An enchanted bookstore in a town full of magic. A story of childhood and best friends revisited. A town forced to face the music. A modern myth from a land before time. A charming collision of numbers and magic. Unwelcome change in a land of dragons. In this second fantasy short story collection from Kari Kilgore, she visits lands familiar and strange, mythological and fantastic. From Allsentia to Appalachia to Atlanta, from modern mythology to dragons to joys of distant childhood. Join this talented storyteller on a journey through magical bookstores and haunted towns, lands lost in time and friendships forged across new dimensions. Includes Odds and Endings, Dawn Visitor, The Earworms, The Spider Who Ate the Elephant, Little Five, and The Last Dragonkeeper. Odds and Endings Visit an enchanted bookstore in a town full of magic. Chris Ramsey grew up visiting the Odds and Endings Bookstore in Lightning Gap, Virginia. Wandering the shelves. Finding endless adventures in the pages. Wishing he helped create the magic. Years later, Chris gets his chance. What would you do for the opportunity of a lifetime? Dawn Visitor A beloved dog brings a special gift, especially to a young girl’s life. One that lasts and endures no matter how many years pass. Toby welcomes Ellie home as only a first best friend can. A touching story of childhood and best friends revisited. The Earworms What if your whole town had to face the music? Estonoa, Virginia. A lovely little town tucked deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hiking and ATV trails. Kayaking along the scenic Clinch River. A thriving community focused on the future. Erin Evans loves her hometown, except for one thing. The Earworms. Will Erin find the answer before the music drives her and everyone else crazy? The Spider Who Ate the Elephant A Modern Myth. An eerie natural phenomenon. In the distant past, in a distant land... Grandmother Spider faces a sad problem far too big and difficult for her to solve. The end of her family and all the creatures in her land. Find out how her triumph echoes from then to now, and into forever. A tale of compassion, survival, and love. Little Five Barry Evans: An oddball in the oddest land of all. A gray-suited accountant navigating colorful hair, crazy clothing, and questionable businesses. After three months in Little Five, nothing surprises Barry anymore. Until the day he meets a true stranger in town. What happens when numbers meet magic? The Last Dragonkeeper Wyja, Senior Dragonkeeper of the Upper Abramshire Academy, tends to young dragons and keepers alike. Each group challenging, and exhausting, in their own way. Unwelcome change sets in when dragon birthrates drop to dangerous levels. No one knows why. Can Wyja solve the problem before it’s too late?

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.

Echoes of a Plan Gone Wrong Deb Powers finally welcomes friends and family with a neighborly new addition. But renovation at the old train depot alerts her sheriff cousin to unexplained happenings. A perfect case to save Deb from making progress in the career change she might not want. Will she uncover the trouble before the whole town's plans derail for good? Also available in the collection Investigations Beyond Belief An excerpt from Finding the Tracks to the Past: When New Changes Stir Up Old Trouble "Did Gina tell you what's happening at the depot?" Deb said. Terri took another big swallow of her beer and scooted around on the couch until she sat cross-legged and facing forward. "Not until this afternoon. But she's been calling in reports of trespassing that don't make sense all week long. Things knocked off shelves or knocked over. Footprints all through the dust, inside and out. Tools moved around, doors either locked or unlocked, day and night. Same with windows. Got a few complaints of noise from people who live nearby, too, when no one was there working. Dead in the middle of the night." "Charming choice of words," Deb said. "Your deputies checked it out?" "Of course they did. Couldn't find a trace of anyone sneaking around, not outside of what Gina reported. I hate this for her, but apparently nothing happens when one of the patrol cars hangs around. That kind of thing can drive you crazy."

Sometimes Everybody Needs Recovery Lucy finds a warm Thanksgiving welcome, in her childhood home with her father’s new family. Sharing traditions strange and familiar. Creating something new, together. But she worries about her brother Jacob facing changes while he repairs his own life. Can Jacob help Lucy take the next step in her own recovery? An excerpt from Traditions Worth Keeping: Learning to Trust Again, Especially Herself Lucy fought back a wave of guilt about not picking him up at the airport instead of listening to his calm insistence that he’d get himself there. The next breaker rolling in on the rising guilt tide was how many huge liquor stores were between the airport and their father’s house. All of them probably still open, and perfectly willing to take her little brother’s money. And his fragile new sobriety right along with it. “Get a grip, Lucy,” she said quietly. “He keeps telling you, Jana keeps telling you, your therapist keeps telling you, mom and dad keep telling you.” She took a deep breath and told it to herself. “I’m not my brother’s keeper.” She almost dropped the mustard at a deep voice from right behind her. “Never thought I hear you say that out loud.” Jacob stood there, backpack in hand, grinning like the goofy, exasperating kid he’d been before so many things went wrong.

