random
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The Fall of Drago
High above the Blackspine Mountains, the great red dragon shattered the last of the invaders’ sky-ships. His claws had torn through enchanted hulls, his fire had melted iron and pride alike. The armies below cheered as the final vessel exploded… Continue reading
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On the Road to Klamath
It is a long way out of Nevada and into Northern California, and a man who undertakes the journey that modern civilization has conquered the wilderness is a man who has not yet encountered a bathroom at a California gas… Continue reading
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The Gathering Line
TSergeant Thomas Reed watched the line take shape along the low ridge outside Caloocan in the spring of 1899. The Philippine-American War was only weeks old, but already the open battles of February had given way to a tense, shifting… Continue reading
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Three Nooses at Dawn
The moon hung thin and sharp over the border country, casting just enough light for a man to work if he knew the land by heart. Clem Harlan knew it well. He and his two partners—Tuck and young Billy—had driven… Continue reading
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Somewhere West of Winnemucca
I had a notion one Spring to live out in the middle of nowhere. Not the metaphorical middle of nowhere, mind you—I mean the honest-to-goodness, map-gives-up-on-you kind of nowhere. I found a spot on a forgotten trail west of Winnemucca… Continue reading
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Note to Self
There are moments in life when a person discovers their generosity has outrun their intelligence, and I recently experienced one of them because of a perfectly innocent journaling book. A friend of mine decided that her career as a corporate… Continue reading
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A Boom Town Searching for a County
No doubt most of you who have read my dispatches to the Comstock Chronicle over the years will recognize the name, Tinker Moss. Tinker is an old friend of mine, which is to say I have known him long enough… Continue reading
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Blood in Shale
The wind came off the high desert, cold and smelling of sage and the coming winter in Virginia City. It was a landscape of rock, gravel, and memory—country that had broken stronger men than any who walked its streets today.… Continue reading
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The Law, Apparently, Requires a Reminder
Some laws are so complicated that an ordinary citizen might be forgiven for needing a lawyer, a flowchart, three cups of coffee, and perhaps a government-issued compass to understand them. Then there are laws whose principal instruction is essentially, “You… Continue reading
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Banquet of Nameless Hunger
His belly was full, and the complaints had ceased, for he realized at last what he sought. It was food for him, and not battle. The revelation came with a simplicity that was almost obscene amid the labyrinthine terrors through… Continue reading