Misunderstood and overmedicated, twelve-year-old Lilith Bloom finds the prospect of a grand family reunion decidedly dull... That is, until she discovers that the rose garden surrounding her grandfather's Berlin mansion is, well, completely and utterly carnivorous. Armed with Panther, her talking pet whippet, and the help of the mute boy next door, Lilith must unravel the secrets behind the mysterious estate, all while her family remains gloriously unaware that they are about to be devoured.

Sixteen-year-old Thana sleeps in graveyards and crafts dreams for those who want them. She can create visions so vivid and detailed that they could be real. For the inhabitants of the sleepy town nearby, Thana's dreams are like drugs. When the Graveyard Festival appears in her cemetery in the middle of the night, Thana meets Jonathan, a mysterious boy with tattoos he can bring to life. By sunrise, Thana is a member of the traveling carnival that moves from cemetery to cemetery. Her dream-crafting abilities do what the Festival does best: catering to every whimsical fancy its visitors have. But the Graveyard Festival isn't just a carnival--its members guard the gates to the land of the dead, and something has gotten past them. Jonathan believes Thana is the key to returning the demon back to where it belongs, but as her dreams turn to nightmares that come to life, Thana can't control her devilish creations. Something is within her, and it's dying to get out.

What if time travel is like alcoholism? Shouldn't mermaids have blubber to stay warm in the ocean? These short stories of fantasy and science fiction explore the weird, the bizarre, and the concretization of untenable fantasies. ❂ ❂ ❂ ❂ ❂ ❂ Abby Goldsmith is the author of an epic dark sci-fi fantasy series published by Podium and narrated by George Newbern. The Torth series begins with Majority, available on Kindle, Audible, and carried by Ingram. https://abbygoldsmith.com/majority