Winter Whimsy: Eleven Tales of Childlike Wonder

by Ynes Malakova, Dorothy Tinker (Editor), Debbie Burns (Introduction)

Overview

Featuring stories by M. Rose Callahan, Kelly Lynn Colby, Celosia Crane, H. M. Forrest, K.A. Fox, Kimberly Gail, K. N. Gemme, Ynes Malakova, Allorianna Matsourani, Logos Peregrin, and Emily Van Engen. Introduction by Debbie Burns.

"Is it real, brother?"
"Aye, little one. It is very real! It is called winter, and the white stuff that falls is called snow. Come, reach out and touch it."
---
If autumn marks the season of change, then the season of speculation begins with winter--a time to dream, a time to wonder. Winter Whimsy is a breathtaking collection of tales from eleven worlds; when the season brings both snow and otherworldly phenomena, eleven curious minds are called to explore the anomalies with wonder and awe.
As the snow quietly blankets the earth, a meteor soars overhead and becomes the buzz of a small town. An ice fairy attack leads to an unexpected and bizarre truth. A nighttime drive down a snow-covered road leads to the discovery of mysterious, orb-like lights. An empathic painter slips further and further into an ethereal state in which her waking life and dreams become blurred.
What does it all mean? What dangers lurk beneath all the whimsy and wonderment?
A free-spirited girl creates a snow angel at dusk, soon learning her actions may have summoned an ancient evil. A peculiar basket arrives at the doorstep of a mountain ogress. A witch-apprentice and her mentor trek deep into a forest rumored to hold a host of disturbed spirits. A young elf takes his frail brother to see his first snowfall despite his father's warnings about the dangers of the land.
An orphan train, a Yuletide blizzard, and phantasmagoria: in this collection of speculative fiction tales, the strange and new abound.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781947012967
Publisher:	Balance of Seven
Publication date:	11/16/2018
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.46(d)

About the Author

The journey from first draft to published novel can be difficult, complex, and lonely. It can oftentimes feel like crossing an ocean in a sailboat. D Tinker Editing provides authors with a compass and map by which to navigate their unique literary journeys. D Tinker Editing was formed by Dorothy Tinker with a love of language and a keen eye for details. Dorothy is an explorer of worlds (both this one and others) and an "editor of all trades." She helps authors steer their projects on course with a mind for their full story maps while keeping the plot sails trimmed with a precision and attention to detail she honed in university studying mathematics. D Tinker Editing works with individual authors and small presses to refine their stories and make them shine. Dorothy is the copyediting and formatting force behind Inklings Publishing and recent HWG Press anthologies, and she is the Managing Editor of Balance of Seven literary alliance and publishing house.

Ynes Malakova holds a deep reverence for the beauty found in darkness. With intense imagery and lyrical prose, she celebrates life, death, and the specter-like boundary between them. Her five-part poetry collection-focused on finding magic in the mundane-was published in OWS Ink's Primal Elements anthology in June 2018, and her debut novel, The Viper Within, is quickly nearing completion. Ynes is known for her gothic elegance and has a closet full of sugar skulls, roses, and lace. Her collection of work is available at ynesmalakova.com. Follow her on Twitter at @YnesMalakova.

Debbie Burns is a Molotov cocktail in Hello Kitty packaging who's been navigating trauma for the last thirty-plus years, weaving those truths into commercial fiction for the last eight, coaching creative visionaries for the last three, and firing glitter cannons since she realized she actually does like the color pink. International bestselling author and founder of Creative Central, Fiction Expedition, Sacred Rebels Mastermind, and many other delicious programs and transformative experiences, Deb is a kickass Soul Mapper and courage coach helping creative visionaries navigate their inner magic to transform their outer world. She's here to show you how to believe in yourself (and your art!) so strongly that the world can't help but believe in you too. You can find her living her Happily EPIC After in Utah (for now!) with her husband, Joe, and her not-so-little-but-totally-adorable pittie, Josser.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

The Snow Demon 1

M. Rose Callahan

Amautalik and the Wolf 23

Kimberly Gail

The Cold Truth 39

Logos Peregrin

Orphan Train 53

K. A. Fox

The Trapped Spirits of Yekaterin 69

Kelly Lynn Colby

Snow Battle 89

H. M. Forrest

Paranormal Polka Dots 103

Emily Van Engen

Ghost Lights 119

Allorianna Matsourani

Phantasmagoria 133

Ynes Malakova

Elysium in the Snow 153

Celosia Crane

Missing in a Yuletide Blizzard 173

K. N. Gemme

About the Authors 201