Story Archive
Here, you can navigate through every story I’ve published in Cole’s Chapters.
We are currently in the Low Road collection. These stories are free to read for the duration of their run.
Serial 📚— Novellas, broken up over multiple parts for a longer read
Short Stories 📖— Mid-length stories, typically between 1,000 and 5,000 words
Flash Fiction 📑— Bite-sized stories clocking in at 1,000 words or less
Paid Content 🔏— Content accessible with a paid subscription
Sample Story
This is my current sample story. I recommend it to new readers to get a flavor for the kind of writing I do.
A celebrity chef bites off more than she can chew when adding a secret ingredient to a dangerous man's meal.
The Low Road
Original Run: January 2024
Seduced by shortcuts, status, or just plain power for its own sake; these stories are all about taking the path of least resistance — and the consequences that come with it.
A cunning detective must solve the mind-blowing murder of Geist Industries’ lead engineer, right before the launch of their biggest product yet.
Going Viral 📑🔏
In a city where skills can be bought and swallowed via engineered virus pills, a hatchet man must make sure one particular product stays off the shelves.
A nifty invention promises to be a panacea for soaring crime and societal decay—if only its creator could figure out a way to persuade everyone to adopt it.
Due to a century-old bargain between Teddy Roosevelt, and a powerful Djinn he discovered while exploring the amazon, every president gets 3 wishes. When Herbert Whalen sees his predecessor’s warning as a challenge, his greatest desire may doom the world
Part 1 |
Part 2|Part 3
A mysterious inn gives a weary father a glimpse at where life could have led, had he boarded a different train.
Ossification 📑🔏
A researcher's pet project grows out of control in a hidden undersea lab.
A state auditor follows the money to a series of questionable experiments, investigating the seemingly supernatural force that destroyed a small town.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |
Part 4|Part 5
A parking lot attendant moonlighting as a car thief winds up in over his head after a “promotion” from his illicit employer
Michael Serves the Secret Soup 📚🔏
People have always felt a strong urge to tell him their secrets. But a revelation during a recent confession upends everything Michael has ever known.
A father makes a sacrifice to protect his family and business from an all-consuming force. But will it be enough?
A celebrity chef bites off more than she can chew when adding a secret ingredient to a dangerous man's meal.
Stasis🔏
Original Run: August—December 2023
These are tales from the corners of the universe where an evening can last an eternity, and wasted years can be won back in court.
Time is the thread running through these short stories, and it doesn’t always run forward. Stasis began as a self-imposed writing challenge to create a collection based on a common theme.
Arriving on time just became the least of your troubles. Four friends on their way to go watch a rare astrological phenomenon are having a difficult time reaching their destination.
Restitution 📖🔏
Slighted in a bitter divorce, Charles Brookfield unwittingly hires an otherworldly attorney to win back his wasted years. But his services can't be paid for with money...
Trevor's time-traveling best friend comes bearing exciting and terrifying news about his future. The implications mean the end of life as he knows it.
Nelson Nemo’s Koi Pond Conundrum 📖🔏
A shady researcher's beautiful lakeside assignment gets far less luxurious when locals start going missing.
Coyote in the Groundhog’s Den 📚🔏
A reality-warping event inspires Dan to seek out a second chance with a figure from his distant past, but everyone he encounters seems to be 1,000 steps ahead.
Montauk — 14 Episodes 🔏
Original Run: August—December 2023
In a parallel future, a “Mutually Assured Destruction,” doomsday weapon makes all face-to-face interaction fatal. These events unfold in the decade that follows, as fear supplants reason, and common comforts slip away.
The serial novella explores this ruined world from a collection of different perspectives ranging from astronauts, to late night comedians — all pieced together by a mysterious radio D.J. on a mission to uncover what really happened to the world.
Penter Painter’s Holiday Haunts
Original Run: December 2023
Every holiday season, Chuck Penter and his employees handle holiday decorating requests around the sleepy costal town of Arnold’s Landing, uncovering strange local legends in the process.
Chuck and his team deck the halls, professionally. After drawing the short straw to hang lights at the dreaded Dumont house, he finds out why his workers are so scared of the place.
Carolers Sing of Molly Grimm 📖
Chris learns about Christmas spirit, and an unusual carol sung on bitterly cold December nights.
Aside from myself, this collaborative collection includes works from
and
Unaffiliated Stories — Tales that Don’t fit an Established Collection
These stories don’t fit into a particular collection. Some may be sorted into collections in the future.
Sandy Price; Interrogator 📚 1/?
Nightmares haunt a once-unflinching detective, in the wake of a brutal case. With sleeplessness and paranoia taking their toll, his partner suggests that an experimental drug from a shadowy pharmaceutical company may be just what the doctor ordered.
All My Loved Ones Loved the Impostor More 📖🔏
After spending the past year kidnapped, Caleb is excited to return to his job, his life, and his wife. But he doesn't quite get the warm welcome he was expecting.
Black Bronco 📑🔏
A valet parking attendant gets rich participating in an organized car theft scheme. But when his shady boss, the man in the Black Bronco, asks him to step up, an unsettling discovery changes his life.
When a career change throws Garret's relationship on the rocks, he tries to fix it with a mysterious piece of technology: DreamSync. But the product doesn't work exactly as-advertised...
A man loses his money, custody, and eventually his time in a bitter divorce settlement. Now he's determined to win them back by any means necessary.
Evan Hinkle enlists the help of his friends to get out of an unwitting contract, with an otherworldly lawyer.
The Suff 📖
One writer’s mysterious file led to the re-discovery of a strange phenomenon spanning decades—or perhaps longer. What is The Suff?
ULTRA Violet 📑🔏
Something was off about the garden and grounds of our new dream home. But it was gorgeous, and the price was to die for.
