"Meeting by the River" in Infinite Monkeys: Tales of Redemption
Redemption is the theme of the anthology Infinite Monkeys: Tales of Redemption, and in my alternate history story, "Meeting by the River", the person in American history in need of redemption is Benedict Arnold, our nation's most infamous traitor. What if Arnold had not intended to betray his country to the British? What if his meeting by the Hudson River with British spymaster John Andre had a totally different purpose, leading to a completely different chain of events?
"Rising Star" in Drops of Midnight
Drops of Midnight is an anthology of stories about dreams, and "Rising Star" is my alternate history story about the dream of a famous figure from American history. In my story, this person drinks a brew to help him sleep, and instead has a vision of the next forty years, from the late 1800's to the early 1900's, altered to show the effect he might have on the events of those times. But we know that sequence of events will never happen, because of what awaits our dreamer on the very next morning.
My wife, Rae H. Williams, also has a story published in this anthology, called "A Breath in Time". Two versions of a woman's history exist side by side: in one, her descendants achieve fame as great scientists; in the other, she perishes as a young girl in the gas chambers of the Holocaust. One must be only a dream -- but which one?
My wife, Rae H. Williams, also has a story published in this anthology, called "A Breath in Time". Two versions of a woman's history exist side by side: in one, her descendants achieve fame as great scientists; in the other, she perishes as a young girl in the gas chambers of the Holocaust. One must be only a dream -- but which one?
"Guarding the Henhouse" in Read Short Fiction
My historical fiction story "Guarding the Henhouse" was published on the literary web site ReadShortFiction.com in 2013 (link no longer active). It's the story of Jimmy Flynn, a charming rogue who finds himself in a precarious situation in July 1863 in New York City during the height of the terrible Draft Riots. It seems that while a wealthy New Yorker is away to command a company in the Union Army during the Civil War, our man Flynn has been spending time with the captain's wife. But the captain's company is back in New York to quell the riot, and the captain comes home unexpectedly -- and Flynn must flee to escape detection.