NEW
WHERE FROM HERE by Danny Joe Robb
Where From Here is a future Earth story, dystopian, apocalyptic, a little coming of age and heroes journey, survival against the odds, and has a bittersweet Romeo and Juliet vibe, but with its themes of love and sacrifice, of duty and honor, and of hope when hope is all that is left, it should appeal to a wide range of readers.
I’ve dedicated the book to my older bother Dennis, who passed away in 2016. In the late 1960s, barely a teenager, confined to a manual wheelchair, and homeschooled because of limited accessibility, Dennis ventured into the world through books, especially Marvel comic books. Gifted with a natural talent and passion for journalism (later he was also a disc jockey for his college radio station), I remember when he started a family newspaper (typed with a manual typewriter) featuring articles about what our mother was cooking that week, updates on my dad’s work and coworkers, a hilarious made-up gossip column about our neighbors, and, of course, a comics section. Dennis drew the characters, and I filled in the dialogue balloons (“Pow!” “Take that, you villain!” and so on). Life eventually took us in different directions, far from our childhood dreams.
After retiring as an engineer in 2018, I revisited that early love of storytelling. I studied hard, earned a Certificate in Fiction Writing from the UCLA Writers Extension, attended workshops and other learning events, and was fortunate to find a friend and mentor who helped me grow as a writer. He said once that a story is never finished but only published. Well, I’m 72 and The End is inevitable. 🙂
RECENT PUBLICATIONS (Free to view)
Here is my most recent poem, published April 20, 2026 in The Rush Magazine, a literary journal run by the MFA program of Creative Writing at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles, California.
My poem, “While I Sit by the Window with my Dogs,” is written in the structured verse form of a villanelle, which is the same form as the famous poem, “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas.
I hope you enjoying reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Here is the link (it’s free to read).
https://www.therushmagazine.com/post/while-i-sit-by-my-window-with-my-dogs
Also, the rights of my poem, “Farting While Asleep on a 787 Starliner,” published in the 148th edition of Space and Time magazine, has reverted back to me.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
I’m proud to have Flash Fiction Magazine publish my story “The Problem With Probabilities.”
Writing a story under 1000 words with a beginning, middle, and end made for good practice in word economy, and writing this piece allowed a needed break from my novel writing.
Here’s the link. The story is about a 5 minute read. I hope everyone has as much fun reading it as I did writing. Please comment if you don’t mind.
Here is the link to my essay on school shootings and gun violence in America.
https://www.thesmartset.com/the-pursuit-of-happiness/
The Smart Set is an online magazine covering culture and ideas, arts and science, global and national affairs, and named for the turn-of-the-century literary magazine edited by H.L. Mencken and George Nathan. The Smart Set is published and supported by the Pennoni Honors College at Drexel University.
Happy Memorial Day! My fiction story The Emperor’s Visit, published by the online magazine, Military Experience & the Arts, is available to read at the link below. Although my story is fiction, it was inspired by my father-in-law, Roy Shiba, a Korean War veteran. Corporal Shiba is 94 now and suffers from late-stage Alzheimer’s. All that is left of the memories of his military experience and the fond tales of his comrades-in-arms, he has “transferred” to friends and family. I carry them with pride.
“All In” is a very short story and should take about 5-10 minutes to read. It’s a quirky romance-comedy that I think you will like. The magazine’s word limit is 1500 words and this story came in at 1490+/-. Writing a complete story in these few words is a challenge, to fit in a beginning, middle and end, give enough setting to paint an image in the reader’s mind, and character details to gain the reader’s empathy. There is a section at the bottom of the story to like and comment. Thanks for reading.
Here’s the link: https://www.meetcutepress.com/post/all-in
On the Matter of Luck. I couldn’t be prouder that, decomp journal, sponsored by the Social Justice Institute at the University of British Columbia, is publishing my first fiction story. Previously called, Decomposition Magazine, founded in 2004, work in decomp has been recognized by various award series such as The &NOW Awards: The Best Innovative Writing, Best of the Net, The Best Small Fictions, Micro Award, Million Writers Award, and The Wigleaf Top 50 (Very) Short Fictions.
Here is the link: On The Matter of Luck
Poems
Other Published Work
Inspired Senior Living Magazine. Ganbatte, a story about climbing Mt. Fuji.
Stars and Stripes. March For Our Lives Report, a first hand commentary of the 2018 March.
Stars and Stripes. Good Morning Happy Birthday Vietnam, September 2, 2018. Vietnam Independence Day. A Review.
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