Things to Come: A Collection

Dear Reader,

As a writer, I typically work on several different projects at once, jumping from one to the next like a honeybee sipping from a series of blooms. Not long ago, I decided to take a look at everything I was working on, and I found myself surprised at the variety. Short stories, half-completed novels, poetry. Dribs and drabs of everything, you might say. I thought it was fascinating, to see these projects in all their varied forms, and although some of them were still half-baked and raw-in-the-center, I could imagine them being included as part of a collection.

This collection.

(It has occurred to me that maybe this little book would be better named “A Sampler.” Like one of those platters you get at a Chili’s or any other generic eatery—although nothing within these pages is deep fried—so you can taste a little bit of everything. That’s exactly what this is. Take a nibble of this story. A large bite of this poem. If you don’t like something, spit it in to your napkin and stash it behind the salt and pepper for the waitress to find later. Whatever you’d like.)

In this mad jumble of words, I’ve included some of my favorite bits from books I’ve previously published or will be publishing, and I’ve included bits from works that may never see the light of day. I’ve included pieces that I’ve had a great many people like, and I’ve even included something that my literary agent referred to as a “disgusting piece of work that no one would want to read.” (I’ll let you figure out which one that is.)

And as you flip through these pages—this direct peep in to the little worlds that I create and govern and destroy—I hope you find a piece you like. Or, at the very least, something that entertains you. And if you do happen to like a particular something, let me know. Or even if you think I have the writing skills of a maggot and insist on a refund, let me know. I love getting emails. Even from the crazies.

But most of all, thank you for your time.

And welcome to my world.