For “The Better Part of Valor,” I won a cash prize and was offered a position on a publishing house collaboration team. The story first appeared on Short Fiction Break in July 2017.
In 2019, an audio version of the story was made, narrated and produced by the very talented Tyler Angel. I offer it, free of charge, as a VIP exclusive for members of my readers’ group.
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Nobody ever walks into a dive like this. It’s the kind of hole to steer clear of, unless it’s the only beacon in your stretch of inky night, a slice of flotsam, a quivering straw.
Unless you’ve got nothing left to lose.
Mark Crandall felt the sawdust underfoot, damp with spilled beer, matted and caking the treads of his combat sneakers, his fighting shoes. Their cracked leather tops sported crusty brown s
