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.

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...

A young woman alone in the deep woods at night, and with no immediate memory of why she was there. What brought her to this place? Why did they leave her?This short story is for those with a love of the night, vampires, a thirst for revenge, and tales about endings…and beginnings.

A family learns how intelligent and frighteningly devoted crows can be when a young girl befriends a family of the birds. This short story takes place in Denver, Colorado, where the danger that lurks is not always the expected.

An artist lost to time in the jungles of India, a missing, security guard, and a damaged painting. Le Tigre is a short story about a painting come to life, in a most horrible way.

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...

When the energy suddenly drains out of a room full of people, what could be the cause? In this short story, Malcolm, a successful writer and poet, suspects it might be himself.And when he meets another man, a talented oil painter who seems to have the same effect on a crowd, Malcolm follows him to seek out answers, and possibly a remedy.

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.

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...

An arts dealer specializing in Western art and sculpture and artifacts, has stopped selling his wares. As a consequence, he also stopped paying his bills and property taxes.What happens to those who can't make their payments? What happens to their property? These were questions that came to mind as I started to weave this short story.There's a place near where I work that sells items like this shop. Only it's never open. And while I'd love to see the items inside - get a clos...

Viktor, a tracker, is called in to a grisly scene in a Minnesota state forest. An illegal poacher has been murdered and the hope is that Viktor can track the murderer through the woods so that the dangerous and possibly deranged villain can be apprehended.The tracker searches, but the trail comes to an end when it intersects with the road. Will Viktor be able to find his quarry?

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.