Fantastic Shorts Volume 1

Facing fear of your own dreams coming true. Longing to hold on to a beloved best friend. Wishing to repair a life gone off the tracks. A lifelong feeling that you never belong. The secret life of a gorgeous black cat. Functioning as signposts along the rich and often twisted road of Kari Kilgore’s imagination, each story in this collection explores a different area of fantasy fiction. Ranging from Appalachia to Atlanta, from love to loss, they all touch on emotions or experiences readers recognize. The (mostly) women in Fantastic Shorts: Volume 1 may start out in familiar territory. But in the hands of this talented storyteller, readers quickly learn to always expect the strange. Included in this collection: Intentions Angela Garcia builds websites to help make other people’s dreams come true. Now one of her childhood dreams waits, ready to come to life. Sometimes your intentions make all the difference. Reflections A beloved family home, abandoned and broken. A so-called adult life, not much better off. Jessica’s hopes of finding her joy fade as soon as she steps through the door. Can facing her fears, and her memories, make Jessica’s life right at last? The Seeds of Love Virginia Evans and her best friend Maggie grew up together. From shy girl and wriggly puppy to confident woman and gentle old soul. A touching tale of woman’s best friend. Terminalia When you live a double life, you never take anything for granted. Kelly Webb finally feels safe. Until nighttime, when all but Kelly’s name changes. An enchanting tale of the crossroads between science and magic. Wicked Bone Pashmina knows which humans to trust. She shows her trust like all cats. With offerings from her hunts. And like all cats, Pashmina keeps her secrets to herself. Find out what happens when Katie learns Pashmina’s favorite secret.

Facing fear of your own dreams coming true. Longing to hold on to a beloved best friend. Wishing to repair a life gone off the tracks. A lifelong feeling that you never belong. The secret life of a gorgeous black cat. Functioning as signposts along the rich and often twisted road of Kari Kilgore’s imagination, each story in this collection explores a different area of fantasy fiction. Ranging from Appalachia to Atlanta, from love to loss, they all touch on emotions or experiences readers recognize. The (mostly) women in Fantastic Shorts: Volume 1 may start out in familiar territory. But in the hands of this talented storyteller, readers quickly learn to always expect the strange. Included in this collection: Intentions Angela Garcia builds websites to help make other people’s dreams come true. Now one of her childhood dreams waits, ready to come to life. Sometimes your intentions make all the difference. Reflections A beloved family home, abandoned and broken. A so-called adult life, not much better off. Jessica’s hopes of finding her joy fade as soon as she steps through the door. Can facing her fears, and her memories, make Jessica’s life right at last? The Seeds of Love Virginia Evans and her best friend Maggie grew up together. From shy girl and wriggly puppy to confident woman and gentle old soul. A touching tale of woman’s best friend. Terminalia When you live a double life, you never take anything for granted. Kelly Webb finally feels safe. Until nighttime, when all but Kelly’s name changes. An enchanting tale of the crossroads between science and magic. Wicked Bone Pashmina knows which humans to trust. She shows her trust like all cats. With offerings from her hunts. And like all cats, Pashmina keeps her secrets to herself. Find out what happens when Katie learns Pashmina’s favorite secret.

Life brings constant change. And some changes alter our life stories forever. The unseen world beneath our ordinary lives. An doctor facing a cry far beyond medicine. A young nurse in World War II Hungary. A writer fighting a dilemma as old as time. A modern life on hold, chasing shadowy reality. Kari Kilgore’s third short fantasy collection explores women facing change. Long-sought dreams coming true. Long-held secrets coming to light. Surprises welcome and frightening. Ranging from near-future Chicago to war-torn Budapest, from high tech Atlanta to a snowy Maine beach, join this trip through the strange lands of Kari’s imagination. Includes The Tech Empath, Sensing the Storm, Kati and the Witches in the Hill, An Adventure Well Begun, and A Linchpin Life.

Are you a fan of the upside-down worlds of the Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, or Black Mirror? How about Stephen King or Neil Gaiman? Then spend some time reading these 26 twisty, turny stories that cross genres and blur the lines between reality and fantasy. In Seven Hundred and Seventy-Six, a timid bank clerk working in the Arizona frontier encounters a strange man and an even stranger gun. In Halfway, detective Marty Quinn comes home to find his wife murdered and a high-tech entrepreneur is a prime suspect. In Captain Coffee, a caffeine-powered superhero comes to the rescue. ...and many more fun ways to spend a few minutes of your day. All 52 of Phillip McCollum's Fantastic Shorts are available over two volumes.

