One of the 16 short stories in Smoking on Mount Rushmore: 16 Selected & New Short Stories is titled "Emily Thrice Stoned." I submitted it to the Shots Crime & Thriller Ezine published in the UK. The fiction editor Sarah Weinman, who later became a noted crime fiction critic and anthologist, accepted my short story. Shots ran my short story in 2005. It's one of my favorites in my collection, and one of these days I hope to expand it into a full-blown novel. The protagonist Payne is a recurring figure in my short stories, and I believe he deserves his own book where he can have a larger say about things. Sort of a the world according to Payne (with apologies to Garp). Anyway, you can read "Emily Thrice Stoned" in an earlier version at this link. Click on through and enjoy your read of a story noirish in tone. http://is.gd/WQDAYI