Big news this week: Tales from the Crossroads Cat is out now, the third in my run of short story collections from Opal Kingdom Press. First came the steampunk Tales from the Clockwork Coyote, then the secondary-world and historical fantasy of Tales from the Runebound Raven. This one is the modern-day collection of contemporary fantasy, supernatural, paranormal, and a little horror. And lots of adventure. Because that’s how I roll.
This volume features nine of my short stories, two of which are new, first appearing in this book.
All-Time Loser (NEW) – A man whose past is filled with bizarre failures uncovers memories of the things that never happened. Are they dreams, or things that were supposed to have happened?
Vanishings (NEW) – An old feud doesn’t stop just because the world is ending. Cats may be involved.
Shoot First – Donovan Flint is an agent for an ancient order that recovers magical artifacts. Even cursed ones that will kill whoever possesses them.
Dead Last – Donovan returns, facing a new enemy when an artifact hand-off goes wrong. This one can turn the bodies of the dead into minions.
A Drop of Kruger, A Bottle of Dunning – Fame and fortune may be only a magical pill or two away. But you’d better follow the instructions…
Best Wishes – Being a genie and handing out three wishes isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Crawlers – The long-anticipated major earthquake hits Salt Lake City… but the aftermath is the least of the problems.
Bad Luck Charm – Could a “dream life” conceal a nightmare?
Summoned – Virtual reality devices give glimpses into imaginary worlds. But what if they aren’t all imaginary?
As in the other two collections, I wrote these stories and different points in my writing career. I wondered about doing more with Donovan Flint. It’s been years since I wrote those two stories for StoryHack magazine. Let me know if you like them and would like some more.
Best Wishes was the winner of the DragonComet award several years ago. I’d had several different ideas in my head for genie stories. This… wasn’t really one of them, except for how he resolves the first wish. Really, this was a story about people and their relationships with each other. I have a much darker idea for a genie story I might explore some day.
Vanishings has nothing to do with my fantasy novel series, “The Vanished” (Queen of Monsters, etc.) To be honest, I’d almost forgotten about this one, but I kept the title. I wanted a different kind of worldwide apocalypse, and that was what came to mind.
All-Time Loser, Bad Luck Charm, and I suppose Summoned all have to do with the nature of reality, but in very different ways.
Get it here: https://books2read.com/crossroadscat
The paperback version is already available. The easiest way to order the paperback is from https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Crossroads-Cat-Barnson-Collections/dp/1952415306