From the award-winning, best-selling author of Hannahwhere and Inflictions, John McIlveen offers his latest collection A Variable Darkness, thirteen tales of his trademark blend of heartache, humor, horror, and a ton of humanity. Inside these pages you will meet a captivating girl who is the embodiment of all female youth and the registrar of broken hearts. You will travel to 1693 Massachusetts, where a suspected witch mentors a teenager. You will meet Ricky Briggs, who wakes up without a spine, join in on the craziest Yankee Swap imaginable, and ride along with a cantankerous old spirit in a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis. Including an introduction by Tony Tremblay and an afterword by Izzy Lee. "McIlveen always delivers." --Jeff Kivela - Buttonholed Book Reviews.