Works in Progress

Here are the ground rules for this page:

• I add new works to this list when I complete a first draft. (This allows me to create in peace and quiet.)
• I remove works from this list when they are either published or are archived/”trunked.” If a work is published (traditionally or by me) it migrates to my “About” page. If it is trunked, it goes to the Great Hard Drive in the Sky.
• I reveal titles here when a final first draft is complete.

In short: works are listed here when a first draft is complete and leave here when they’re published or archived. For updates on works as they happen, follow my Twitter feed.

Here’s the list:

1. TBOS
More on this later.  
Status: Editing 2nd draft.

2. Resurrection of the Grim Chop Maharajah
A Cosmic Horror novella set along the Natchez Trace in the Deep South. A type of piece I have been hoping to write for some time. A mythological explanation of why the American South has produced so much great music over the years. Could it be more than what it seems?
Status: First draft done, editing now, submitting soon.

3. Go Ask Alice
Flash (1000 words or less) Horror story here. It’s Alice in Wonderland fan fiction. It utilizes Horror as vehicle for exploring the Theory of Mind. Hat tip for inspiration to the inimitable ibn Rushd.  
Status: GREAT NEWS! This story has been accepted by Carmina Magazine and will appear there early next year. Details to follow!

4. The Presence
Let’s call this The Turn of the Screw fan-fiction or, if you don’t like that, a SciFi Ghost story.
Status: Done. Submitting now. 

5. Photon
A “star story.” This is a short (less than 3,000 words) story about the life, death and afterlife of a single beam of starlight.
Status: Done and dusted. Submitting now! 

6. Straw
Calling this “Summa Theologica” Fan Fic. It’s based on an incident from St. Thomas Aquinas’ life and has a mystical-historical vibe.  
Status: Done. Submitting now!

7. Poem: Hybrid Vigor
A sort of patriotic song/anti-royalist screed. Purely in the American vein. 
Status: First draft done, polishing now.

8. Poem: Al-Hurra
This is a poem about “Al-Hurra” which might be translated as “The Free One” or “The Liberated One.” It has a cameo from my favorite star in my favorite constellation: Al-Jannah (Epsilon Cygni, to be exact).
Status: First draft done and letting this one ‘set’ for a bit.

9. Poem: Dominion
Here’s another spacey, speculative fiction poem. It’s got it all, Folks: atomic nuclei, galaxies, stardust. 
Status: Done. Submitting now.

10. The 17th Street Anomaly
A short Cosmic Horror/Weird Fiction story. Set in an alleyway and inspired by my work cubicle and making thumbtack constellations on its walls. A little gem of a story!
Status: Done and submitting now.

11. Der Gekreuzigte
This is a Cosmic Horror historical fiction short story. It’s set in 1880s/1890s Germany and stars a certain German philosopher who has an unbeckoned encounter with an entity from beyond.
Status: Done and submitting now.

12. Poem: The Darkness
This is a short (32 lines) poem about the cosmological light and dark within and without.
Status: GREAT NEWS! This poem was accepted by Star*Line Magazine and will appear there later this year!

[LAST UPDATED: Sept. 2022.]