Dishes and Dreamboats
***2X WINNER OF @YAROMANCE'S 'BITE-SIZED LOVE BUFFET 2024'***❝ Walking through life with you, ma'am, has been a very gracious thing. ❞- Errol Flynn, 1941A POST-WWII SHORT STORY COLLECTION.…
The Starlet Before | ONC 2023
***2023 SHORTLISTER FOR THE @OPENNOVELLACONTEST & FEATURED ON (FORMERLY) @STORIESUNDISCOVERED'S 'FEAST ON FICTION' READING LIST IN OCTOBER 2023***Born and raised within a few steps of Hollywood's golden gate, Arlene Berkshire always knew she wanted to be an actress. After some minor roles in overlooked features, Arlene gets her break at last when she secures a role in Forrest Washburn's highly-anticipated directorial debut. Asked to play opposite a veteran actor who seems to stray from the script only in her presence, Arlene soon finds herself at the cusp of a blossoming affair with the famed Norman Stillwell himself. Yet it is not long after their affair's beginning that an individual reveals a secret that could bring ruin to Arlene's career before it's even started. Thus torn between the man she's fallen for and her reputation, Arlene realizes relatively quickly that no script could have prepared her for what turns out to be her own Hollywood scandal. AN OLD HOLLYWOOD NOVELLA & AN ONC ENTRY.…
Mary's Palace
***WINNER OF @HISTORICALFICTION'S 'OCTOBER '23 (HALLOWEEN SPECIAL)' CONTEST & FEATURED IN @HISTORICALFICTION'S 'TIME ANTHOLOGY'***For vaudeville performer Mary Havington, the night she became a legend was the night she called the stage at the Palace Theatre hers.And how bloody it was indeed. A 1910s SHORT STORY & A CONTEST ENTRY.…
In the Alley With Soul
***RECEIVED AN HONORABLE MENTION FOR @WATTPADMILITARYFICTION'S CONTEST 'LAST MOMENTS' ON 8/31/2023 & FEATURED IN @WATTPADMILITARYFICTION'S ANTHOLOGY***After deserting the army with a pal, U.S. combat troop Melvin Anderson seeks refuge in Saigon's "Soul Alley" only to meet more than just nostalgia for life back home. A VIETNAM WAR SHORT STORY AND A CONTEST ENTRY.…
His Lily of France
***@WATTPADSHORTSTORY'S PROMPT WINNER FOR 'NEW YEAR'S FIESTA 2023' CONTEST***Equipped with a few paintbrushes and a blank canvas, American painter Mack Gerden merely wanted to enjoy an excursion in northern France during the last few months of 1939. Never could he have guessed that he'd be forced to make a tough decision based on an inkling that change would ensue in the coming year. Change that would later affect the entire course of world history. A 1940s SHORT STORY & A CONTEST ENTRY.…
The Getaway of the Foreigner
Like her former lover, Wildeve, Eustacia Vye should have been dead.But it seemed death was not quite ready to take her just yet. AN ALTERNATE ENDING TO THOMAS HARDY'S "THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE" & A CONTEST ENTRY.…
The Mutual Favor
***FIRST PLACE WINNER IN @ANTIHEROESGALORE 'GREAT ESCAPE' CONTEST*** Amid a world war ignited by her home country, Lieselotte Kühn is asked a favor that later proves to be of benefit to her in more ways than one. A WW2 SHORT STORY & A CONTEST ENTRY.…
The Doughertys' Home Front
***FEATURED ON @HISTORICALFICTION'S READING LIST 'WORLD WARS & REVOLUTIONS'***For the duration of the Second World War, newlyweds June and Harvey Dougherty played their respective parts. June got a job and raised the couple's twins to the best of her ability; Harvey defended the line overseas and helped lead the Allies to victory on the shores of Omaha Beach and the steps of the French capital. But when peace is declared and the men retire their weapons and return home, it's not long before the Doughertys realize that living on the same front is more of a challenge than they could have anticipated. Because in the war, the couple knew what front they were fighting on. Together at home? Neither can be wholly certain. A POST-WW2 SHORT STORY.…
Gun Moll
***RECEIVED HONORABLE MENTION FOR @COFFEECOMMUNITY'S CONTEST 'A WORD FOR A STORY' ON 10/13/2022 & FEATURED ON @COFFEECOMMUNITY'S 'ESPRESSO' READING LIST***In spite of the world writing her off as just a gun moll, Ida O'Gorman knows that her older sister, Lillian, is still a dreamer. Something that proves even more dangerous. A GREAT DEPRESSION-ERA SHORT STORY & A CONTEST ENTRY.…