarin sat in his castle and listened to the rumble of fireworks in the distance. It was the season of the Festival of the Elders, the time when the Bellavaran natives celebrated seeding ceremonies in the nearby village of Dkoklu, and all day the beating of drums and the piping of wind flutes, the susurration of sighs winging up ..read more

Fallen leaves racing across the street, dark night Think of your favorite horror movie. Now imagine if that movie had no sound design. Would it still ratchet up the creeps? Maybe. After all, some of the classic horror movies, like Nosferatu, began in the silent film era. But there is no arguing against the fact that once sound entered the pictures, horror movies benefitted. In fact, horror movies entered a golden age during the 1930s with the arrival of Universal monster movies like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman. The Portal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts an ..read more

scary, horror, haunted house, skeletal trees, full moon It’s spooky season again, so I thought I invite my readers to write a prompt in honor of the occasion. This time, write a 50-word flash fiction story about this picture above, then post it in the comments section below. The story can be any subject or tone (including humor) as long as it has some spooky or even scary elements. The best prompts will be published in my newsletter. Have fun ..read more