A short memoir of lessons learned in the kitchen and garden of the author's grandmother. The influence of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl is seen in lessons of work, food and generosity.

A Heartwarming Holiday Short Story Collection About Home, Kindness, and Second ChancesStep into the quiet magic of the holiday season with this beautifully written collection of short stories that celebrate the moments that matter most.Set against snowy nights, glowing windows, and familiar winter rituals, these stories explore the many ways the holidays shape our lives. Within these pages, you’ll meet characters facing reconciliation after years apart, chi...

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.

It's not unusual for an artist to fall in love with his model and muse. But in this short story, when the sculptor, Perry, is separated from his muse by her death, their love becomes eternal in a surprising way.

The art of making perfumes has long fascinated writers and the public. Just the very act of smelling another person can be intimate and profound.Scientists have long said that our sense of smell can trigger intense memories long after the scent is first encountered. It is a primal force that can trigger fear, desire, longing, hunger, or even a sense of safety. Being able to manipulate this force has long been the goal of perfume makers.In this story, the perfume maker has ano...

Previously published in the short story collection, Her West, this is a story about a young woman's history project that results in a grisly and sorrowful discovery. Not all old and abandoned houses hold horrific secrets - but some of them do.

Rowan suspects a young neighbor of stealing packages off her and other neighbors' front porches. She's a good kid and Rowan enlists the help of Twist, her loyal dog, to help find out the reason and find a solution - just in time to enjoy Christmas.This story takes place after the novel Ambient Light and we find out how Rowan's relationship with Stone is evolving, along with what challenges she is currently facing with her current work.We also learn that Rowan has a stalker. W...

In this short story, Jim wakes up one morning into a day of silence. The hustle and bustle of the city is gone - and so are the electricity and motor vehicles that run the world.How does he respond? How will the world react when everything has to be done by hand and in-person? Does it have to be a dystopia? Jim's first days in this new reality could set the tone for years to come.

What happens when you don't take charge of your destiny? One young woman tries to survive the challenge of her life when a mountain hike becomes a life and death struggle.

Rowan O'Donnell is nervous about being the center of attention at the gallery opening for her photography, but also excited for her future - until she is forced to endure the sight of gallery owner, Harry Lowe, meeting a fiery death in Heather Ormsby's fourth short novel of this amateur sleuth series.In the year since she found and rescued an abducted student from her class at a local college, Rowan has built up her own online teaching website and devoted the rest of her time to cre...

This short story is a reverie about winter snow, the night skies, the mountains. And it is about loneliness and longing.This was first published on the Author's website as a Christmas gift for her readers and family. Now it is available here for all to read.

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.