Finalist, 2022 Book of the Year: Short Stories

Relationships are tough. Present or future, crazed or loving, they're tough. Full of the "what ifs" that define speculative short fiction, some stories are an easy read, heartwarming even; others...not so much. In some there's peace, love, and epiphany, in others revenge, horror, and death. From Mexico to Titan, Memphis to the foothills of the Himalayas, the unpredictable and the unexpected await in this exploration of the predicament that is the human condition.

◆ This Room of Gold - Across time and space, Myla stumbles into what might be her best future. Is it?

◆ Tattooed - Laird gladly loses himself in Nita's tattoo, but how is he going to find his way back? And if he doesn't...?

◆ In The Black Wood - Efram wades into the Black Wood and finds more than he anticipated. Have he and his friends unleashed the End Times?

◆ The Reader - Channeling gifts from a long family line, Lysette becomes a clairvoyant. When the role becomes too much for her, can she find a way to escape its grip?

◆Stockyards - Angie has the perfect marriage until the old woman gives her a frightening gift, one that will change her life forever. Now what?

For fans of Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Kurt Vonnegut, Haruki Murakami, and George Saunders. For Adult and New Adult readers. Not appropriate for children.