This story appears in issue 4 of Medium Chill. Buy it here. He sits in a darkened basement gazing into the glowing portal of his small notebook computer, his fingers arched over the keys in anticipation. The ritual of this is important. The darkness matters. His seated posture conveys meaning. It’s all been designed to achieve an effect. He begins typing. It’s not a message he’s given much thought to and certainly not the vilest sentiment he’s ever put out into the world, but he knows it will find its mark. It’s not enough anymore to repeat the standard talking … Continue reading Abasement

This story appears in issue 3 of Medium Chill. Buy it here. Of course, Lisa was the first to figure it out. As the four cousins knelt on the green shag carpet playing a board game and the nearby television blared professional wrestling, their moms sat around the dining table sipping something they jokingly called “sweet tea” and conversing in an incomprehensible foreign tongue. “Zeebz zeetz zeemz zeenz zeedz.” The moms had done this as long as the cousins could remember, and because everything is simultaneously novel and completely ordinary for kids, a secret adult language wasn’t really so unusual. … Continue reading Kayfabe

The following story was originally published on 9 September 2018 and appeared at medium.com/allpersonsfictitious. The film opens on a subway platform in a big city. Probably Manhattan. People dart around boarding and exiting trains. Through the crowd, a group of people wearing black leather appear. They move purposefully, jostling commuters aside. A second group of similarly dressed people then descend the escalator. Without warning, it’s chaos. Both groups pull weapons from their trench coats and shoot wildly at each other. A woman leaps sideways firing two handguns simultaneously. A kneeling man slides along the concrete as though it were ice, … Continue reading Pitches for Hollywood Movies