The short stories

Was asked recently if there was anything on-line that cataloged the handful of short stories I've published over the last few years. There isn't (and the brief one on my website is woefully out of date), so here they are.

– "Nightbound" – A Crissa Stone short story, originally published in the Lawrence Block-edited anthology AT HOME IN THE DARK, released in 2019 by Subterranean Press. It's also been selected to appear in the upcoming (and final) edition of BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES, guest-edited by C.J. Box, which will be out in Oct. The 2020 edition also contains stories by James Lee Burke, John Sandford, Tom Franklin and others. The cover is above, and preorder links can be found here.

The story was originally written for the AT HOME IN THE DARK anthology, and the limited edition hardcover sold out quickly, however it is still available in trade paperback and e-book.

"Nightbound" takes place sometime between the events of the third and fourth Crissa Stone novels, KINGS OF MIDNIGHT and SHOOT THE WOMAN FIRST, and follows her through one long and dangerous night in Brooklyn while she tries to hold on to a bag of stolen cash. A preview of the story can be found here on Lawrence Block's site. If you'd like to hear Larry and I talk about the anthology – and his amazing 60-year-plus career – you can tune in here.

– "Night Run" This standalone story was originally written for the 2016 Mulholland Books anthology THE HIGHWAY KIND: Tales of Fast Cars, Desperate Drivers and Dark Roads, edited by Patrick Millikin from the Poisoned Pen bookstore.

It's a road-rage story that's somewhat of an homage to Richard Matheson's classic short story "Duel." The story was later reprinted in the 2017 edition of BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES, edited by John Sandford.

–"Heart" This story was written for the 2006 horse-racing-themed anthology BLOODLINES, edited by Maggie Estep and Jason Starr. A slightly revised version was later printed in the 2009 summer fiction issue of INSIDE JERSEY magazine, and it was shortlisted for that year's edition of BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES, edited by Lee Child. The story takes place on a hot summer day at Monmouth Park racetrack. The main character, an aging drug gang enforcer named Morgan, later appeared in my 2010 novel GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER.

– "Lovers in the Cold" This story was commissioned by Jessica Kaye and Richard Brewer for their now long-out-of-print anthology MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER, a collection of stories inspired by the Bruce Springsteen song that appeared on his 1975 album "Born to Run." My story took its title from an unreleased BTR outtake, and took place in 1974. It followed two guys from the Jersey Shore who find themselves in over their heads in gritty 1970s Manhattan. It's currently available in an e-book version for most platforms.

LOVERS IN THE COLD on Kindle, Nook

My Christmas-set, Springsteen-inspired short story "Lovers in the Cold," is again available for download via Kindle and Nook.

An earlier version of the story first appeared in Jessica Kaye and Richard Brewer's 2005 anthology "MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER: Stories Inspired by the Haunting Bruce Springsteen Song." Kaye and Brewer asked a number of crime novelists, including C.J. Box, Eddie Muller and David Corbett, to submit short stories using the song, which appears on Springsteen's 1975 album "Born to Run," as a springboard. The New York Times wrote about the collection in 2005, and Publishers Weekly reviewed the audio edition.

"Lovers" is set in Bradley Beach, N.J., and N.Y.C. in 1974, and finds two Jersey Shore guys caught between friendship and fate, and in way over the heads in the city across the river. The title comes from an early Springsteen song recorded for "Born to Run" but never released.

Lovers in the Cold on Nook

My short story "Lovers in the Cold" is now available for Nook as well. This is another of the songs that inspired it, an unreleased outtake from Bruce Springsteen's 1975 "Born to Run" album that forms sort of a sequel to his "Meeting Across the River". Musically, the song eventually morphed in "Thunder Road."

Lovers in the Cold

My holiday-themed, Springsteen-inspired short story LOVERS IN THE COLD is now available for the first time on Kindle. An earlier version of it appeared in the now-out-of-print 2005 anthology MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER: Stories Inspired by the Haunting Bruce Springsteen Song." The editors of that anthology asked a number of crime novelists to submit short stories in some way connected to the song. which appears on Springsteen's 1975 album "Born to Run." The New York Times wrote about the collection in 2005.