Tag Archive: fiction

The Girl and the Dog: Fiction Fragment

She reached down for the water bottle at her side, remembered it was empty only when she brought to her lips, sighed, and hung her head. “I should have stayed in the city.” She knew she was wrong about that, of course. The city is where it all started. Things were still bad there. And the smell? She didn’t want to think about the smell. But at least she knew what to do in the city. What abandoned stores to search, which apartments had storerooms others might now know about, what neighborhoods were left at least somewhat intact after the Event. She could find something to eat there. Something to drink. A place to sleep. Hell is other people, though, as someone once said. However…
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New post-apocalyptic fiction by yours truly at 365 Tomorrows. Check it out

Post-apocalyptic flash fiction by me. Here’s a tease: By the time the sandstorm passed, the sun had fallen and the orange skies had faded to a bruised brown and purple. The towers still seemed unreachable, perched on a dream horizon. Faint whispers of yesterday clutching at sky that no longer wanted it. Read the rest here at 365 Tomorrows. It will only take you a minute or so and it will make your day the greatest day you’ve ever had, ever, because that’s what demon-infested cities will do.

David Bowie was my first concert. Here’s what happened

David Bowie was my first concert. I was 16 years old. My girlfriend at the time, Candice, was an angry blonde with a gigantic pear-shaped ass and a tendency to pick fights with older guys, assuming that I would then step in and defend her honor, because of course she did. My father was going to drive us to the show, but two weeks prior he took his own life, so my step-mother drove us instead. The ride to the show was awkward. Candice and my step-mother didn’t get along very well. Nobody got along with Candice, really. But those two especially didn’t get along because my step-mother was racist, and Candice was Russian. (You had to be there.) We got pretty stoned before the…
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FICTION: Blessed Life part 1 – Ambulance is Young

This story first appeared in The Berkeley Times and The Jackson Times as a 12-part serial way back in 2000-2001 — so yes, the writing here is pretty old. When I read it, I see tremendous room for improvement. It is older than I would normally show people largely because I’ve improved by leaps and bounds since writing this, but the full story (of which this is only the first part) has a special place in my heart. The story may be collected in a future collection of my fiction — I’m considering self-publishing a short story collection — but for now enjoy this glimpse into the story of two retired people coping with loss. BLESSED LIFE Part 1, Ambulance is Young   The ambulance…
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FICTION: The Girl and the Gold Watch

This short piece sprang from a title an online acquaintance threw at me, one I thought he had made up. The title was so evocative, I immediately got a vision in my head of a little girl and … well, you can read it below. The problem? He hadn’t made it up. That was a poor assumption on my part. The title was The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything, and it belongs to a book I did not know existed. Regardless, it inspired this short piece of fiction that will maybe one day turn into a full-blown book. With a new title, of course… The Girl and the Gold Watch By Eric San Juan “You know I haven’t the money for that, Sissy. Put…
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