

“Being magnanimous in victory usually worked, but to keep abreast of the situation he had to
pump the girl for all she knew. Was there a pang of remorse for his actions in his mind?
Possibly, but what choice did he have? If he wanted to survive, he had no room for weakness.”
― The Arbitrator
― The Arbitrator

“Julia, hanging back, says, ‘How have you been, Stephen?’
I want to tell her everything. I want to find out what she’s been doing, what she plans to do but, at this fated moment, a vision of my stomach floats before me. It is a soggy marsh, green rushes growing round the edges, gas bubbles surfacing all over and bursting. The bubbling of the marsh is set to the music of creation, the percussive glottal stops of the Big Bang. I realize I have, at best, one complete sentence left in me. ‘Julia,’ I begin, composing in my head a deranged paean of love that I can never utter. ‘I regret that I am not myself today. Terry has poisoned me.’
‘You should go home,’ she says.”
― Karna's Wheel
I want to tell her everything. I want to find out what she’s been doing, what she plans to do but, at this fated moment, a vision of my stomach floats before me. It is a soggy marsh, green rushes growing round the edges, gas bubbles surfacing all over and bursting. The bubbling of the marsh is set to the music of creation, the percussive glottal stops of the Big Bang. I realize I have, at best, one complete sentence left in me. ‘Julia,’ I begin, composing in my head a deranged paean of love that I can never utter. ‘I regret that I am not myself today. Terry has poisoned me.’
‘You should go home,’ she says.”
― Karna's Wheel

“The orderly brandished a hunting knife from a sheath at his waist and sliced open the prisoner’s throat with it. Warm blood cascaded out of the prisoner’s throat, some of it spraying the captain’s uniform. The orderly waited for the prisoner to bleed to death before cutting the head clean off. Within a few minutes, the muscle that the prisoner built on his body was carved out and thrown on the grill. After the meat cooled, the orderly put the human steaks in front of the captain for dinner. As the captain ate each buttery piece, he couldn’t help but compliment the orderly for a job well-done.”
― The Odd and The Strange: A Collection of Very Short Fiction
― The Odd and The Strange: A Collection of Very Short Fiction

“I can’t go into detail, but it’s why I went to the special meeting at the Pentagon.”
― Counter Identity
― Counter Identity

“At one point, approximately halfway through her remarks, Merkel stated in German something about ‘being able to greet the president of the United States of America, Barack Obama,’ and an overly ambitious Obama, who perhaps thought that was his cue, headed toward the podium. Perhaps catching the president’s movement out of the corner of her eye, Merkel thought quickly, and without even looking up from her notes, she told the excited American president, in English, ‘Not yet, dear Mr. President, dear Barack Obama.’ Obama sheepishly returned to his seat to allow the chancellor to finish her speech.”
― Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel
― Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel
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