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fantasy – low fantasy

Fantasy stories where magical events intrude on an otherwise “normal” world. Return to general Fantasy

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Word Count: 4576

Summary: Sometimes, we get second chances -- at love, to make things right, to say good-bye the way it should have been said. Darian promised his dying husband Randy he would go through with the plan to teach summer school in Bath, England. Randy insisted; it was always Darian’s dream to live in England, go, do it. But once there, in Tintagel, on a street in Coverack, a small Cornish seaside village, Darian sees Randy. Grief can make us see things, right? So Darian tells himself, until the man whom he buried, whose ashes he carried with him to England, sits down beside him on a bench in front of Bath Abbey, with screaming seagulls nearby. It seems the dead can come back. But why and how? Has Randy come to take Darian with him? Or is something else going?

Seagulls - Warren Rochelle
Seagulls
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Word Count: 65000

Summary: Witches, ghouls, and mind readers—oh my! Murder and mystery abound in this supernatural novel. Vega Bloodmire has no problem with the label “villainous witch,” though she draws the line at being called a self-centered hag. Life isn’t easy being twenty-two, drop-dead gorgeous, and the most fashionable witch in all the land—especially while working as an intern teacher at a magical boarding school. Just when Vega thinks she has student teaching figured out, she is framed for murder. Worse yet, she fears she might have revealed her darkest secret—one so awful she will be shunned by Witchkin society even if she can prove her innocence. Vega needs to find the true culprit behind this crime in order to save her reputation—and her life. Enjoy this spin-off series from the world of Womby’s School for Wayward Witches. This book starts with Vega Bloodmire’s life before working at Womby’s when she was a new and inexperienced teacher at Encantado Charter Academy. It is the first book in the series of stand-alone novels. These mysteries are meant to be read in any order. Clean, cozy, no sex or swearing, PG 13—perfectly fine for teens or grandmas who like paranormal mysteries at magical boarding academies.

Too Ghoul for School - Sarina Dorie - Vega Bloodmire Wicked Witch Mystery
Too Ghoul for School
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Word Count: 70,000

Summary:

Do you know what your problem is? Olivine knows hers. This quiet thirteen century artist has been hiding a secret as she travels to K'ba to meet her friends. Others assume she's fallen in love with another artist, but it's much worse than that. For on the way to K'ba is the dirt poor nichna of Scrud, a place scorned by other Ilarians. And in Scrud is the one man who understands her. However, Bohdan recognizes the dangers posed by an impending Mongol invasion. When he learns of Olivine's unusual visual powers, he convinces her to pick up her bow and start practicing. She does, though she's more concerned with moving to K'ba where she can paint all day and see Bohdan whenever she wants. If only her sister hadn't decided Olivine and her fellow long eyes held one key to defending the realm. Then, as if life wasn't complicated enough, Olivine learns the artist community she yearns to be part of has developed a different take on the invasion. They're certain the only way to survive is to capitulate completely to the Mongols’ demands. Artists who feel otherwise are no longer welcome.
Where does her future lie? The invasion is coming soon and Olivine doesn't have much time to decide.

She's the One Who Doesn't Say Much - S. R. Cronin - War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters
She's the One Who Doesn't Say Much
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Word Count: 36000

Summary: INK (NOUN) Five definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) A colored fluid used for writing 2) The action of signing a deal 3) A black liquid ejected by squid 4) Publicity in the written media 5) A slang word for tattoos Ink features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Ink Anthology
Ink
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Word Count: 111,000

Summary:

New York: two years after the Third World War. Humanity is rebuilding its cities brick by brick; the damage done to the people, however, is a lot harder to repair.
Dan Hardacre is one of those people. An aspiring stage actor and experienced draft-dodger, Dan struggles to find his place within the Utopic rebuild of New York City. When he’s not caught up with the duties of work, Dan lives a quiet life in mourning for his mother, Dyani, who went missing when he was a teenager.
One night, Dan experiences a vivid, terrifying nightmare that puts him right on the front lines of the war for which he dodged the draft; it ends with him facing Death itself in the form of a metallic, faceless humanoid creature that calls itself the Valkyrie. To investigate the reason behind his haunting experience, Dan seeks out a meeting with his estranged father, who reveals the startling truth about Dan’s dream: it wasn’t a dream.
With this newfound knowledge and the powers it brings, Dan makes it his mission to return to the scene of his nightmare. However, he soon comes to know that confronting the Valkyrie not only endangers him but the war-withstanding world he leaves behind.

