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A more autobiographical than I wish it was story about a role I played in a musical in high school 20 years ago.  It's inspired by the way, way, way overdue removal of the Confederate flag from State capitals in recent days.

The disturbing tale of a troubled twelve year old boy who discovers that outsmarting a bully can have unexpected repercussions.

A unique perspective on video games and what they might mean in the grander scheme of some people's lives. Another Simple Journey to an Odd Destination.

A short story inspired by my frustration that all my friends haven't moved with me to the Portland area, but as usual, filtered through my weird imagination.  

A sci-fi short story about a little girl who meets a unique group of protesters at a parade.

A short story about a future where the most coveted vacation experience is far different than you'd expect.

Excerpt of my new novel Conspiracy! The Movie, The Novel.  Available now in print and Kindle on Amazon.com and as an Audiobook on Audible.com   Raymond Shaw has just received the sort of offer every struggling writer dreams about: He has a chance to work for Wallace Beery, the world’s most celebrated director. On his private tropical island. All expenses paid. Overjoyed, Raymond drops everything and hops on a plane, curious to know what the movie’s going to be about. Of course, there's a catch. We could tell you more, but then we’d have to kill you. Conspiracy, The Movie, The Novel by William Hrdina A simple journey to a very odd destination. This book is the culmination of a lifelong love of conspiracies.  The director is based heavily on Stanley Kubrick and to an unusually large degree, the main character Raymond is me.  For the close reader, there are a ton of conspiracy related Easter Eggs scattered throughout the book.  Additionally, this is the first book I had professionally edited.  I found the process very helpful and its a better book for it.    Here's just a few of the conspiracies referenced in the book: The Manchurian Candidate, The Parallax View, Theresa Caputo, Robocop, Satanists, Freemasons, 9/11, The Truman Show, Twin Peaks, the JFK assassination, the Illuminati, the Great Pirates, Matlock, Caddyshack, Howard Hughes, Discordianism, Joe Vs. the Volcano and oh, so many more.  I hope you enjoy

Inspired by a conversation that occurred after driving past an Olive Garden that was, as always, overflowing onto the sidewalk with Baby-Boomer aged people. A fairly harsh indictment of the Baby Boomer generation and the aftermath of their selfishness.

Photobombed is a play on the classic 'after-school specials' that used to grace the TV when I was a kid.  It tells the story of Alaya, a girl who finds out posting photos on the internet can be dangerous.

Augmented Reality is a horror short story inspired by the process of editing my novel Conspiracy: The Movie, the Novel.  It's a little darker than more normal stories, but it was fun to write and has a near-future feel to it.

The Set-Up is actually a quick sketch for an idea I plan to write as a screenplay.  If I can keep the scope small, I might even try to get it made here in Portland.  It’s a twist on the classic crime film- a sort of reverse Reservoir Dogs.

Exodus Year 40- is a sort of humorous essay/deconstruction of the Ten Commandments story as it is found in Exodus.  I’ve been doing a lot of Bible reading  as research for my latest novel The Gospels of Nikolai Tesla and I couldn’t help myself.  

Carsickness and the Virtual Reality Universe was initially inspired, like the character in the story, by a fascinating talk given by Michael Abrash at the Steam Developers Conference.  The talk was a fun springboard to explore the broader philosophical ideas found in ‘simulation theory.’   Of course, such a thing shouldn’t be treated too seriously, so I framed the conversation in its most natural context.  You’ll get the idea quickly enough. 

Let's See How You Like It is a satire, but it introduces ideas that I personally find very interesting.  What do we do with those who wear ignorant hatred as a badge of honor?  Is Frank right or wrong?  They're a whole lot of folks out there who will find this story offensive instead of funny and thought provoking.  To you, I say, phhhht.  

The Boom is a short story about a very disturbing sound that occurs in the middle of the night.  It also features a fairly long author’s note discussing the roles of beginnings and endings in my writing.  In a way, this episode is a combo- part short story- part On the Shoulders of Giants episode- in that the note is about the mechanics of writing and some of my current philosophical ideas about my job as a storyteller.

The annual release of my favorite Christmas story.

A short story exploring what happened to Bobby Fischer when he disappeared in 1972 after winning the World Chess Championships.  

This week's On the Shoulders of Giants is about music and the role it plays in my writing.  

Why is it that there is one person who always screws it up for everyone else?  The story of one man who'd had enough.