“My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys” in Red Headed Writing, from Cowboy Jamboree Press
In this story, published in an anthology that pays tribute to Willie Nelson, my recurring hero Ray — seen here in his misspent youth as a ramblin’ vagabond — is working on a dude ranch, catching feelings for a complicated woman, and investigating a criminal ring that leads him to a dangerous confrontation and an unexpected encounter.
“Once I Was Stoned” in Hank Mighta Done It This Way, from Cowboy Jamboree Press
In this small-town stoner noir, pothead reporter Raymond Reynolds follows a paper trail that leads him into conflict with a corrupt county judge — a story that ends up reflecting something deeper, not only about Ray, but about the very soul of small-town America itself.