From Hero Support to Leading Roles Mranes loves life by the Wrynath Sea with her family. But her heart longs for the sky and adventure. Goresi faces one last challenge to reaching her dream. Noise and nonsense in her mind block the path. Tonn loves his difficult training as an airhorse rider. Conflicts with other riders proves the bigger challenge. Dyna experiences change and joy as a newlywed. A voice from the past haunts her mind. Selene Knight fiercely loves and protects her children. Her son Arch’s struggles shatter her own heart. Everyone needs support and friendship. Especially fictional heroes on the journey. But those side characters live fascinating lives of their own, all too often unexplored. What would they tell us if we listened? Join Kari Kilgore as she discovers the larger world of her Misfortune and Magic series. Includes five original Misfortune and Magic stories: Wings of the Heart, Footprints Along the Path, Trusting Their Magic, Lines of Strength and Grace, and The Difficulties Ahead. More from Fantastic Side Trips: When Dreams Find Wings Mranes’s heart and imagination yearn for the sky and adventure. And a glorious airhorse to take her there. What will she learn about herself and the life ahead of her, on one special night when magic and desire collide? Caught in Distraction, When She Needs Peace Goresi faces one last challenge with a mind and heart full of chatter and nonsense. And no time left for practice and patience. Will a visit to her own past help her discover the way? Pure Joy, and Fierce Competition Conflicts with other fledgling airhorse riders prove the biggest challenge for Tonn. Can he learn to overcome difficulties and trust himself? Escaping Her Own Past A mysterious voice from Dyna’s past haunts her mind and threatens her happiness. Will asking for help set her free, or send her deeper into madness? The Heartbreak of Acceptance Watching her son Arch struggle in silence shatters Selene’s own heart. Only trying to get others to help her fight for him hurts worse. Can she convince the ones who matter most to accept the truth and help Arch?

Heartache. Betrayal. Family. Suzanne and Paul arrive to settle a loved one's estate. The final, bittersweet step of saying goodbye. But an unpleasant surprise from an all-too-expected source awaits, leaving them both reeling. And angry. Will Suzanne take her chance to settle the score, no matter the cost to herself? An excerpt from The Last Twist in the Game: The Worst Possible Time for a Bad Surprise Suzanne nodded along with Paul, then stood and managed to smile and shake hands. She couldn't pretend she wasn't angry, and more worried than she wanted to admit. More about her husband than his thieving cousin. \Paul might put on a good face with a horrible situation like this, for a while. And he would get through to the other side. But after more than twenty years of marriage, she knew what kind of dark places he'd have to fight through to get there. Sure, moving forward sounded encouraging. Hopeful, even. Inspiring. It was the days, weeks, and possibly months before then that would test both of them to their limits.

Pure Joy and Fierce Competition Tonn thrills at the sight of airhorses, even after tough months as a rider-in-training. Knowing every day brings him closer to a pairing of his own. And the ultimate freedom of taking to the skies. But conflicts with other riders prove the bigger challenge. Can Tonn learn to overcome difficulties and trust himself? Also available in the collection Fantastic Side Trips: Side Characters Take Center Stage An excerpt from Trusting Their Magic: The Match That Defines a Lifetime Tonn jumped at Master Adur's sharp voice. "How did the airhorses learn the flight pattern we're observing right now? Tonn?" He was certain he knew the answer, but a rush of nerves sent his belly twisting anyway. "Same way landhorses do, or fish or fowl or anything else, Master. They're playing. Or at least that's how it starts out." "Exactly so." Master Adur's warm smile balanced out her sometimes harsh tones and fierce expressions. "The wild colony of airhorses not far from here does much the same every morning when the weather's fair. Have any of you had a chance to observe them in their own play?" Every hand shot up. Tonn took every chance he got to take the long walk out past Maestar's towering city wall, cutting through the low, wide passage out to the rocky cliffs overlooking the sea. He wasn't the only one who made the trip by the faintest light of dawn, hoping to catch a display even more breathtaking than the one over their heads.

An Impossible Task Filled with Love Michael faces an empty house full of countless memories close to his heart. Struggling to find the perfect touch for his beloved Auntie Ellen's farewell. How will he choose the best way to send her off in style, and with love? Also available in the collection Passages in the Real World: Six Stories of Life's Transitions An excerpt from On Choosing the Perfect Peach Dress: A choice too big for a broken heart "Peach, peach," he said under his breath, not sure why he was worried about the empty house hearing his shaky voice. "Peeeeeeeach. A simple peach dress." Maybe if he said it enough he'd find a way around the giant roadblock in his mind, in his heart. The one that kept reminding him that no matter which dress he chose, it would be the last one she ever wore. He was perilously close to fifty himself, and felt stable and sane most days. He didn't exactly need his auntie to wipe his little boy tears when he escaped from his stern parents, all too often confused by their overly sensitive youngest son. Or from the school and church that were determined to shove him into the correct social and career box, no matter badly his misfit edges pinched and scraped. But the reality of the loss of one of the most important people in his life still clenched up his chest and made his throat ache.