Welcome to my website. Here you’ll find stories and commentary as well as stuff about me. I write from a suburb of Cleveland. As I write the bare branches of the trees are brilliantly outlined with white and the snow on the ground is sparkling in late afternoon sun. Many of my stories take place in Maasdam, Ohio.
“Semper Fi.” A young Marine, hoping to get into the Naval Academy, is charged with murdering his pregnant girlfriend. Forthcoming.
TWK Award Winner: Feuds. Liza, orphaned and widowed, receives a photograph of her grandmother racing a motorcycle. A grandmother she did not know existed, who wants to :see her now. Can she forgive her for all the years of neglect? And what about Sheriff Bartkowski, who keeps trying to get her to accept his apologies for the stupid arrest? 15 minute read.
One Grate Task. Challenged to write something involving a cheese grater, our author finds art imitating life, creating existential tension. 4 minute read.
Murder at the Roadhouse. When Luther messed with Junior’s gold-plated dumbbells, he got more than he expected. But Det. Bartkowski complicates the investigation—and his life—by rushing out and arresting Luther’s wife. Can he overcome her antipathy? 15 minute read.
Dog Day. Does karma come in chocolate? One minute read.
Too Old to Scream: A Scary Story. Marcella wanted to scream, but she knew it had just been a dream. Or had it? 7 minute read.
Ain’t Over Till It’s Over. An overheard baseball story gives Norm Vander Wall, private investigator, hope that he can pin a forty-year-old murder on his nemesis, Dirty Dutch Vander Molen. 9 minute read.
Chef Nathan and Wicked King Paprika. Will the wicked king’s machinations force Chef Nathan to cook his world-famous Hungarian Goulash for him? 11 minute read.
Escalation. An argument over a discarded fly swatter escalates with unexpected results. 3 minute read.
The Chinese Checkers Murder. Will the Chinese checkers board help P.I. Norm Vander Wall and Detective Sgt. Andre Adams figure out who really killed Peter Dykema? 8 minute read.
Rattlesnake Gulch. A trail-worn cowpoke shows up in Rattlesnake Gulch and turns Rebecca’s world upside down. 6 minute read.
The Arroyo. Rebecca is driving her buckboard down a dry riverbed, her mind occupied by Josiah’s intrusion into her settled life, when life-threatening danger roars. 10 minute read.
Threads of Time. Rebecca’s father, the sheriff, is murdered, and trumped up charges put Josiah in jail for the murder. 6 minute read.
Budding Intellectual: A Vignette. He was two years old and the world was his oyster. 2 minute read.
Banded Together: A Ghost, a Paper Route, and Rubber Bands. A ghost intercepts a high school youth on a dark, winter morning paper route and tells him of a murder. 5 minute read.
More at www.medium.com/@ehb2013ehb.)