Dan Ryan's SmallStories

A Literary Public Service--All contents © 2010 by Dan Ryan unless noted

Month: January, 2010

Henry’s Jug Of The Last—A Small Goodbye

(dedicated to Ralph H.) Henry said he was giving it all up for a very good woman, whom he had only met six months ago. He said he had to for her, and that the long nights and cement-nail hangovers were killing him anyway. But it made perfect sense to all of us that he [...]

1 Comment by Dan Ryan on January 21, 2010
filed in Henry's Jug Of The Last

The Pen—A Small Caper

I wasn’t expecting the bright glint of steel when I shined my desk lamp into the bottom of a file cabinet drawer. I was getting rid of the desk, and I thought I had cleaned out the file cabinet side last week But there the damn thing was. And I have to admit it spooked [...]

1 Comment by Dan Ryan on January 21, 2010
filed in The Pen

Kamiya Bar—A Small Story

The old timers had been going there for over one hundred years, and I was finally back after more than twenty. It was Kamiya Bar, in the Asakusa part of Tokyo, and it was the oldest western-style bar in the city. Western as in high ceilings, with wood-veneer wall panels, chrome light fixtures and those [...]

4 Comments by Dan Ryan on January 21, 2010
filed in Kamiya Bar

SmallStories–An Introduction

I have wanted to do this for a long time. If I had started trying to be a writer of fiction twenty years ago, I would have failed because I did not have the experiences I believe one needs from life to tell a good story. At least not the kind of stories I want [...]

4 Comments by Dan Ryan on January 21, 2010
filed in Introduction--About