Short Stories/Novellas

For a rare book, a desperate buyer turns to violence Six days a week, Joel Beer hunts for books in Denver. He stalks them in bookstores and thrift stores, at yard sales and estate sales, his eyes scanning spines quickly and ruthlessly, searching for the $0.25 gem that he can resell for $250. If he were the only scout in town, he might be able to make a living, but there are close to a dozen full-timers now—including his archrival, Popeye Lamonica—and Joel is having trouble paying his rent. Facing eviction, Joel and his partner—a slow-witted vagrant named Lacy—go on the hunt. They are about to give up when they find an estate sale offering a $0.50 copy of Walter Behr’s Something for Nothing that is worth $500. But Popeye sees it, too. To make this treasure his, Joel will do whatever it takes—even if it means sacrificing his career.

A powerful executive is confronted by a man claiming to be her son Her name is Dreamer Calhoun. Raised in South Carolina, she grew up dirt poor, married young, and was soon burdened with a child she could not care for. When her old life slipped away, Dreamer moved west, working on an assembly line and taking night classes until she could gain a toehold in business. Two decades later, she is the biggest name in town—a mogul with the world at her feet. But a boy named Bobby is about to drag her back down to earth. Ever since a newspaper article came out about her long-lost son, young men have been appearing, claiming to be Dreamer’s child. But something about Bobby Shields convinces her to listen to his story. He is an odd boy, an impudent drifter who sought Dreamer out on a psychic’s advice. She does not want to believe him, but Bobby Shields may have the power to change Dreamer’s life forever.