This Idea Stolen From...

Catherine Gardener had a great idea (which she lifted from Aaron Polson) and I thought it would be fun to pirate it for myself. Here are the ten stories of which I am proudest (in no particular order).

1) Mysterious Dan’s Legacy (Arkham Tales) - The first of the Dave Mather stories (though I had to change the character's name in this for legal reasons). It's one of my first and IMO contains some of my best characterization.

2) Nano-Domini (Robots Beyond) - It's a short story about noano-robots discovering God... sort of. It was thematically ambitious but came off pretty well.

3) Clown Fish (High Seas Cthulhu) - A pirate story that tries to be creepy and ironic. I love the way the title connects to the end of the story.

4) Snake Oil (Frontier Cthulhu) - Another Dave Mather story with lots of authentic snake lore and a last paragraph I'm proud of.

5) The Beauty Thief (Submitted) - This one is based on a Navajo ghost story. It has an experimental structure, is told in first person present, and has a confusing ending. Despite this, I think it's one of the very best things I've written.

6) The Cold Comes South (In Lovecraft's Shadow #1) - Another Dave Mather story and IMO perhaps the creepiest. I think I got the sense of the barren frontier just about right in it.

7) Fool’s Gold (Hell's Hangmen) - Yet another Dave Mather story. This one has some characters (including Wyatt Earp) who I became very fond of. I also liked the last line quite a bit.

8) City of Masks (You Don't Know What You've Got) - My first zombie story. It's still got flaws, but I was happy witht he final form it took. It was written at a very painful time in my life and that actually sharpened the writing a bit.

9) Closing Time at Galaxy Video (Submitted) - A humorous tale of alien invasion that I have a lot of affection for. I'd love to write more in this vein.

10) The Tragic Tale of Tyrannosaurus Tex (Submission) - A very short story and probably my funniest. I've had the title kicking around for years and am very happy finally to have a story to go with it.