The sign declared, “The Watering Whole.” The Prairie Mason wrinkled his nose. He hated people who couldn’t spell. Nevertheless, it was the first business on the edge of the wheat-filled plains he’d stepped from, and he was thirsty. He pushed through the swinging doors.

As he stepped inside the dimly-lit room, the piano music stopped. Every eye turned to him.

The place was filled with freaks. As his gaze swept the room, he spied a table full of ruffians in bright yellow shirts next to what appeared to be some sort of cow-man. A glass tank filled with fish wearing stetsons sat at another table. A few emus perched on bar stools. The bartender herself appeared to be a woman wearing just enough red flannel to cover the most scandalous parts of herself.

She offered a most welcoming smile. “Hey, stranger. New here?”

Someone is killing stories, and the Prairie Mason will track down the culprit, one way or another.

“The Festival of Rejected Stories” will appear in The Case Files, a collection of mystery and crime stories. The book will be released June 1. Check out the cover!

“The best way to get stories is just ask questions. People always love talking about themselves,” Carina told her daughters.

Annie wrinkled her nose. “Can we just eat? I’m hungry!”

Carina grinned at her children. Tella wore her pixie cut and black tank top like the trying-to-be-edgy young teen she was. Angie, the younger blond girl wore her pink unicorn t-shirt. The lights of the carousel sent colors swirling over their eager faces. The crowds churned around them. The scents of sweat and cotton candy lay heavy in the early evening air.

Oh, there was so much good food here. And Carina was hungry too. Annie was right. Time to eat.

The family is here at the fair to eat. But there are predators of every kind at the fair…

“The Stories You Eat” will appear in The Blood Tomes, a collection of horrific stories about festivals! The book will be available June 1. Check out the cover below!

Miranda’d never crashed a ship on a mysterious uncharted planet while carting a probably-insane passenger before, so at least she was trying new things.

The planet is deserted, but her passenger insists there’s a festival here. Who has a festival on a dead planet?

“The Stories We Leave Behind” will appear in Starship Logs, a collection of short science fiction stories about festivals. Take a gander at the cover!