Road to Juneau - Liam Quane
ROAD TO JUNEAU
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Word Count: 70,000

Summary: Do you know what your problem is? Sulphur knows hers. This 13th-century woman has trained as a fighter all her life in hopes of joining the army. Then, within days, both of her older sisters announce plans and suddenly Sulphur is expected to find a man to marry instead. Is it her good fortune her homeland is gripped by fear of a pending invasion and the army now goes door to door encouraging recruits? Sulphur thinks it is. But once she’s forced to kill in a small skirmish, she’s ready to rethink her career decision. Too bad it’s too late. The invasion is coming, and Ilari needs every good soldier it has. Once Sulphur learns Ilari’s army has made the strategic decision to not defend certain parts of the realm, including the one where her family lives, she has to re-evaluate her loyalty. Is it with the military she’s always admired? Or is it with her sisters, who are hatching a plan to defend their homeland with magic? The problem with being a woman who fights for what’s right is that now, she has to figure out what is.

She's the One Who Gets In Fights - S. R. Cronin - War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters
She's the One Who Gets in Fights
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Word Count: 72831

Summary: A river turned black. A city under siege. A monster in charge. Is this what Ashira really wanted? The desert kingdom of Khemeret has been waiting for the legendary pharaoh to return. But soon, they’ll wish he hadn’t. Ashira can remember when Hapi was just a mindless little blob who only devoured people on command. But now it thinks it’s the legendary pharaoh Nephtet-Ka and he’s laid claim on an entire city. Lucky for the city, the citizens are all supportive of the violent new regime. Every day is a riot against the oppressive foreign empire, and Hapi’s vizier Mwarthes is delighted with every new horrifying idea his monster has. Can Ashira put a stop to the madness or will everything and everyone be devoured?

Vicious - Rachael Dunn - The Dusk Eternal
Vicious
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Word Count: 53000

Summary: England, 1910 Monty, along with his best friend Bishop, investigates an odd seal-like creature swimming in Manchester Lake. The pair soon realize they've found a selkie when the magnificent animal transforms into the most gorgeous man either of them has ever seen. Determined to discover the origins of the mystical man, they bundle him into Bishop's brand-new electric automobile and whisk him off to London. There they find a host of distractions: a tastefully debauched house party hosted by silver-tongued aristocrats, and a queerly European-inspired novelty called the night club. Both are filled with a cast of characters sometimes amusing and sometimes frightening. And as the night unfolds, Monty comes face-to-face with ghoulish agents of the occult as well as revelations from the past. Most surprisingly of all, Monty finds himself falling for the beautiful creature from the lake, who seems equally interested in him. Can he really find himself in love with a man he has only just met? Or do they have a deeper connection which goes much further back? And what does it all have to do with the memories of his trip to Paris three years prior? The mystery of the selkie from Manchester Lake is only the beginning, and before their adventure is finished Monty will see the culmination of long suppressed secrets explode in a firestorm of magic and passion!

Manchester Lake - Joshua Ian - Darkly Enchanted Romance
Manchester Lake
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Word Count: 70,000

Summary: Do you know what your problem is? Coral knows hers. People have been telling this tenderhearted 13th-century woman for years. So when a heroic army officer proposes, she decides she's stronger than people realize and her dreams have come true. Except, the perfect man turns out to be less than ideal. And she's gotten pregnant. And her homeland is gripped with fear of a pending Mongol invasion and she cries about everything now that she's with child. When a friend suggests the ever-caring Coral possesses a power well beyond what anyone imagines, Coral's sister decides this formidable talent is what the realm needs. Can Coral raise a baby, placate an absent military husband who thinks he's stopping the invasion, and help her sister save her homeland? This is just the sort of problem encountered by a woman who cares too much.

She's the One Who Cares Too Much - S. R. Cronin - War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters
She's the One Who Cares Too Much
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Word Count: 70000

Summary: Do you know what your problem is? Ryalgar knows hers. People have been telling this over-educated 13th-century woman for years. So when an equally intellectual prince decides he loves her, it looks like everyone was wrong and her dreams have come true. Except, this prince is obligated to marry another. He is leading the army training to defend their tiny realm against an expected Mongol invasion. And he is considering sacrificing Ryalgar’s home nichna by abandoning it’s rich farmlands to their foes. If only he wasn’t such a nice guy.  Another woman would ….. Actually, Ryalgar has no idea what another would do. All she knows is she has a multitude of university intellectuals and a family of tough farmers behind her, and a newfound connection with the witches in the forest. Why not devise her own strategy to keep the invaders from destroying her home? Then she can figure out what to do about this problem prince. It’s just the sort of thing that happens when a woman thinks too much.

