Fiction.

Christian holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. During his MFA, he finished both a short story collection, The Gentrification of Hell,  and a novel manuscript.  He has aspirations of publishing the remaining stories from the collection and finding a home for the novel.

The Travails of Mr. Yazoo

“I do not talk to Lindsay’s Hired Imaginary Friend, “Honey Milk,” even in non-work situations—because she is a crazy person. I don’t know what she’d do if she didn’t get work like this. Maybe stand on a street corner and egg Google buses or camp in trees to protest deforestation. Honey Milk wears a skirt made of random clothing strips and has hair the color and texture of dead ferns. She’s in her early thirties but her bloodshot eyes and yogurt-colored skin remind me of nursing home patients. Still, like pets adopted by the same family, we enjoy an uneasy truce.“

A Grave for Every Shitty Man

“You feel responsible, and know that part of you is lacking the fundamental machinery to have made Colin stay. It was taken from you when you were a boy, and now you view any breakdown in male companionship as proof of what you lack. In a few minutes, you suggest to the group that they pack it in for the day. “

We Always Have Lamb on Christmas

“Despite the long dress coat, the pressed shirt and slacks, even his loose smile, there is something off about him in how he surveys us, like we’re impostors that have replaced his family. He hesitates and I wonder if he’s sniffing for confirmation, the way dogs do, but then his smile deepens and he embraces us. His pat on my back is strong and his scent is rosemary and wool.”

Ghosting

“Abby met The Ex-Whatever online. He was not firm enough in memory or importance to warrant the “boyfriend” moniker, but the tug in her gut felt too real to dismiss as just an ego-bruised couple of texts…”

Argyle & Flock's Milk Bar

"When I bought a cat I was informed having an animal in a building zoned for restaurants broke San Francisco’s draconian health laws regarding food preparation. So now we have a house cat that Marissa has named 'Mistake.'"

The Dream Eaters

"During the first few weeks of camp, the Galton sisters devoured dreams like popcorn. Marian—twelve, thin as a paper doll—and Lisa—impassive, linebacker thick and only fourteen—would sneak into the cabins after lights out, pause to savor the taste of their fellow campers’ salty-scented fear, and breathe in, their mouths stuffed with the cottony texture of bad dreams..."

Summer House

Rose Red Review, Issue No 17. Fall 2016

"Sam used to be obsessed with the dead. He’d follow the spirits throughout every room—from the ‘50s style kitchen to the large glass-paneled dining room to the family room and wing of bedrooms—trying to figure out their source until he’d bump his head into a wall..."

When You Wake

"The screen displays girls with spotless faces, chins you could rest on your thumb, and the same shy smile. Each face would be beautiful, but as a group, they are intimidating in their uniform perfection..."

Confessions of a College Admissions Officer

"Jeremy, who handles the East Coast, is the first one to eat one. He claims he’s doing it on a dare but we all know Jeremy doesn’t have friends in this office to dare him..."