The twelve stories in this collection touch upon science fiction, horror, and fantasy, but all see people brush against the sublime and discover who they truly are. In “One Saturday Night, With Angel,” a young man staffing a convenience store frets as angels hunt his customers. In “Say Zucchini, and Mean It,” the world is overrun by a plague that robs us of three very important words. In “Clockwork, Patchwork, and Raven,” a clockwork man dreams of a fairy-tale ending while trying to protect those he loves from a dangerous gang of genetically engineered crow boys. In “Dying Young,” the psychic son of a lawman must re-evaluate the deals he makes in order to keep his town safe from cybernetic marauders and a dragon seeking justice.

Mimes, aliens, and kaiju that only fifty percent of the population can see. Invaders from beyond the stars, empaths on the run, and Astronomer’s Royal of England. These are just some of the characters you’ll meet in the strange futures presented in this collection, but always grounded in the very human strengths and frailties.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

- One Saturday Night, With Angel

- To Dream of Stars: An Astronomer's Lament

- The Last Thing Said Before Silence

- The Girl In The Next Room Is Crying Again

- Say Zucchini, and Mean It

- Clockwork, Patchwork, and Raven

- 52 Pick-Up

- Memories of Chalice

- From Tuesday to Tuesday

- Inside An Egg, Inside A Duck

- Visitors

- Dying Young

PRAISE FOR PETER M. BALL’S SHORT STORIES

"Only Peter M. Ball's fiction makes falling down the rabbit hole feel like flying. Funny and surprising, with moments of extraordinary grace." Angela Slatter, Author of the World Fantasy Award-winning The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings