When a blind psychic warns of a dark fate awaiting seven homeless teens, PI Cam Sharp and her flamboyant partner, Juju, infiltrate a high-society fundraiser called the "Night of Misrule." They soon discover the party is a cover for a sinister magical ritual. To save the kids and stop the chaos, they must snatch a powerful enchanted artifact from a newly crowned king before everyone becomes a permanent pawn in a terrifying game.

Professional photographer Rowan O'Donnell doesn't want to find dead bodies, but for the second time she has stumbled across one. With her boyfriend, Rob, and Twist, her loyal dog, Rowan becomes involved in a murder case in the mountains of Colorado in order to help out a friend, but soon finds that this is much more than it seems. Her investigations lead her to knowledge that an entire community is in danger, not to mention her own life.

Rye Gannon, a private investigator hanging her shingle in Denver, Colorado, discovers she has atalent for sensing magic.The Harpocrates Society, a secret organization, hires her to use that talent to find andsecure magical items, keeping them from endangering the innocent.These never before published tales of an Empress's Opal, a lucky coin, a miner's pick, a necklace of human teeth, and a love locket, all tell the beginning of Rye Gannon's investigative adventu...

When you look up the definition of a caper, you see that it can either mean to playfully skip and dance about; or it means an illicit or silly escapade or activity.These stories are a mix of silly, strange, miraculous, dangerous, supernatural and hopeful tales. But they all involve the arts. From sculpture, design, painting, music, and even perfume making, these stories are about the makers of art or the consequences of their making.

Cecilia is at a crossroads after her divorce. In this short story, she decides to go alone on the road trip to the Grand Canyon that she had originally planned on taking with her husband. The trip opens her eyes to how small her life had been, and how wonderful the world can be.

Meet Rye Gannon, a private detective who knows her craft and doesn't blink, even when she discovers that magic is real - and that she has the unusual ability to find it. Rye is hired by the Harpocrates Society, a secret organization, to use her newly discovered talent to find and secure magical items, and she is drawn into a world of adventure and intrigue she hadn't known was possible.When a magical object is stolen from a curio shop in Omaha, Nebraska, Rye is called in to find th...

Rowan O'Donnell is a professional photographer who can't turn away from a mystery if her friends or family are in peril - even if it means her own life becomes endangered.In Ambient Light, she has temporarily taken on a teaching position at a local Denver college. She is enjoying the challenge, until one of her students disappears, and the kidnapper sends out emails with pictures and video of the victim.Suddenly, her hands are full with a missing person, a classroom full of s...

Two young women survive a flash flood. During their adventure they find a hidden cave full of drawings of animals and symbols done by ancient people.The artwork connects them in place and time to the wider, universal dance of life.

Children face many dangers in the world, some old and some new. How do we protect them and ourselves? And most importantly, teach them to protect themselves?This story centers around an event in the Mt. Massive Wilderness of Colorado. The details are from a real-life experience I had with my mother while camping, and we still talk about it to this day.

The public library was going to be closed Christmas Day. The church shelter nearby was closed as well for Christmas Eve and Christmas night. With no day or evening shelter available for the street people in this small town nestled near the Rocky Mountains, the librarian hoped for a miracle.This gentle crime story with a touch of magic is the perfect read on a cozy winter night.This story was originally published in the book Magic and Mistletoe: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology, ...

In the dusty and hot parking lot of a local tavern, a young woman is overcome with a memory from her childhood that causes her to reconsider her relationship and her future in a small town in Colorado.

In Mountain Trout, a young woman is lake fishing in the Arkansas River headwaters in Colorado, and remembering all that she had learned about the sport, and about life, from her beloved uncle who has recently passed.This short story is a reflection on a place and the beauty of the surrounding mountain valley and placed third in The LAURA Short Fiction Awards for 2021.