American Journal

The story collection

American Stories

Ordinary lives. A sense of place. A few minutes somewhere else.
Original fiction, with language worth keeping.

A broadcast microphone seen from the side, with space between it and an empty chair in soft studio light.

American Stories · No. 006

A little distance.

Pops showed me that speaking into a microphone meant paying attention to more than the words.

On the Air · A personal memory · 2 min read

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A close view of two amber-lit analog VU meters and console controls in a dark imagined studio.

American Stories · No. 005

The needles moved when he spoke.

Before I understood the signal, I knew whose voice was making the needles move.

On the Air · A personal memory · 2 min read

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A weathered wooden armchair and a folding chair sit beside two coffee mugs on a small porch table, with wet autumn leaves and a quiet neighborhood beyond the steps.

American Stories · No. 004

The porch next door.

Owen found his neighbor’s chair against the fence. Returning it should have taken a minute.

Original fiction · After the storm · 3 min read

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A father and young boy listen to an old walnut radio with an amber tuning dial in afternoon light, with a coffee cup on the table and their faces turned away.

American Stories · No. 003

Wait for the fiddle.

The boy thought the radio was broken. The man beside him knew it needed a little time.

Original fiction · A radio and a country song · 4 min read

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An old letter and a green sugar bowl on a Tennessee kitchen table in afternoon light

American Stories · No. 002

Tell me about Tuesday.

The letter had been in the kitchen for forty years. Ellen had never read it.

Original fiction · Tennessee, 1984 · 5 min read

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An imagined roadside diner glowing amber on a rainy Tennessee evening

American Stories · No. 001

No rush.

The diner was closing. His ride still hadn’t come.

Original fiction · Tennessee · 5 min read

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