Showing results by author "M. Todd Gallowglas" in All Categories

The Devil's Gate, the looming barrier that keeps the demons and nightmares at bay every night of the year except for Halloween, comes crashing down. An army of steam-powered automatons, led by the Devil himself, finally gets the better of Jack of the Lantern, the man who tricked the Devil and gave us the jack o' lantern for protection on the darkest night of the year. With their steam-powered soldiers, the demons no longer fear Jack of the Lantern as they pour out in to the world to get into whatever mischief they desire.

"Brevity is the soul of wit." (Shakespeare) Within this book you will find 31 stories written with this quote in mind. For 2016 I decided to challenge myself to create a flash fiction story every day for the whole year. So far I've been on track. You will find these stories brief and, hopefully, some of them witty as well. This is a complete collection of the stories I wrote in January. Going forward I will publish each month's stories and then collect them all in an omnibus edition.

Elzibeth just wanted to be left alone to play her grandfather's flute, but others in her village seem to think she needs a lesson in bringing her down from her soaring dreams and stand firmly on the ground like everyone else. Three brothers take it upon themselves to teach Elzibeth how dangerous dreams and fancies can be. Three brothers challenge her to seek out the dragon's cave, even though the last man who went there never returned.

Here is the second volume of my quest to write a flash fiction story a day in 2016. Contained within are the twenty-nine stories I wrote in February. Volume one received high praise from readers and some of my fellow authors. I hope Volume two continues to deliver.

After wandering the deserts of the Lands of Endless Summer for five years, Jaludin the thief wants to do exactly that. Having left as a boy, he returns as a young man, intent to leave his adventures in the desert and settle down with the girl whose eyes have haunted his dreams since he left. His homecoming is not the joyous occasion Jaludin imagined. He finds the town under some strange curse. As he rushes to solve this mystery, Jaludin wonders if some enemy from his wandering followed him home, or is this some new threat altogether.