This is the seventh and final episode of a short story about Riley Mansfield, the hero of my first novel, The Audacity of Dope. This story is set in the present, nearly seven years after the events of the novel. The first six parts were, in order, “Seven Years If It’s a Day,” “Like Old …
Category: Fiction
A False Sense of Security
This is the sixth episode of this short story about the character, Riley Mansfield, I created for my first novel, The Audacity of Dope. The first five, in order, were "Seven Years If It's a Day," "Like Old Times," "High in La-La Land," "Far, Far Away," and "Melissa, Under Water." Riley Mansfield had no sixth …
Melissa, Under Water
This is the fifth part of a short story which takes up the story of Riley Mansfield, seven years after the events described in my first novel, The Audacity of Dope. In order, the first four episodes are entitled, “Seven Years If It’s a Day,” “Like Old Times,” “High in La-La Land,” and “Far, Far …
Far, Far Away
In response to some small demand, I took up the story of Riley Mansfield, the main character in my first novel, The Audacity of Dope. The first three episodes, in order, were “Seven Years If It’s a Day,” “Like Old Times,” and “High in La-La Land.” This is the fourth episode. Some adjustments had …
High in La-La Land
This short story picks up the story of Riley Mansfield and his wife, the former Melissa Franklin, seven years after the events of my first novel, The Audacity of Dope. This is the third episode. The first two, in order, were “Seven Years If It’s a Day” and “Like Old Times.” The simple arithmetic of …
Like Old Times
Here’s the second episode of this short story, which revisits Riley Mansfield, the main character in my novel The Audacity of Dope, seven years later. The first episode was called “Seven Years If It’s a Day.” LIKE OLD TIMES To his satisfaction, Riley Mansfield’s position had descended in the public consciousness, but he still …
Seven Years If It’s a Day
Ever since I wrote my first novel, The Audacity of Dope, readers have asked about a sequel. I always said “never say never,” but I’d had my fill of its unlikely hero, Riley Mansfield. No sequel is in the works, but perhaps this is a start in that direction. I don’t know. I awakened thinking …
Super Sunday
The Washington Redskins were playing the Denver Broncos. Amon Paterson attended a Super Bowl party that started hours before the actual game. Doritos. Dip. A refrigerator and several ice chests, laden with beer. Chicken wings back when “hot” was the only flavor. A big pot of oyster stew. Gamblers. Lots of gamblers. Amon had no …
Ladson Could Sure Play Ball
Here’s the whole short story. As usual, I’ve gone back and fixed some details. I had some fixation with naming a character Ladson and referring to him several times as Troy, mainly because I knew a Troy once with a similar last name. It’s entirely possible there are other little glitches I’ll discover later. I …
A Matter of Trust
This is the final episode of a short story. The first two, in order, were “A Bit Sketchy on the Details” and “The Wrong Girl.” Barney Parmenter was mildly surprised when the Sheriff was still at his office, and a little disappointed, but he’d said he’d drop by, and it wasn’t wise not to live …
Nightrider's Lament 