The following represents a list of various short stories I wrote. My stories are usually based on a “challenge,” where the challenge comes in form of a title, and I develop the story behind the title. Such an example is Cemetery Polka, a title I found on a Tom Waits CD.
All stories are available in HTML format (i.e. browser format) or as a PDF file. Please feel free to distribute the PDF files to family and friends. Commercial use of the PDF files is prohibited.
The Christmas Gift
The following is my entry in the WritersWeekly.com 24 Hour Short Story Contest – Winter 2010. The requirements were to write a short story of no more than 900 words within 24 hours, and it should be based on the following text:
“From her lap, his shiny black eyes stared up at her as she admired his permanent red smile. Fingering his tiny overalls, she pictured the little ones’ faces, pressed against the icy windowpanes, waiting for her to arrive with another basket of her lifelike, homemade gifts. The last strand of hair was finally in place. As she gently inserted the needle to tie a knot, he lurched in her hand and a high-pitched voice said…”
To be honest, I, the stern no-nonsense German, had no idea what to do with the required text. My preference is writing about people in the real world. I talked to my wife about it, and she set down and wrote a story within shortest time. My only contribution was to re-arrange sentences and paragraphs a little bit. All in all, the cooperation with my wife was worth more than any prize that we didn’t win.
Click here to read the story.
Click here to download the PDF file.
Cemetery Polka
The idea for Cemetery Polka came after I wrote an article on the importance of a good title for an article or even a book. Cemetery Polka is actually a song by Tom Waits, and I used the title as an inspiration to write a short story.
Click here to read the story.
Click here to download the PDF file.
The Place I Grew A Man
Excerpt from my novel The Bleeding Hills
Even though this is an excerpt from my novel, this short story is complete in itself. The story describes a scene in an Irish pub in a Boston neighborhood where a young man with an Uilleann pipe plays a session of three songs. These songs remind the main character of The Bleeding Hills, Finnean Whelan, of his upbringing in Ireland, and my story describes three stages of his life.
Click here to read the story.
Click here to download the PDF file.
Peace comes over me
Excerpt from my novel The Bleeding Hills
Even though this is an excerpt from my novel, this short story is complete in itself. The scene is a pub near the town Cahersiveen in Ireland, and the story leads to the lyrics of The Boys of Barr Na Sraide as written by the Irish poet and playwright Sigerson Clifford.
Click here to read the story.
Click here to download the PDF file.
Scenes From A Marriage – The Boiled Egg
This is is a translation from a sketch by my favorite German cartoonist and comedian (Yes, they do exist…): A married couple sits at the table for breakfast. The man had checked his boiled egg and, after a long thought, starts complaining that the egg is overcooked.
Click here to read the story.
