A Cup of Normal

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award nominee 2011.

These twenty-two short stories are measured out with a cup of normal and a pound of the fantastic. From dark fairytales to alien skies, Monk's stories blend haunting yesterdays, forgotten todays and twisted tomorrows wherein:

...A normal little girl in a city made of gears, takes on the world to save a toy....

...A normal ancient monster living in Seattle, must decide if love is worth trusting a hero...

...A normal patchwork woman and her two-headed boyfriend stitch their life and farm together with needle, thread, and time...

...A normal vampire in a knitting shop must face sun-drenched secrets...

...A normal snow creature's wish changes a mad man's life...

...A normal man breaks reality with a hamster...

...And yes, a normal little robot, defines how extraordinary friendship can be.

Poignant, bittersweet, frightening, and funny, these stories pour out worlds that are both lovely and odd, darkly strange and tantalizingly familiar, where no matter how fantastic the setting or situation, love, freedom, and hope find a way to take root and thrive.

Contents:

• Stitchery
• Menders
• Skein of Sunlight
• Leeward to the Sky
• Last Tour of Duty
• Here After Life
• Bearing Life
• When a Train Calls Lonely
• Oldblade
• Moonlighting
• Probe
• Dusi
• Beer with a Hamster Chaser
• That Saturday
• The Wishing Time
• Stringing Tomorrow
• X-Day
• Fishing the Edge of the World
• Christmas Card
• Ducks in a Row
• Singing Down the Sun
• Falling with Wings