Category Archives: stories
Lifting the Gloom, reviewed by Theresa Hortley
I wish I could write fiction. I wish I could write fiction like Bob Rich. This little book is full of gems, ranging from quite a few exactly-100-word stories to engrossing tales of perhaps 8000 words. How can you bring … Continue reading →
The glow
I am in the finishing stages of Lifting the Gloom, but realised that I need stories to illustrate the seven first aid measures that give you the inner strength to cope with anything. These are: Healthy eating Satisfying sleep Regular … Continue reading →
Peace for the Joker
This was the first short story I’d ever written, and the first to win a prize. It’s part of the anthology, Through Other Eyes. I am reproducing it now because it’s part of my Rhobin’s round robin post for May, … Continue reading →
Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the most powerful tools in the positive psychology toolkit, so I needed something about it in my coming anthology, Lifting the Gloom: An antidepressant primer of writings. A while ago, I ran a contest, asking my … Continue reading →
The bible and homosexuality
This is a brief extract from You Can’t Escape Destiny, the second volume of my Doom Healer Series. I have recently pestered two publishers regarding these books. Hopefully, one of them will snap it up. Tuesday, in the school staffroom … Continue reading →
Forgiveness
Rhobin Courtright asked her faithful bunch of bloggers to “write a short story, flash fiction, or use an excerpt from one of your books.” So, here is a chapter from my current work, Lifting the Gloom. Matthew Trotter stared at … Continue reading →
My bunyips are safe: 12th life
Actually, they are bunions, but I just can’t help it, sorry. I decided to have my increasingly painful and malformed feet surgically altered to make them perform like they used to. The top surgeon for such things likes to keep … Continue reading →
You meet the nicest people in the oddest places
Last night, I had a very odd dream. Here it is, in exactly 100 words. Molly looked at the clock. Heavens, last night when she’d checked in at 2 a.m., a sign stated, they served breakfast only till 10 o’clock. … Continue reading →
The Chess Player
Chris is sick, so I’ve been moved up from Board 1, A Reserve to Board 4, A grade, and bugger, it’s the semifinal. Scary: my opponent is a boy of maybe 12. Gotta be a genius. I have white, so … Continue reading →
Eulogy for Paul
This is the latest story I have written for my work-in-progress, Lifting the Gloom: An antidepressant primer of short stories. I am posting it now, because I want to use it to illustrate my contribution to the August, 2020 Rhobin’s … Continue reading →
