Stories

Upcoming Publications:

“Blue Canaries,” in an upcoming issue of Vautrin.
“Joey Cucuzza Loses His Election,” in Low Down Dirty Vote #3: The Color of My Vote, edited by Mysti Berry, May 2022.
“Item #214: A Curiosity,” in the NeCon XL Commemorative anthology, edited by Matt Bechtel, Bracken MacLeod, and Christopher Golden, from Haverhill House Publishing.

Out now:

“S.L.U.G.: A Joey Cucuzza Conundrum,” in the Ramones-themed anthology Gabba Gabba Hey, edited by Matthew Gomez, from Fahrenheit Press. It’s available now, in paperback and hardcover, with beautiful art.

“The Green Manalishi (with the Two Prong Crown)” in the anthology Collectibles, edited by Lawrence Block, from Subterranean Press. Also available in ebook and paperback from LB himself.

“Bring Me a Pint of Cherry Garcia” in Rock and a Hard Place Magazine Volume 5.

“Good People”, in Vautrin magazine, Winter 2020/2021.

“88 Lines About .44 Magnums” in Rock and a Hard Place volume 4, Fall/Winter 2020. Kindle and Paperback.
“The Hula Hula Boys in: Headless Ticket to Hawai’i,” in Beat to a Pulp.

“We Got the Beat,” my Go-Gos inspired story for Holly West’s Murder-a-Go-Gos anthology, has never been published online. Now it’s on my Patreon, and will be available for the public on June 1st.
“The Cucuzza Curse,” my mob fixer mystery about a deadly rivalry in a family pizzeria in Hoboken, was reprinted in Tough Crime magazine. It appeared in Lawrence Block’s At Home in the Dark anthology, and this will be its first appearance online.
“The Beast In Me,” an essay on making friends and personae online, in Better Than IRL: True Stories of Finding Your People on the Untamed Internet , edited by Katie West and Jasmine Elliott, from Fiction & Feeling.
“Play Dead,” in Unnerving Magazine, Sept. 2019
“The Third Jump of Frankie Buffalo,” in Tough 2: Crime Stories
“We Got the Beat,” in Murder-a-Go-Gos, a Go-Go’s themed anthology edited by Holly West, March 25th 2019.
“The Cucuzza Curse,” in At Home in the Dark, edited by Lawrence Block.
“The Cronus Club,” reprinted in Skin & Bones, an anthology from Down & Out Books.
“The Forest for the Trees,” in Retreats from Oblivion, the NoirCon magazine.
“The Third Jump of Frankie Buffalo,” in Tough Crime.
“Truth Comes Out of Her Well to Shame Mankind,” in Alive in Space and Color: 16 Paintings by Great Artists and the Stories They Inspired, edited by Lawrence Block, from Pegasus Books.
“Little Howl on the Prairie” in BloodBond, from Alban Lake Publishing.
“Russian Roulette,” in Killing Malmon, an anthology to benefit the MS Society.
“Deadbeat,” in Down & Out Magazine issue one.
“And There Used to be a Ballpark…” in Weird NJ Issue #48
“Life During Wartime,” at The Flash Fiction Offensive.
“Mannish Water” and “The Big Snip” are in the free Great Jones Street reading app.
“Gumbo Weather,” in Blood on the Bayou, the Bouchercon 2016 anthology, edited by Greg Herren
“The Big Snip,” in The Best Crime & Mystery Stories 2016, from Kobo Press, edited by John Helfer and Kristine Katherine Rusch
“The Final Encore of Moody Joe Shaw,” a Denny the Dent tale, in Unloaded: an anthology of crime fiction without guns, edited by Eric Beetner, from Down & Out Books (paperback and Kindle)
“Mannish Water,” in Betty Fedora #2.
“Letters to Santa,” in Cruel Yule: A ThugLit Holiday anthology, edited by Todd Robinson (ebook and paperback)
“The Last Detail,” a Jay Desmarteaux yarn, in ThugLit issue #19.
“Little Howl on the Prairie,” in Protectors 2: Heroes, stories to benefit PROTECT
“The Big Snip,” in Dark City Lights, an anthology edited by Lawrence Block.
The introduction to Gerald Kersh’s novel Clock Without Hands, reprinted by Valancourt Books.
“Firecracker,” in Hardboiled Magazine #47 (available from Gryphon Books)
“Brown Sugar Brookdale,” in Blood & Tacos #4
“Black-Eyed Susan,” in Shadows and Light, an anthology to benefit Women’s Aid, the key national charity working to end domestic violence against women and children in the U.K.
“Red Hot,” in Hoods, Hot Rods & Hellcats
“Gumbo Weather,” a Jay Desmarteaux yarn, in Needle: A Magazine of Noir Fall/Winter 2012
“The Story of O Street,” in Oh Sandy: an Anthology of Humor for a Serious Cause (Kindle | Paperback )
“The Old Fashioned Way,” in Stupefying Stories: Mid-October 2012
“Acapulcolypse,” in Nightfalls: Notes from the End of the World (Kindle) and Trade Paperback
“Kamikaze Death Burgers at the Ghost Town Cafe,” a Jay Desmarteaux yarn, in Feeding Kate
“Tiger Mother,” in Noir Nation #2
“The Rockridge Ringer,” a Jay Desmarteaux yarn, in Hills of Fire: Bare-Knuckle Yarns of Appalachia by Woodland Press
“Six Feet Under God,” in Grift #1 (Trade paperback)
“Just Ice,” in The 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly, Vol. 1
“Two to Tango,” in Spinetingler: Winter 2012 (Kindle)
“Train,” a Denny the Dent tale, in Shotgun Honey Presents: Both Barrels ( Kindle | Trade Paperback )
“Garbage Man,” a Denny the Dent tale, in Beat to a Pulp: Superhero
“A Glutton for Punishment,” in Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Presents Flush Fiction: 87 Short Short Stories You Can Read in a Single Sitting ( In Bookstores )
“Free Bird,” in Off the Record: A Charity Anthology ( Kindle | Paperback )
“Black-Eyed Susan,” in Beat to a Pulp: Hardboiled (Kindle)
“Little Sister,” in Lost Children: A Charity Anthology (Kindle | Kindle UK | Nook | Kobo | Smashwords | Createspace | Paperback )

