Three Sample Short Stories

Take your pick here. Both of these stories are brilliant.

"Witty and muscular" is what the "New York Times Book Review" might have said.

Had they been brought to his attention, these stories might have urged the late great George Plimpton, editor of the "Paris Review" to squint his eyes, twist the left temple of his reading glasses and pontificate:

"One senses a wry genius at work when reading Mr. Keel's fiction. Unfortunately one also senses the presence of the tragic, misused muse. Mr. Keel's writing shows forth a bright, brilliant little spark, desperately attempting to shine gloriously into the night, all the while obscured and overburdened by gobs and gobs of taurine excretion."


The first story, "Wild Bob's Fish-Off Honeymoon," is a tale of tall fish. It was published in "Modern American Short Stories"

The second yarn, "The Sandman," is a story I wrote about a World War II Vet. "The Sandman" was awarded the Edward R. Moses Award for creative writing and was published in "Sou'wester."

The last of the trilogy (and what kind of author would I be if I couldn't scratch out a trilogy in this day and age) is "Mexican Motorboat," one of the best little stories I've ever written—a story that can't seem to find a good home. It has been picked up twice: once by a journal that went out of business before publishing it and again by another journal that found it after 15 months in their slush pile (I had to refuse them because I was waiting for the first yahoos).


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