When you hear about the gargoyles, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For most, I would assume it’s the monsters that adorn historical churches, like Notre-Dame. These monsters also pop up in fiction sometimes too, where they have a somewhat eclectic set of definitions. Despite running into these creatures a few times back in my D&D days, this Disney cartoon did a lot to define these creatures. They are Gargoyles...

There is something special about taking an image and crafting a story to go with it. While it might not be exactly what the artist envisioned, making a story you own is always satisfying. Unfortunately, it’s been a long time since I last created a story from an inspirational image. That said, DeviantArt is a wonderful source to find the inspiration I’m looking for. Something about the man’s posture as he leaned against the stone wall reminded me of my wanderer. While those tales, mostly micro fiction, are available to those who buy me a croissant . Though even with those micro-narratives, I didn’t delve into the character’s background...

There was a three-year stretch where I always took part in NYC Midnight’s Flash Fiction competition, but after 2021 I’ve lost the time. Here’s hoping that I’m able to find the needed time to join this year’s competition. However, I plan on bringing every one of those six stories to this channel, though it’s definitely happening out of order. Seeking Justice was my response to the first challenge in 2021...

When I finished Buried Treasure, I eagerly turned my attention to my patrons’ second tale, a drama. Despite not knowing who or what to feature in this story, eventually my mind began thinking about the month’s third story. Specifically, how I was planning on picking up with my hunter after the events of Scant Inch. Given that story, a drama felt like a wonderful opportunity to fill the gap between his more perilous adventures. With an extremely rough concept of what needed to happen, it took me a solid day or two to create the rough storyline...

After agreeing to ask Lia to accompany him to a dinner with Randall and his date, Darren pauses his research into his project and packs everything away. Once the last of his materials are secured, he quickly prepares for his night out. Unfortunately, since Randall waited to the last minute to find his friend, when Darren locates Lia, all he could do was ask if she’d like to head into the city for a wonderful evening and an excellent meal. Initially, she’s hesitant about accompanying him, but as time is ticking away, Darren tells her they’ll be going to The Pavilion, one of the nicest places to eat...

As I scroll through my Facebook feed, occasionally I run across an image that sparks my imagination. With its corresponding tale already growing, I scramble to preserve the location. Sometimes I’m successful, other times the inspiration for the tale is lost. Fortunately, for Siphoning the Stone, while the original Image link from Facebook has long since died, the originating location of DeviantArt is still alive and well...

Thanks to my patrons, the year starts with a challenge. Normally I would have kicked this genre to the end of the month, but thanks to my new workflow, I’ve gotten more comfortable working with comedies. Just because a story is built upon a formula doesn’t mean it’s incapable of being a wonderful tale. In fact, my favorite comedy duo created a lot of movies with the same formula. Despite distinct plot lines, the movies’ comedic energy, though formulaic, was consistently hilarious. In fact, it is the very aspect that’s allowed me to create a pair of comedies that are influenced by Bud Abbott & Lou Costello....

When I sat down to figure out what to write about with 2025’s second piece of micro fiction, I knew I wanted to feature The Academy. The goal behind this series was to give me a deeper exploration of the school than Journeys allowed. That’s more about Darren Gilbert. Besides giving me the chance to explore more of the school, it gives me the opportunity to highlight a different period. So, I would the clock back a little and created a story featuring a dueling pair of students. I didn’t expect these characters to grow on me, but they have, though not as much as Darren Gilbert or Tiatha Orbryn...

I don’t remember when I was exposed to NYC Midnight and their writing competitions, but 2019 was the first year I took part. The initial tale was a comedy, and I will narrate that in a future video, but first I wanted to create the audio for my second entry in 2019’s first round, Letters...

While I couldn’t tell you when I picked up this book (not without checking my Amazon account), I also wouldn’t be able to explain why. Though the cynical side of my memory assumes I leaned on the cover and the $.99 price tag. Unfortunately, it sat on my digital bookshelf for more than a dozen years. And once again, I’m not sure why I gave this book a second glance, yet I’m glad I did, since I paired the Kindle edition with its Audible one...

It has been far too long since I’ve visited the stranded expedition on Morven. While the ship from Morven’s twined planet is surviving, they aren’t flourishing. For those who don’t remember, Discovery takes place several centuries after the events of Colonization. The link will take you over to the fully published series of flash fiction. To ensure those who would like to enjoy the events of those stories, I’ll keep my thoughts vague...

A ghost is sent back to earth with a note attached to his palm in his search for answers…

Back in 2018, I wrote what my father considered my best story, or at least his favorite. You would think he would choose either the self-published Dead Man’s Hand (which was republished on September 26th 2024 with the help of Silversmith Press) or Drawing Thin (which was nearing the last phase of its editing at the time). While he was proud of what I’d done, neither topped Journey of Thanks...

At the beginning of the year, I detailed a decrease in my writing output. However, I wasn’t prepared to detail the plan for the new creative outlet I would be pursuing. With that said, I’ve already added the links to those new endeavors in the navigation, and even highlighted it with a news alert. But now I want to share the details and plans for my new YouTube/Rumble channel, Eloquent Tales & Blues...

As a fresh year lays out before me, I’m reminded of resolutions. For the last few years, I’ve had a similar resolution, yet I continue failing to achieve change. As a result, I am planning on trying something new in 2025. Instead of a list of alterations to live by, I’ll begin this year with a series of goals. Some are personal and so won’t be included, but others directly impact my creative endeavors and so will be fair game to discuss...

The moment I finished Collecting the Prize and Answers, my mind switched to the last story for the month, a spy story. Once more, I lacked an initial concept to explore with this exclusive potential story. However, with a little patience, I knew I’d unearth a narrative to explore. The notion filled my mind out of nowhere, during a moment of idle thought. Why does it always happen like that? Disregard the question, it’s rhetorical. Ultimately, I’m not sure how the idea popped into my mind. Yet between moments I remembered a throwaway line from my Mounting Tension series...