She's the One Who Thinks Too Much - S.R. Cronin - The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters
She's the One Who Thinks Too Much
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Word Count: 121000

Summary: A child’s memory. A journey’s end. Lance doesn’t remember the time before Ulfr found him. It’s a dark pit in his mind that he avoids at all costs. And yet, despite his best efforts, pieces start to fall, and echoes from the past begin to ring. However, he has little time to comprehend their meaning, since the Captain of the Imperial Army herself has come to collect him and bring him to the capital city of the Nifdem Empire. Whisked away to the gilded streets and glittering court of the Hill of Tarran, and then to the snowy reaches of Swenen, Lance and Gust will learn the answers to questions they’ve had from the start. And be forced to acknowledge their roles in the survival of the empire and the ripple effects of their actions. But such knowledge can come at a steep price. As allies and enemies begin to step from the shadows, Lance will learn the truth of his past and the price of his redemption, and all the pain that comes with them. While Gust will have to decide what he’s willing to sacrifice to safeguard the one he loves.

Avenging Lance - M.D. Grimm - A Warrior's Redemption
Avenging Lance
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Word Count: 90000

Summary: Jack Hansard is the man who can sell you anything. Luck in a bottle, fame in a box, dreams on a leash... anything is possible when you’re a trader on the occult Black Market. Jack is used to a life of handling dangerous goods, dodging disgruntled customers, and sometimes running away very fast. But when Ang (a two-and-a-half-foot tall coblyn right out of Welsh folklore) buys his help to find her missing kin, Jack suddenly finds the goods are riskier, the customers more treacherous, and escape is anything but guaranteed. The Jack Hansard Series is an episodic urban fantasy with a wide streak of humour and a lot of British folklore. Season One contains the first fifteen episodes in the series.

The Jack Hansard Series - Georgina Jeffrey
The Jack Hansard Series: Season One
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Word Count: 76144

Summary: Fairy tales. Prince Charming fights evil, wins the princess, lives happily ever after. Three sons, three wishes, witches, dragons, a quest, and happily ever after. These stories are part of our cultural fabric. The stories change in retellings to reflect contemporary culture, such as Princess Charming, or heroes and heroines as people of color. In this collection, queer characters take center stage in stories that grew out of questions: What if the prince falls in love with Cinderella's gay stepbrother? What if Rumpelstiltskin doesn't really want the Queen's child but rather the King himself? What if Beauty and the Beast are two men? These stories explore metaphors of magic and the magical, this time, with a gay perspective. What price must be paid for happily ever after? Duty or love? Is love worth great sacrifice? Once upon a time ...

The Wicked Stepbrother - Warren Rochelle
The Wicked Stepbrother and Other Stories
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Word Count: 92000

Summary: A tragic secret. A trial of pain. Gust holds a secret close to his heart, and it festers like an infected wound. While part of him wants to tell Lance so they can deal with it together, he fears what it will do to his friend. The last thing he wants to do is hurt the man he is falling in love with. And it never seems the right time as they pursue Ulfr’s warriors and elude hunting parties of royal soldiers. Lance wants nothing more than to confess his love and undying loyalty to Gust. But he fears rejection. He has Gust’s friendship and dares not ask for more. He’s not yet a man worthy to ask for more. And as he continues on his self-imposed mission to cut down Ulfr’s warriors, he begins to wonder if he will ever find the redemption he so fiercely seeks. When word of a new Scourge reaches them, their journey brings them to the war-ravaged kingdom of Grekenus. It is there that Lance is forced to face the actions of his past, and once again his life hangs in the balance. Now it is only Gust who can defend him against those thirsty for blood… and to Lance himself.

