In addition to the usual insightful commentary (aka ranting and raving), my blog has included short pieces of fiction for the past couple of years. I have just compiled the stories into a collection titled “Ye Gods!. It will be available in bookstores by the end of February. An e-book version will come out about a month later.

“Ye Gods!”  1. exclamation of surprise   2. collection of short stories ranging from dark whimsy to scathing satire

Warning: this collection contains occasional wry humor, biting political commentary, social criticism, and dire prognostication. Side effects include but are not limited to: laughter, head shaking, and 3 AM epiphanies. Occasional tears have been reported.        

Characters are taken from various pantheons (Zeus, Shiva), classical literature/mythology (Icarus), history (Custer), and real life (Bigfoot, space aliens).

This collection is intended to relieve the symptoms of boredom and ennui. It may be taken straight or with a grain of salt. Store in brightly lit areas such as beside a comfortable chair or on a bedside table.

More announcing: The Shining Man’s Wife, the sequel to my novel Frank, will be out later in 2012. Daughters of the World, the final book of the St. Francis trilogy, is scheduled to appear next year.

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2011 is a year many of us would like to forget. I’d like to extend profound sympathy to all those treated unkindly by 2011: victims of economic misfortune, victims of predators, victims of stupidity, and victims of the political hatred that has characterized much of the year. It is my hope that the world’s genpop will recall the vestigial traces of their professed but unexercised creeds in order to make 2012 better. May the New Year actually be happy!