Below is the complete list and synopses of the finished short works to be found on the site. By “finished” I mean, “has a complete draft” rather than “not subject to revision” – they may be updated, but they can be read as a short work in their own right as they appear here.
COMPLETE STORIES
Business as Usual – This grim little science-fiction story explores the tried-and-true theme of letting our scientific discovery outstrip our humanity, or, rather, how human nature remains unchanged even as science promises progress and accomplishment. Written in high school, it was a cross between the science-fiction concept pieces of writers like Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke and George Saunders, and the grotesque style of Chuck Palahniuk and Amy Hempel, who I idolized at the time.
The Clockwork Butterfly – This short story is one part fairy tale, one part high fantasy (borrowing imagery from Howl’s Moving Castle especially), and one part meditation on the nature of time, youth, and the work (and sacrifice) it takes to actually realize one’s happiness. It was an attempt to make a fairy tale (according to the type of Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast) with a proper Tolkienian eucatastrophe without seeming cheap or minimizing how difficult life can be, or how badly we can screw things up in the meantime.
The Damned – This darkly comic short story explores the “bureaucracy” of hell from various perspectives of those who work and suffer there.
Eric McMallus’s Miracle – The story of an earnest young man who attempts to reproduce the miracle of Elijah, as told from the perspective of a more skeptical friend.
The Fortieth Day – One of my earliest works on the site, this short story takes a different, unorthodox look at the subject of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness.
O.K. – Much indebted to Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron“, this tiny comedic piece explores the cost of happiness.
Punches Unpulled – This rapid-fire stylistic piece highlights a collision between different people with different values and prejudices, and how blind and hasty judgment often proves.
Richard Matheson Stories – These three short stories explore the strange career of Richard Matheson, a Randian corporate mastermind rebuilding the world in the wake of catastrophe – along with his chess-playing pal, the Archangel Michael.
Rite of Passage – A short horror piece transcribed almost directly from my nightmares.
STANDALONE EXCERPTS
from Lives of the Sinners
from Matthew Roberts and the Quest Against Innocence
Resemblance to Reality is Purely Coincidental 