Forgiving Lance - M.D. Grimm - A Warrior's Redemption
Forgiving Lance
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Word Count: 81000

Summary: A baby’s laughter. A mind uncaged. Lance is known as Scourge, the warrior in the black armor, the dog of the warlord Ulfr Blackwolf. He was just a boy when Ulfr found him and molded him into the perfect weapon. He slaughters and pillages on command, merciless and numb, devoid of emotions. Then a baby girl laughs at him during a raid. And everything changes. When Gust, a talented healer, is out deer hunting and stumbles across a magnificent horse bearing a mortally wounded rider, he has no idea that his life is about to change forever. Gust applies all his skills to his patient, determined to save the rider’s life, and is rewarded when the man opens his eyes. As friendship, and more, bloom between warrior and healer, so does the danger over the horizon. Ulfr has not forgotten, and Lance must take his first steps on the long road to redemption.

Healing Lance - M.D. Grimm - A Warrior's Redemption
Healing Lance
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Twenty stories of fantasy, science fiction, pirates, horror, spies, and kindergarten noir. From the space-based lothario to the diminutive thief each looking for their next score, and from the jilted romantic traveling through time to the kingdom refugee whose day never ends, there's something for everyone In A Flash!  

In a Flash 2020 Anthology
In A Flash 2020
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Word Count: 75431

Summary: Mwarthes, former assassin of the Eclipse, has earned his freedom but he made a few enemies among his former coworkers. Now that the Master no longer protects him, they’re coming after him with all the fury of hell. Good thing he’s still got his monster in a jar. There’s plenty for Hapi to eat, but as it grows, it also learns. And it’s learning quickly. He might need Ashira’s help after all. The pharaoh has died without naming an heir. Ashira is sent to the capital to ask the deceased king who is next in line, but in a court full of intrigue and conspiracy, deciding on an heir might not be so simple. Beset on all sides by enemies, Ashira needs someone who isn’t trying to use her for their own ends. But the only one she can count on is Mwarthes, who brought a mindless monster she thought was destroyed. But Hapi is still alive. Hapi is hungry. And Hapi has something to say.

Venemous - Rachael Dunn - The Dusk Eternal
Venomous
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Word Count: 80000

Summary: Most of us have faced the fact that an owl will never come with our acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Find out what this teen does to take matters into her own hands. Nerdy high school outcast, CLARISSA LAWRENCE, has always felt like she didn't belong in this world. More than anything, she wants magic to be real--and not just because she's obsessed with Harry Potter and tries to go to Narnia by reading fantasy novels in her wardrobe. Yet, when she stumbles upon real magic, and fairy tales come true, she doesn't expect to be the evil villain in her own story. Clarissa learns she's descended from an evil witch and is destined to kill her older sister. When she meets a cute boy who offers to train her in magic, she must make a choice. She can have a safe, normal life and no harm will come to anyone. Or she can choose magic and risk everything and everyone she loves in order to be what she's always known she was meant to be . . . a wicked witch. This is the first book in the WOMBY'S SCHOOL FOR WAYWARD WITCHES Series, but the first three books can be read in any order. Other books in the series include: Secondhand Hexes Hexes and Exes Reading, Writing and Necromancy Budget Cuts for the Dark Arts and Crafts Hex and the City Spell it Out for Me

Tardy Bells and Witches' Spells - Sarina Dorie - Womby's School for Wayward Witches
Tardy Bells and Witches' Spells
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Word Count: 90000

Summary: In 1915, gay men don't get married, they don't take care of children together, and if they do, they don't get caught. Gael and Jack are a lot of firsts to each other. Gael is the first other gay man Jack has ever met, kissed, or wanted. Jack is the first really decent man who only see an Irish gangster and whore  that Gael has ever known. Gael and Jack just work for each other. First love is fabulous, even if it's forbidden. Enduring love is hard, extra hard in the face of WWII, Prohibition, and a world that can't know them as they are.  The story is presented as a serial and is free to read.

The Moon's Permission - Duo in the Rain
The Moon's Permission
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Word Count: 86786

Summary: Meet Ashira. She can heal with a touch and command the dead. And she would like her kingdom back. After all, she is the reincarnation of the legendary pharaoh Nephtet-Ka. It’s hers by rights. The prophecy said so after all. But she will find that an empire won’t just hand over power, even if she unleashes an army of reanimated corpses on those who stand in her way. Fleeing an empire that wants her dead, she will have to cross the desert and seek out new allies and counsel from the ancient priest who started the prophecy. Her only ally is Mwarthes, a sly assassin who speaks with serpents and lets his curiosity get the better of him. Will he help her reclaim her crown from the Alvari empire? Or will she end up another corpse in the desert?

Vessels - Rachael Dunn - The Dusk Eternal
Vessels
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