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The Prodigal Sons -- A Mainstream Novel:

The following novel was my first one. The first draft was written in less than a day, as part of the VOICES 24-Hour Novel Writing Competition in Raleigh, NC, and it was a finalist in the competition. After a lot of revisions, this novel was also a finalist in the 1999 Omaha Prize contest.

It's set in Iowa and deals with two brothers, one who left the farm to live in Chicago, and the other who remained on the farm. The book opens as the younger brother returns from Chicago. Read an excerpt from chapter 1, or check out the Basskick mp3.com site!

Mainstream Short Stories:

There's no real chronology to the order of the following stories; they're just in the order that I think would be most interesting to read, if you are the kind of person who reads story collections straight through. Where appropriate, I've attached a link if a story has been published online. You can also check out my genre-less, chronological bibliography.

"Wrecked"

Raleigh Journal & Observer's Sunday Journal, March 2000.
Reprinted at ShallowEnd, March 2000.
Available in its entirety at Fictionwise.

"Fences"

O. Henry Festival Stories 1998, March 1998 (3rd place winner).
Available in its entirety at Fictionwise.

"Comfort and Joy"

Raleigh Journal & Observer's Sunday Journal, December 8, 2002.

"Breathing Trouble"

The Pedestal Magazine, December 2000.

"Winter Hunt"

The Stirring, July, 2000.
Reprinted at Climate Controlled, September 2002.

"The Fifty-Minute Nietzsche"

Windhover, Fall 1996.

"Siding the House"

Obsidian II, Fall 1997.
Available in its entirety at Fictionwise.

"Peterson & Son Automotive"

3 AM Magazine, June 2000.
Available in its entirety at Fictionwise.

"After the Storm"

Raleigh Journal & Observer's Sunday Journal, November 25, 2001.

"What Was Left Standing"

The Pedestal Magazine, August 2001.

"Waiting for Joey"

PIF Magazine, November 1999.

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