Andrew didn’t need oil and neither did his mother. In fact, the only reason oil was on his mother’s mind was because it was the last thing on her mind. He did not get up to get it, and she did not protest.

Time stole you from underneath the goldendock. Writhing there, slick as a flapping tongue;lips gored, red, whose gaping could embolden weak hands behind the blazing buck blade, long ago pierced in your summer quietus, beneath the soft shade of a tackle box, as the…

Grandfather was surly. Everything angered him. He’d play solitaire at his table, blow cigarette smoke, eat canned anchovies, complain about grandkids drinking his bottled Coke.

I don’t name the dog but the fish requires a name. Animals that do not get eaten must be named. The dog is still on the menu.

I flew to San Francisco from Dallas and got to the point as soon as I entered Bobby's gloomy studio apartment in the Mission. "So. Where do you keep the bodies?" I asked, slapping Bobby on the back and smiling huge.

I’m a suicide prevention counselor for teens. Most of the time I answer phones and tell kids not to kill themselves over their boyfriends and girlfriends and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, etc. I’m not even sure what the number is—1-800-DONT-DIE or something li

A famous author and an inspired writer meet at a coffee shop, both looking for inspiration. The patrons there don’t know if this meeting is by accident or design, but they are in awe of Fame.

It was an eagle in the waves Those eyes make no mistake Especially from a mile high Blue fish and tuna Too dumb to run