Love and hate hold hands always so it made natural sense that they'd get confused by upset married folk in the wee hours once in a while and a nosebleed or bruised breast might result. But it just seemed proof that a great foulness was afoot in the world when a no-strings roll in the hay with a stranger led to chipped teeth or cigarette burns on the wrist.

I said shut up once already, with my mouth.

There's an overlap between social-realist fiction and crime fiction - a sweet spot there.

Long, dark, and lovely she had been, in those days before her mind broke and the parts scattered and she let them go.

Pine trees with low limbs spread over fresh snow made a stronger vault for the spirit than pews and pulpits ever could.

I have a book in the pipeline of short stories. You want to hear an agent scream, say 'I'm thinking about doing a collection of short stories set in the Ozarks.

It's not always to the benefit of the story to have it so preordained.