Find my books on Amazon
NEW! River Rat: A Novelette
One hundred years ago, a pregnant woman was thrown from a bridge, and the first river rat was born. Floyd Lebus is a river rat, who lives with his entire clan in a cluster of ramshackle houses on the cliffs overlooking the river. They are outsiders in their small town, and it's best that Floyd sticks to his own kind.
Mandy O'Dell is not his kind, but she is drawn to the river and to Floyd that summer. His love for Mandy causes him to break family tradition. Their forbidden union unearths buried family secrets, and Mandy may suffer the brutal consequences.
River Rat is a novelette of approximately 12,000 words. It is available now for only 99 cents.
Read a sample.
5-star Review: "I bought this book because I loved the cover, the title, and the blurb. Yep, I'm one of those! The characters in this book are so rich, and so detailed, that it really does bring a very vivid mental image. It's as if you know them personally. The story is incredibly imaginative, and grips you from the very beginning. I loved it."
Mandy O'Dell is not his kind, but she is drawn to the river and to Floyd that summer. His love for Mandy causes him to break family tradition. Their forbidden union unearths buried family secrets, and Mandy may suffer the brutal consequences.
River Rat is a novelette of approximately 12,000 words. It is available now for only 99 cents.
Read a sample.
5-star Review: "I bought this book because I loved the cover, the title, and the blurb. Yep, I'm one of those! The characters in this book are so rich, and so detailed, that it really does bring a very vivid mental image. It's as if you know them personally. The story is incredibly imaginative, and grips you from the very beginning. I loved it."
Mommy Anonymous: Flash & Short Fiction
A collection of short stories/flash fiction centered on dysfunctional mother and daughter relationships:
Mommy Anonymous: Nine-year-old Emily documents her mother's decline into mental illness ... until the day they come to take her mother away.
In Tandem: A mother is hospitalized after her latest suicide attempt. She wonders who has taken her place while she is away from her husband and daughters.
Poor Soul: A daughter reflects on the source of her eating disorder as her mother berates an obese woman.
Destiny Burning: A fire is lit in Destiny's heart and in her home the day she realizes her abusive mother truly doesn't love her anymore.
Read a sample.
Mommy Anonymous: Nine-year-old Emily documents her mother's decline into mental illness ... until the day they come to take her mother away.
In Tandem: A mother is hospitalized after her latest suicide attempt. She wonders who has taken her place while she is away from her husband and daughters.
Poor Soul: A daughter reflects on the source of her eating disorder as her mother berates an obese woman.
Destiny Burning: A fire is lit in Destiny's heart and in her home the day she realizes her abusive mother truly doesn't love her anymore.
Read a sample.
Small Things: Flash & Short Fiction
A collection of short stories/flash fiction:
Small Things: It starts with small things - stealing a water bottle she'd pressed against her lips, taking one of her favorite shoes. But soon he isn't satisfied with the small things. He wants all of her.
Brain Damage – You’d think a meticulous germaphobe would remember to wash the blood from his hands. He is in a panic, in public with dried, sticky blood all over his hands. But things may not be as they seem.
Damn Cat – Being married to the same man for most of your life can mean you know him better than he knows himself. It can also mean wanting to hold a pillow over his face when he scolds you about burned pork chops and how your damn cat is blocking his view of the TV.
Shining Henley – Fourteen-year-old Henley has a secret. She is pregnant by her older lover, and she is about to disappear.
Read a sample.
Small Things: It starts with small things - stealing a water bottle she'd pressed against her lips, taking one of her favorite shoes. But soon he isn't satisfied with the small things. He wants all of her.
Brain Damage – You’d think a meticulous germaphobe would remember to wash the blood from his hands. He is in a panic, in public with dried, sticky blood all over his hands. But things may not be as they seem.
Damn Cat – Being married to the same man for most of your life can mean you know him better than he knows himself. It can also mean wanting to hold a pillow over his face when he scolds you about burned pork chops and how your damn cat is blocking his view of the TV.
Shining Henley – Fourteen-year-old Henley has a secret. She is pregnant by her older lover, and she is about to disappear.
Read a sample.
I Wore a Taffy Dress: Poetry
Sometimes there are stories behind my poems; other times poems just arrive ready
to be put on paper. A bit of the story behind a few of the poems in
the collection: "I Wore a Taffy Dress" is my favorite poem in this
collection. It represents childhood, sticky and bittersweet. "Apron Strings"
reflects a strained and distant relationship with a controlling mother --
semi-autobiographical. "Caged Sweet Sylvia" was written for one of my favorite
poets, Sylvia Plath, a tiny tribute to her huge talent. "What I Wanted to Say,
When I Could Not Speak" was inspired by a news article about a little boy who
was found dead in a large plastic tote in the basement of his caregiver. In some
small way, I wanted to give him the voice he did not have in life, and to let
his killer know he was free of her basement. "I Cry in Bed So Often" is deeply
personal. It is about clinging desperately to my dear daughter during years of
depression. "Oh, She Isn't Here" was written after stepping foot into my
grandparents' home for the first time after my grandmother's death, upon the
stark realization that she was no longer there.
Read a sample.
to be put on paper. A bit of the story behind a few of the poems in
the collection: "I Wore a Taffy Dress" is my favorite poem in this
collection. It represents childhood, sticky and bittersweet. "Apron Strings"
reflects a strained and distant relationship with a controlling mother --
semi-autobiographical. "Caged Sweet Sylvia" was written for one of my favorite
poets, Sylvia Plath, a tiny tribute to her huge talent. "What I Wanted to Say,
When I Could Not Speak" was inspired by a news article about a little boy who
was found dead in a large plastic tote in the basement of his caregiver. In some
small way, I wanted to give him the voice he did not have in life, and to let
his killer know he was free of her basement. "I Cry in Bed So Often" is deeply
personal. It is about clinging desperately to my dear daughter during years of
depression. "Oh, She Isn't Here" was written after stepping foot into my
grandparents' home for the first time after my grandmother's death, upon the
stark realization that she was no longer there.
Read a sample.