In the Company of Whales is ready to emerge from its cocoon! If you're looking forward to an exciting book to bring along on a trip next summer or one to enjoy on your own front porch, then you're in luck.

Her small town had no idea who she was until she gave herself away.
Washed-up punk rocker Carla Peterson went from performing for rowdy drunks in dive bars to living paycheck to paycheck in a tiny town in the Pacific Northwest, serving coffee and homemade pies to people who side-eye her leather stompers and heavy eyeliner. She can barely keep her head above water, let alone afford a bus ticket to anywhere else.
In a town where nothing happens, a pod of orcas disrupts all that by becoming trapped in the inlet near the coffee shop. The most Carla has helped any animal is moving a spider out of harm’s way and caring for an elderly lady’s sweet dog. This is way out of her league, but she just can’t let go of it. Carla risks her job—and her life—protecting the whales from unruly tourists swarming in for a closer look.
With the orcas running out of time, Carla must find her voice and fight the local authorities who couldn’t care less. She’s used to going it alone, but with the support of the community, she’s finding a strength she didn’t know she had.
If she can save the whales, she might also save herself.
Heartwarming and inspiring, In the Company of Whales is about the power of friendship, finding your purpose, and making your own second chances. Based on true events, a gripping tale of courage and determination with a hero you can cheer for.
The editors of the Carolina Piedmont Writers Guild have accepted my short story "The Vigil" for publication in their 2026 issue of County Lines, A Literary Journal. As soon as I have information about how and where to read my story, I will post it here.
In the meantime, I offer the opening lines:
It was fear that held her at the window. In the dark kitchen Anna looked out at the snow-covered fields, like barren tundra, that stretched in frozen solitude to the black edge of night.
Anna’s trembling fingertips came to rest on the cold sill, and her gaze slid to the west. Past the barn, past the windbreak where spires of Norway spruce and skeletons of river birch stood guard. Past the faint silhouette of the Padewskis’ silo, black against black. Beyond it, the town of Berger Lake was a glowing hump on the horizon. No streetlights marked the long stretch of gravel road leading to the farm, and no passing cars defined it.


My story "Funeral Pie" appears in the final print version of this publication. The Lindenwood Review: A Journal of Literary Prose continues to appear online. You can read it here for free.

Running Wild Press publishes novels, anthologies of novellas, and anthologies of short stories. My story "Black Ice" is included in volume 5 which is available for purchase through their website.

This online journal publishes short and flash fiction. A new issue is posted monthly. My flash fiction story "Moonlit Man" can be found and read for free in the August 2024 edition.

This beautiful volume is published annually by the Carolina Piedmont Writers Guild. They selected my short story "The Vigil" for this year's edition. Volume 13 and past issues are available through their website.
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