Publications (Books | Journals/Online | Interviews)
Books
"Morphine and Chocolate"Morphine and Chocolate"Based on the medieval poem Pearl, a father goes in search of his daughter and finds something else."--forthcoming in The Midnight Diner Volume 4: Wastelands Under the Sun (TBD).
"Blood and Beauty"Blood and Beauty"Fantasy about a half-lion half-satyr who falls in love with a dryad and hatches a dangerous plan to gain her father's permission to marry her."--forthcoming in Songs of the Satyrs from Wicked East Press (TBD).
"Sixpence and Rye and a Snake in a Pie"Sixpence and Rye and a Snake in a Pie"A story based on the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" about the dangers of revenge taken a step too far."--forthcoming in Father Grim's Storybook from Wicked East Press (TBD).
"Wilson's Thicket"Wilson's Thicket"A junior high boy witnesses the murder of a teenaged girl and becomes possessed by the victim's spirit, who uses him to carry out her revenge against her killer. The question for the protagonist is when her revenge will stop."--forthcoming in Beneath the Pretty Lies from Wicked East Press (TBD).
"Tapestries of Betrayal"Tapestries of Betrayal"This is a retelling of the myth of Tereus, Procne, and Philomela. I based my story on Ovid's version but made significant alterations to the original myth's conclusion."--in Greek Myths Revisited from Wicked East Press (September 2011).
"The Crooked House of Coins"The Crooked House of Coins"This is the story of two cousins and a haunted house in which their great-grandfather hid some very valuable coins. One cousin goes mad with the search, angers the ghost of his ancestor, and suffers retribution. Written specifically for the crooked house anthology, this story has many parallels to "The Fall of the House of Usher.""--in There Was a Crooked House... (An Anthology of Crooked Stories)
from Pill Hill Press (June 2011)."Shafts to Hell"Shafts to Hell"A miner driven insane by claustrophobia commits a grisly murder and then contemplates the nature of Hell."--in How the West Was Wicked
from Pill Hill Press (May 2011)."Esme's Amulet"Esme's Amulet"Mrs. Jarden, Esme's mother, catches Gertrude the goat eating her vegetables one too many times and sends Esme to market to sell the goat. No one wants the goat until an old woman offers to take her for a pastry and an amulet. A worthless trinket or something else?"--in Golden Visions Magazine (October 2010 Print Edition). Read an excerpt.
"The Princess and the Vampire"The Princess and the Vampire"A young, spoiled Princess commands her Chief Councilor to persuade the resident vampire to become her lover. Promises are broken on all sides, and the vampire proves that a vampire is a vampire with or without fangs."--in The Midnight Diner, Volume 3
(September 2010). Read an excerpt.Journals/Online
"Soul Thief"Soul Thief"A sluagh pays a visit to a young man who has lost touch with his family."--forthcoming in Fear and Trembling (March 2012).
"A Fortuitous Stumble"A Fortuitous Stumble"First of a three-part series about a bug hunter/pastor."--in Avenir Eclectia (February 10, 2012).
"Under the Bridge"Under the Bridge"Flash story about three boys who attack what they think or hope is a troll."--in Apollo's Lyre (December 2011).
"Why the Squonk Weeps"Why the Squonk Weeps"Reprint with new illustrations. A short fairy tale about squonks--a mythical beast of American origin known for being ugly and perpetually weeping--and the vagaries of magic. Sometimes the best laid plans can bite your backside."--in Underneath the Juniper Tree (December 2011).
"A Creature of Words"A Creature of Words"Flash story about a sentient fish set in the shared story world of Avenir Eclectia. "--in Avenir Eclectia (November 21, 2011).
"The Fletcher's Daughter"The Fletcher's Daughter"A variation on Cinderella in which the maid Cinderella attends a ball in place of a princess who has sprained her ankle. Cinderella wears arrows, a gift from her father, stuck through the hair at the back of her head. Will the arrows make her look silly or will she usher in a new fashion? And what will the Prince say?"--in Residential Aliens (October 2011).
"A Mother's Gift"A Mother's Gift"Queen Thestral cannot endure another stillbirth. She asks a village woman skilled with herbs to guarantee her child's live birth, but the herbal woman can offer no such help, only a spell to channel the child's pain to Thestral for the rest of the child's life. Is this a gift or something else?"--in Silver Blade Magazine (August 2011).
"The Hand with the Knife"The Hand with the Knife"This story retells the Grimm's fairy tale of the same title. It's the story of a girl, her malicious brothers, and an elf with a magical knife. The original is only a few paragraphs long. My version adds a substantial amount of new material and a much more satisfying ending."--in Mindflights (August 2011).
"The Wand"The Wand"Orville buys a strange-looking wand at a pawn shop. He and the narrator are hucksters and incorporate the wand in their scheme to sell toy wands. All is proceeding according to plan until a girl who seems to know how to use the wand attends their show."--in Golden Visions Magazine (July 2011).
"A Gift from Over the Sea"A Gift from Over the Sea"This is my first piece of flash fiction, i.e. under a thousand words. It's a Viking/fantasy coming of age story."--in Everyday Fiction (June 17, 2011).
"Why the Squonk Weeps"Why the Squonk Weeps"A short fairy tale about squonks--a mythical beast of American origin known for being ugly and perpetually weeping--and the vagaries of magic. Sometimes the best laid plans can bite your backside."--in Digital Dragon Magazine (April 2011).
"The Master and the Miller's Daughter"The Master and the Miller's Daughter"Asha lives with her widowed father in a village on the shore of a great river. A sparkling market town occupies the opposite shore but the river is treacherous to all but the Ferrymen. After an ill-fated attempt to cross the river on a homemade raft, Asha concedes crossing the river to the Ferrymen, but then a stranger comes to town, offering to build a bridge."--in Residential Aliens (Part 1 September 2010; Part 2 October 2010).
"Saul"Saul"My first publication, "Saul" is set in a Christian dystopia and tells the story of a government assassin and his last victim."--in Mindflights (March 2009).
Interviews
"The Fairy Tale as Laboratory: Jeff Chapman on 'The Princess and the Vampire'" at The Midnight Diner Blog (April 6, 2011).
