A year after I gave up drinking, I found rivers run through my soul — The alcohol poured through the night. It was always present. Me, sitting in my recliner, the beer can sitting next to me. The gold, red and white can, the champagne of beers. I drank champagne, I told myself. I was high class, no matter what others thought. It said so…

My second full month on Medium ended up being a productive one and we’ll see if the trend continues — When in Rome, do as the Romans do. You’ve heard the term. It is attributed to Saint Ambrose when a woman and her son were going to visit Rome, and they were bound from Milan. …

There’s a trick to writing that no one is telling you on this site that may just rock your world — An old man sat across from me at the table. His strong, withered hands held a coffee cup, and he looked me directly in the eyes. His eyes were pale blue, and his white hair was matted against his brow. Those strong hands brought the coffee cup up to his…

Are you a crime, weird sci fi or horror writer? Love noir? Want to write about indie movies or old weird stuff? This is for you. Like weird stuff? Are you into hardboiled crime noir, horror or weird sci fi? Ever find yourself looking up old pulp magazines? This is…

I’m announcing the newest publication on Medium called Hardboiled Haven, a publication for the freaks and the geeks — It’s about to get weird. Real weird. Hardboiled Haven is the newest Medium publication focusing on one thing. Weird shit. Think of it in the same line as the old pulp magazines of old with weird shit all over the place. This new publication hopes to highlight mystery and crime…

From the moment you start writing on Medium, you are handed a stacked deck of cards — From the moment you step on Medium, you are not handed a full deck of cards. You’re not even-handed a deck of cards. You have to do parlor tricks until you get the cards. You see, Medium is not fair. It will never be fair. I have been writing on…

Writing sucks, it’s a hell of a way to make money, but damn it’s fun doing it — I was in the newsroom, writing away. I turned my story into my editor and found myself pleased with myself. The editor read over it and told me how great the story read and gushed about how it was going to get read. I thought the same thing. I had…

You can hustle your way straight into going extinct if you play your cards right — It was the mid-2000s, and everything was rolling. Wars were going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, but you barely knew it as home after home was built, and the good times were booming. Everyone who wanted a house could basically get a house. The loans were like candy, and some…

“He wished he knew more about birds and he wished he knew more about a lot of things” — They sat in the kitchen, the sweet tea sitting on the table. It rested there, a golden brown. He picked up his mason jar and drank from it, the sugar water slowly going down his throat. He placed the glass back down and looked at her. Her eyes were puffy…