Amina Emezi readies for the day when she leaves her parents' home to live on her own, dependent upon no one else in the Dregs.As a Favored One in The Blessed Heights, Tayari Thorne's life is mapped out for her. Before the final ceremony, she's pushed over the mountain to the Dregs.After Mina rescues Tayari, they become sisters through a blood oath. Rather than a lifetime of service to whichever man bids the most for her, Tayari alone will decide her course.When Command...

In the Time Before, when the Blessed Heights didn't exist, peace reigned.Now, its royals demand those below in the Dregspledge total subservience, or pay in blood.In cold shadows, some shiver.Some flee to sunlight.And some plot in secret to rise up.*Atop the Kabellak Mountain, in The Blessed Heights, Tayari Thorne trains to become a Favored One, a title of distinction bearing no freedom. A man would choose her, keep her, provide for her—un...

After Marissa Tahy returns home to Santa Fe, she is haunted by visions and glimpses of danger no one else sees: Old Man Gloom in his true form. For over a century, people have burned their troubles in the spirit's effigy at the Zozobra festival, making the spirit angrier and more powerful. This year, Old Man Gloom demands his due. The vengeful spirit targets those Marissa loves. Even when Marissa discovers the secret history binding her family to Zozobra, joining their forces may not be en...

Zadie Thurgood's the best. That's why she's well on her way toward becoming the first female security officer to achieve Level One.It's also why Merrimack Enterprises wants her dead. Their secrets are expensive, and Zadie's going to pay – with her freedom. After her partner's murder, she's framed and sent to Merrimack Port. In a prison run by men, female friendships become lifelines in a real sense. Escape becomes imperative after two visits: a Merrimack official who wants to kill h...

How far will a mother go to shield her son from harm? Grace Hawthorne would go to Hell and back—but Hell may come to her first. As Gabe's 16th birthday approaches, events in Phoenixville become stranger, and more dangerous.Powerful forces are driving out townsfolk, even while drawing close family and a love she thought lost to time. The collision of past and present come at the same time Gabe gets his full powers, magnifying the risk Grace might lose him.Will love be enough...

Identity theft sucks. But it's worse when someone steals your life—body included. All memory of her life before waking up in a mental facility has vanished. Or was erased. Now she has to figure out how to get it all back….Her only hope of learning the truth lies with one man. Problem is, he's the leader of a cult. Her only choice is to follow him into his sordid world, where a darker evil lurks.With a little help from an archangel hellbent on revenge, she may have a chance t...

Addictions come in many forms, Jessie Moore learns—including relationships. Working at the fledgling Philly Times newspaper with reporter Matt Cleary proves draining after their breakup. When a longtime friend dies of AIDS, she reconnects with her first love, Billy Black, who becomes a bridge back to the safety of her old life, and also to the origins of her artistic inspiration. But Billy drowns his worries in beer, threatening to drag her down too. After she rekindles their affair, Matt'...

Literary shorts and poems related to the writing profession and obsession

To the Byrne children, constellations were more than stick figures in the night sky. At their father's telling, their myths became tales of adventure and romance for Percy, Allie, Mary and Aurie, whose names seem to imbue celestial royalty upon them. When the Orion River floods in 1965, the Byrne children are drawn to it like sailors to a siren's call. After Aurie disappears in the river, their names seem more like a curse. Though self-imposed, the curse follows them through three decades ...

Literary/fantasy short story.When Jeremy answers a newspaper ad offering fame and fortune, he doesn't expect to face Satan. A gorgeous, female Satan offering the standard soul for fame deal. So tempting, Jeremy signs. But can he have it all, and his soul too?

Literary short story.Len tries to run from his past, but it keeps catching up to him.

Literary/speculative short storyAs the light shifts, so might reality. It might all be a trick of the light.