The Changes That Redefine Us All An Impossible Task Filled with Love Transitions Revealing More Than We Expect When Family Secrets Turn Poisonous On Certain Days, the Hurt Feels Brand New A Truth Too Hard to Face Sometimes Everybody Needs Recovery All the years of life bring change. Beginnings and endings. Differences we welcome or dread. Many unavoidable, no matter how bitter or sweet. Every one bringing an in-between time that sometimes feels endless. And sometimes passes in a flash. Join storyteller Kari Kilgore as she explores the passages a lifetime brings. Includes On Choosing the Perfect Peach Dress, The Worry Trap, An Overdue Truce, At the Heart of It All, What Breaks a Man, and Traditions Worth Keeping A choice too big for a broken heart The reality of the loss of one of the most important people in his life clenched up Michael’s chest and made his throat ache. Revisiting childhood, and so much more... “Hang on, Mom,” Marlene said, leaving her memories with her footprints and catching up. “That last step is tricky.” “I guess I know how to go into my own house, Marlene. Even if I don’t live here anymore.” Digging Out the Toxins of the Past Sean had quietly wondered why his mother didn’t get the house, or any kind of spousal support that anyone knew of. Sean figured then and now he just didn’t understand. Brad figured their father had weaseled out of it. The Day All Her Best Defenses Fail Even if she spent October in a technology and communication void, she’d know. Some part of Sara knew exactly what day it was. Every single year. How many last chances does one man deserve? The last time Reggie heard Scotty’s voice was the day he’d left home a few months short of high school graduation. A last grand screaming match, and his son disappeared from his house and his life. Learning to Trust Again, Especially Herself The next breaker rolling in on Lucy’s rising guilt tide was how many huge liquor stores were probably still open, and perfectly willing to take her little brother’s money. And his fragile new sobriety right along with it.

On the Trail of Something Scary Deb Powers struggles to focus on her new job. Helping her unusual friend set up a website out of the ordinary. Her sheriff cousin hears of eerie incidents in town that spell trouble for all of Estonoa. Now Deb takes a chance on digging out the weird before word gets out. Can she crack the case before it's too late for everyone? Also available in the collection Investigations Beyond Belief An excerpt from An Eddy of the Unexplained: When a Good Place Turns Bad "Strange how?" Deb said, refusing to throw out suggestions for Terri to shoot down. Partly because she enjoyed the surprise too much. "This one really is hard to put into words, even for me," Terri said, frowning and looking serious for a change. "People say they feel...threatened lately. Even people who've been hiking that trail since it opened four years ago. They swear their skin crawls, like they're being watched. Not just people, either. Their dogs get freaked out and don't even want to walk through there. It's strong enough that several people have called us in." "Did you take police dogs out there?" Annie said. "To see how they react?" "We did, or we tried to. These aren't fresh-out-of-training dogs or officers, but the dogs refused to get within twenty feet of the eddy. They didn't bark or alert. They simply stopped walking."

Something Strange Lurks in a Shadowy World Deb Powers settles into her new mountain home town, hoping to build a new career to match. But her cousin brings a case too eerie and weird to ignore. A return to a childhood haunt that now lives up to the name. And an unconventional friend to help Deb see the other side. What will the Otherworldly PI discover in the underworld? Also available in the collection Investigations Beyond Belief An excerpt from A Cave of Whispering Secrets: The Mysterious World Underfoot “What kind of noises?” Deb said. Terri picked up Deb’s empty coffee mug and tapped it with her non-existent fingernails. “Well, that’s the part that got my attention, to tell you the truth. I’m sure you remember how the cave entrance is close to the maintenance shed around back? Apparently one of the janitors was out there for a while a couple of weeks ago. The whole time, something in the cave was tapping.” “Tapping? Like you’re doing right now, even though you know it gets on my nerves?” Terri stared into Deb’s eyes and nodded slowly, continuing her increasingly more annoying random noise. “Like this, yes. Other folks have heard what sounds like deep breathing, or a rumble like a train was going by under there.” She paused—thankfully both talking and tapping—as more distant thunder muttered outside. “One of them mentioned it sounded like a thunderstorm underground.”