House of the Ancients and Other Stories
Nobody’s perfect, but some of us—mostly men—are blinded by our hubris and baser urges. Judgment is impeded. Mistakes are made. The stories in this collection, many of them set outside the U.S., explore some of the consequences of these common failings.
Forthcoming from Press 53 in May 2020.
Aiken Alexander, returning to his family’s farm after being stationed in South Korea, finds that it’s hard for him to come home, but even harder for his Korean wife. Soon-hee deals with her culture shock by practicing shamanism, putting her in conflict with the family, some of whom seek to manipulate her in a get-rich-quick scheme.
Braddock Avenue Books, May 2019.
Winner of the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction
When Zhang Feng-Qi’s wife is killed in a Washington DC Beltway accident, he must find a way to care for their two young sons. Set in an urban condominium building, these interwoven stories focus on Zhang’s search for a “replacement wife.”
This linked collection of stories is about ordinary men and women in and around Rugglesville, Virginia, as they struggle to find places and identities in their families and the community.
Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet
This three-volume anthology series from Press 53, edited by Clifford Garstang, includes stories by dozens of writers set in countries around the world. Each volume includes twenty stories by twenty writers: Volume I, published in 2014 (“It’s a Dangerous World”); Volume II, published in 2016 (“It’s a Mysterious World”); and Volume III, published in 2018 (“It’s an Adventurous World”).