“I am a woman on fire. A matchstick girl with a blaze of red hair, angry pink circles beneath the abundance of freckles on my cheeks, and a temper like a solar flare that saw me kicked out of every foster home—except the last one.”

And so begins the story of Ryhlee Arua …

My story, “Shine and Beam, Burn and Bleed” is available in Familiars from Zombies Need Brains LLC. Edited by Patricia Bray and Joshua Palmatier. (July 2024)

Available on paper and kindle at Amazon HERE.

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From the publisher:

Who Needs a Friend When You Have a Familiar?

Animals have been our companions since the dawn of time, but in science fiction and fantasy, often that bond is taken one magical—or technological—step further. In FAMILIARS we asked authors to put their own unique spin on this idea, resulting in this collection of fifteen stories that explore the range of familiar bonds—from cats to caterpillars, squids to squirrels, and everything in between. With settings from fantasy to science fiction, and stories ranging from humor to horror, there’s something to appeal to everyone!

Featuring stories by Brian Hugenbruch, Lawrence Harding, Jean Marie Ward, Jordan Bricco, Alexander G.R. Gideon, Gini Koch & Bebe Bayliss, Russell Hugh McConnell, Kari Sperring, Alicia Cay, Jim C. Hines, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Shanna Germain, Jacey Bedford, A. Katherine Black, and Jason Palmatier.

The buddy system is back, baby!

~xo