Just in time for Halloween: Black Dog stories

Even if you never go any further than putting a pumpkin on your front porch — which is about my level of attention to Halloween, since we don’t get trick-or-treaters out where I live — naturally you MUST HAVE a new book suitable for the season, right?

Right!

This ebook collection includes novelettes and two novellas, plus a “nonfiction” essay:

1. Mothers and Sisters
Before the failure of the miasma that hid all supernatural darkness from the sight of ordinary humans, brutal black dogs sometimes ruled as kings—sometimes for generations. In a country where black dogs rule and the Pure are despised, even a girl as fierce and determined as Keziah finds life a precarious struggle. But after her little sister is born, she has so much to fight for…

This is a prequel novella, set well before the beginning of Black Dog.
This novella is significantly darker than most Black Dog stories. Though content is not graphic, it may not be suitable for all readers.

2. Unlikely Allies
Ezekiel is on his own when he discovers an entrenched enemy with a particularly unpleasant plan to supplant and destroy Dimilioc. To defeat this enemy, Ezekiel needs an ally…even a man who might turn on him before the end.

This novelette is set after the events of Pure Magic.

3. Bank Job
Living and working with a lot of stray black dogs is a real trial for Ethan Lanning, especially since not even the best bloodlines and training gave him the kind of strength a Lanning ought to possess. But when a mission gets complicated, Thaddeus might be just the right guy to have at his back after all…

This novelette is set after the events of Pure Magic.

4. A Family Visit
Just an ordinary Christmas with his grandmother, that’s all Justin has in mind. Sure, it’s a little awkward that Grayson insisted Keziah keep him company on the trip, but everything will be fine once they get to know each other. But Justin never expected to arrive only to discover his grandmother has vanished from her home…

This novella is set after the events of Pure Magic, directly before the opening of Shadow Twin (forthcoming).

5. Witches and Witchcraft

A peek into the secret history behind the world of Black Dog

So that’s the ebook. But! If you don’t care for ebooks or you prefer paper or you’d like all the stories so far collected in one place, here you go:

The print version! Obviously this is basically the same cover, but if you look carefully you will see it says “I & II” on the front and lists all the stories on the back.

I’m totally counting this print collection as a Real Book! It’s hard to know how to count shorter work, but the total wordcount of the combined Black Dog stories is roughly 109,000 words, so you see it is definitely book length. That makes this my tenth published book and MOUNTAIN will be my 11th. Not bad for eight years!