Dave Swan, Author

My new story: “Come Sing It Plain,” published by Close To The Bone

My latest blog post: WARNING: Unregistered post!

Dave is a former journalist, disc jockey, and cabdriver, but most of all he’s a lifelong writer whose current specialty is short stories. His contemporary Southern fiction has appeared in Adelaide Literary Magazine, the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Flora Fiction, and the Birmingham Arts Journal. He’s also published noir stories in Close To The Bone, the Fictional Café, and elsewhere.

When he’s not writing new stories, he blogs about life and the perils of advancing age. He works as a freelance editor, helps wrangle social media for the Atlanta Writers Club, and keeps busy with his own platform (whatever “platform” means). Important note! Please bookmark this page so you don’t Google “David Swan fiction” and end up with this Nathaniel Hawthorne piece, which was written long before Dave was born. (However, it’s possible that Hawthorne knew his ancestors.)

Life, the South, and other mysteries

New! Now You Never Call Me Anymore – Past and present collide in New Orleans when a woman visits a dying ex-boyfriend. Published by Adelaide Literary Magazine.
Wednesday’s Road – Sometimes we need a little help to reach the end of our journey. Flora Fiction
From The Moon To The Earth – The moon man lives in the woods and comes out at night. Sledgehammer Lit
My Late Friend Laura Ann Randall – She was a good person. Wasn’t she? Red Fez
Flag Day – Confederate flags don’t hurt anybody, right? Birmingham Arts Journal
Bobby Dean Goes Viral – Football as religion, including the Golden Rule. The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature
High Tide – Anniversaries, beaches, and most of all, love. Dead Mule
Reefer and Jesus – It’s amazing what you can find on the south side of town. Birmingham Arts Journal

Noir, crime, and Covid

New! Come Sing It Plain – Based on an old British murder ballad of a mother’s hatred and a daughter’s revenge. Close To The Bone
Algorithms and Lies – An old-school crime writer gets a life-changing bad review from an AI bot. The Fictional Cafe
Actual Events – When your rideshare passenger has a terrifying “taxicab confession.” Close To The Bone
The Man With the Six-Foot Soul – Illusion and reality shift amid the pandemic. The Red Fez
Country Dark – A desperate wife tries to escape an abusive relationship. Flora Fiction
The Milk of Human Innocence – The truth behind the urban legend of the milkman. Red Fez
Independence – It’s the summer of 2020. Forget Covid. Let’s party! Medium

Writing about writing

Better Writing Through Bots – What it’s like to have your book analyzed by AI. From eQuill, the Atlanta Writers Club newsletter.
The Worst They Can Do – The big R (rejection). eQuill.
Writing Our Way Through the Storm – Adapting to the pandemic. eQuill.
Watch that slanguage! Grammar tips from Uncle Grumpy (me).