Free Fiction Monday: Fashion and the Snarkmeisters

Caro, once considered the most beautiful woman in the world, had a daughter with a relatively ugly magician. Caro’s daughter, unfortunately, inherited her father’s looks—and his magic. She uses that magic to help protect her beautiful mother, and famous women like her, from the snarkmeisters on red carpets everywhere. But the snarkmeisters pale in comparison to the darker magic driving them—a magic that thrives on […]

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Free Fiction Monday: DNF

Runners do not finish races for a lot of reasons. But when a runner does not finish at the first Night Frights Run in Las Vegas, Warren worries that the Halloween-themed race might prove far more pulse-pounding than anyone intends. With just the right mix of the mysterious and the terrifying, “DNF” demonstrates Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s mastery of the crime short story. “DNF,” by New York […]

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Free Fiction Monday: The Blitz Experience

Tenesha McGuire misses her Grand immensely. She wishes she could visit her great-grandmother more often, but Grand lives in London and Tenesha in Chicago. So, when an opportunity to chaperone a school trip to London allows her to spend time with Grand, she jumps at the chance. But a visit to the Imperial War Museum’s Blitz Experience will bring Tenesha even closer to her Grand […]

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Free Fiction Monday: Midnight Trains

An American in Paris, Alex faces Christmas alone—alone and lonely. Hopelessly lonely. He wanders the streets and train stations searching—for something, for someone, for hope. Until Christmas Eve, when he meets a strange woman in an abandoned Metro station. A woman seemingly out of time. She both unnerves him and compels him. And if he decides to trust her, they might just succeed in freeing […]

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Free Fiction Monday: Saving Face

When a beautiful but scared woman tries to hire Winston Karpathian, he wonders why. Winston possesses only small magic, nothing spectacular, and certainly nothing helpful for a woman like that. But when she turns up dead, Winston must work with a detective who doesn’t believe in magic to find the woman’s killer. Because Winston believes that the woman’s request for a spell might have more […]

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Free Fiction Monday: The Demise of Snot Rocket

All serious runners know about snot rockets. At least in pre-pandemic times, they did. But one particularly talented runner relishes snot rockets more than others. When he turns up dead, the list of potential murderers runs longer than the list of medals he collected over the years. But when an investigative journalist sees the true crime potential of the case, what she uncovers surprises even […]

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Free Fiction Monday: The Assassin’s Dagger

Tara, a trouble-shooter for Abracadabra Incorporated, shuts down black magic all over the world. When a dagger with dangerous magic leads her to a small French shop, in business for 900 years, she finds something has corrupted the shop. Something dark and evil. Something stronger than Tara. Something she must face alone… “The Assassin’s Dagger,” by New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch is free on […]

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Free Fiction Monday: Heading West

She heads west to escape. The old-timers watch her coming as the full moon fills the Montana skies. Strange things happen to women here during the full moon. And everyone here knows that but her. “Heading West,” by World Fantasy Award-winning author Kristine Kathryn Rusch, is free on this website for one week only. The story is also available in ebook here.   Heading West Kristine Kathryn Rusch The […]

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Free Fiction Monday: Familiar Territory

Buster’s final wish—a Viking funeral. Although Winston, a small magician with a small talent, wants to give his familiar his ideal funeral, Winston finds it hard to imagine how to burn a boat at sea. Still, a Viking funeral seems a small price to pay for years of companionship. But the funeral might cost Winston more than he realizes. He must break all kinds of […]

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Free Fiction Monday: Domestic Magic

At a high school for the magical, the most picked-on kid dreams about J. Rutherford Wisenhauer III killing people with a fire spell. She knows her nightmares portend the future, but her domestic magic lacks the power to do most difficult spells. To make matters worse, no one will believe her. She must take matters into her own hands—but how? “Domestic Magic,” by New York Times bestselling […]

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