I’ve written several books, three of which are currently available for purchase. Together, they reflect my interests in American history, changing social values, family life, and the often-difficult search for identity and purpose.
Loners is a collection of short stories about young men trying to find their place in a changing world. Several of the stories read like a fictional memoir, drawing upon the loves, losses, and experiences of my early life.
The Educated Citizen’s Guide to Essential American History is a concise, survey-level history of the United States, covering the colonial period through the early twenty-first century. It is intended for readers who want to understand how the major events, ideas, conflicts, and personalities of American history fit together.
Once Upon a Time in Texas, my first novel, is set in Houston in 1986. Against the backdrop of the Challenger disaster, it tells the story of a troubled family slowly coming apart—and the children who can see the truth long before their parents are willing to admit it.
Loners is my first collection of short fiction. These are stories about men struggling to find their place in a world where familiar expectations have broken down, relationships have become uncertain, and a sense of purpose can be difficult to find.
The men in these stories are neither fashionable stereotypes nor larger-than-life action heroes. They are flawed, observant, sometimes wounded men who must find their own paths through love, sex, work, marriage, disappointment, and loss. They are often alone—not necessarily because they want to be, but because life has left them with no easy place to belong.
Many of the stories feature a recurring character named Nick, loosely inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s Nick Adams. Written as an homage to Hemingway’s direct and understated storytelling, the Nick stories follow their central character through adolescence, his first sexual experiences, early adulthood, marriage, fatherhood, and divorce.
From his childhood in the early 1960s to his adult life in a rapidly changing social and professional world, Nick’s story unfolds through sharply observed glimpses of the defining moments in a man’s life. Taken together, the stories form an intimate portrait of one generation’s passage through modern America.
For more info and a description of the stories, go here, or click on the title above.
It is available on Kindle right now here. The print version is available here.
The Citizen’s Guide to Essential American History
How did the pieces of American history fit together to create the country we know today?
The Educated Citizen’s Guide to Essential American History offers a clear, accessible account of the American story—from the colonial era and the founding of the republic to the political, economic, and cultural struggles of the early twenty-first century.
In 214 tightly written pages, the book connects the people, ideas, wars, movements, achievements, and failures that shaped the United States. It presents the whole story—the admirable and the troubling—without losing sight of the extraordinary development of the country itself.
This book is designed for readers who may have forgotten much of the history they once learned, never had the opportunity to learn it properly, or simply want a concise account that places familiar events into a coherent narrative. History does not repeat itself perfectly, but it provides patterns, warnings, and perspective. Understanding the past makes it easier to recognize the forces shaping the present—and to make better judgments about the future.
For anyone who wants to become a better-informed citizen without wading through a thousand-page textbook, this is an ideal place to begin.
It is for sale on Amazon here.
On Barnes and Noble site here.
It is a cold January morning in Houston in 1986.
Bob Buckhorn wakes to another aimless day and pours himself vodka as he watches the space shuttle Challenger prepare for launch. His son Jack, hungover after an all-night party, realizes that he has once again failed to collect the money he is owed from his drug deals. Although he has recently graduated, Jack still lives at home with his sisters, Jennifer and Josie.
All three children can see what their parents refuse to admit: the Buckhorn family is falling apart.
Bob drinks his way through the days. His wife, Carol, drifts toward the peace movement and away from her marriage. Their children circle the wreckage, each searching for a way to escape while remaining bound to the family and to one another.
Then the Challenger explodes on live television, and the shock of that national tragedy shakes something loose in all of them.
Set against the vivid cultural landscape of 1980s Houston, Once Upon a Time in Texas is a novel about a family in decline, a generation coming of age, and the moment when private disappointments collide with public catastrophe.
It is only available on Amazon here. Both Kindle and print editions are available.
My Amazon Author Page can be found here.
