Infinite worlds. One Reporter. Zero time. After his newsroom intern jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge, 40-something reporter Daedalus Howell's reputation also took a dive. Five years later, he's still trying to clear his conscience and his byline when Jude, a lost pre-teen thief, seeks his help to get home - to a parallel universe. Or so he says. The reporter, turned amateur sleuth, soon learns that anything is possible on the strange streets of Lumaville - a sleepy Northern California college town in the grips of a startup boom. As hard-drinking Howell grumbles about the waning relevance of his profession, he uncovers a maze of dark truths that connect the boy, his brilliant ex-flame and a ruthless tech mogul. When Jude disappears, Howell's assignment is clear but can he make his deadline without ending up dead? An entertaining, postmodern, bizarro, cyberpunk ode to pulp and noir that brims with action and humor. Featured in the feature film Pill Head.

Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

Katrina's best friend Marco dies in a mall shooting when they're fourteen years old. Three years later, she's starting her senior year of high school and beginning to forget, at last. Her life had become as bearable as it could possibly be, until Ian - Marco's older brother - comes back to town. He comes back changed, dangerous, and enigmatic. Katrina can't stay away, despite the overflow of memories his presence brings to her. A catastrophic relationship is born, one the world never wanted and most definitely won't permit. (cover art by hagenmarley)