“Legacy of Brutality,” starring Denny the Dent, in Pulp Modern #1 ( Createspace | Amazon )
“Rain Dog,” starring Denny the Dent, in Crimespree Magazine issue no.43 ( Kindle | Nook )
“Punk Dad Manifesto,” in The Utne Reader, July/August 2011
“Brands of Single Malt Scotch or Elder Gods of the Cthulhu Mythos?” at Medium
“Spike,” in Jersey Devil Press issue #40, March 2013.
“The Long Walk Home,” in Burnt Bridge, November 2012
“From the Heart“, in Shotgun Honey 8/10/12
“We’re All Guys Here,” in [PANK] July 2012.
“Lefty,” in Crime Factory Issue #10 ( PDF | Kindle )
“White People Problems,” in All Due Respect
“Play Dead,” in Yellow Mama #31
“Items Found Clogging the Colonic Irrigation Machine,” at The Laughter Shack
“Gunplay,” at Pulp Metal Magazine
“Faggot,” at Shotgun Honey
“Citizen Tool,” at The Laughter Shack
“Not With a Bang, But a Squeaker,” in Schlock Magazine‘s Apocalypse Issue
“Just Ice,” in The 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly
“Candle,” in Grift Magazine
“Junkyard Dog,” starring Denny the Dent, in Plots With Guns October/November 2011
“Little Sister,” at Tony Black’s Pulp Pusher
“The Uncleared” (a novel excerpt) in A Twist of Noir
“Black-Eyed Susan,” in Powder Burn Flash winner, First Place, The Bullet Awards September 2011
“Shogun Honey,” In Shotgun Honey
“The Forest for the Trees,” a Guest Writer spot in The Flash Fiction Offensive
“A Glutton for Punishment,” in Beat to a Pulp
“Bless Her Heart,” in Thrillers, Killers ‘n Chillers
“There’s a Bad Moon Rising,” at Flashes in the Dark chosen by Fiction Weekly for the week’s best online fiction
“Fucked,” at Pulp Metal Magazine
“Tripadvisor.com reviews of the Overlook Hotel,” at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency
“Van Candy,” in The Flash Fiction Offensive chosen by Fiction Daily for best genre fiction
“The Last Sacrament,” in Shotgun Honey
“Punk Dad Manifesto,” in The Morning News
“Phil’s Last Stand,” a Groundhog day Noir.
“The Ten Thousand Pound Banana,” a Candle story for Patti Abbott’s zoo story challenge.