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Warm, heartbreaking, tender, poignant—eight fantasy stories of the family.

Family is filled with magic. It can be the warm magic of love, with bonds that can never be broken; it can be the bitter magic of old resentments and keen disappointments. It can be achingly beautiful or terrifyingly cruel.

Explore the hidden depths of family in this anthology of stories from celebrated and award-winning authors. Transport yourself to dazzling settings like an isolated lake cottage watched over by a mysterious protector, a reality-TV show about a family of witches, a world besieged by dragon-wielding terrorists, an oddly relaxing coffee shop, and New Orleans after the rise of the unquiet dead.

Experience the wonder and magic of family.

The Wand that Rocks the Cradle features the following stories:

“Bellwethers Know Best,” by Marion Deeds

“Legacy,” by Joanna Michal Hoyt

“Coffee Break,” by W.O. Hemsath

“She That Was So Proud and Wild,” by Misha Burnett

“Dead in First Grade,” by P.L. Sundeson

“The Dragon Detector,” by Elana Gomel

“The Lake Cottage, by Michelle F Goddard

“To Find a Peach,” by Frank Saverio

With an introduction by editor Oren Litwin.

Pre-order the Kindle edition now for a special limited-time price of $2.99!

This anthology was created after a Call for Submissions back in December 2018, and sponsored by a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Sign up now to be notified when we go live. You can also join the Advance Reader Team, and get a copy for free in exchange for your review!

About the Authors

Misha Burnett: Misha has been writing poetry and fiction for around forty years. During this time he has supported himself and his family with a variety of jobs, including locksmith, cab driver, and building maintenance. His first four novels, Catskinner’s Book, Cannibal Hearts, The Worms Of Heaven, and Gingerbread Wolves comprise a series, “The Book Of Lost Doors.” Major influences include Tim Powers, Samuel Delany, William Burroughs, and Phillip K. Dick. Misha’s short story “In the City of Dreadful Joy” was just announced as a finalist for the 2019 Baen Adventure Fantasy Award!

Marion Deeds lives in northern coastal California, which is the most beautiful place in the world, and she’s not biased at all. (She’s willing to admit that Iceland is a close second.) Her short fiction has been published in Podcastle, Daily Science Fiction, Flash Fiction Online, and in the anthologies Strange California and Beyond the Stars, Unimagined Realms. She’s a conventional storyteller in an experimental world, someone who loves to walk, read, daydream, watch squirrels and feed the local crows. Catch up with her on Twitter: @mariond_d.

Michelle F Goddard is a musician who has performed around the world, and a composer with credits to her name for songs in musicals and films. Her short fiction has been published in Reality Skimming Press’s Water anthology, and Iguana Books’ Blood is Thicker anthology with more publications forthcoming. She is presently working on several short stories and a Science Fiction novel.

Elana Gomel was born in a country that no longer exists and has visited every continent but Africa and Antarctica. In addition to being a cosmopolitan and a part-time fantasy and science fiction writer, she is a full-time academic focusing on narrative theory. Elana is an Associate Professor at the Department of English and American Studies, Tel-Aviv University, and has been a Visiting Scholar at Princeton, Stanford, and University of Hong Kong.

W.O. Hemsath loves writing anything with a speculative twist and believes the everyday world holds a little magic for anyone willing to look for it. She has a B.A. in Screenwriting from Chapman University, has sold and/or published multiple flash fiction and short story pieces, and is currently revising a YA sci-fi novel. Her secret love is writing song parodies, and there is precious little she won’t do in this world for a good back scratch or brownie a la mode. While she has lived on three different continents (and traveled to two others), she currently resides in Minnesota with her husband and four sons.

Joanna Hoyt lives with her family on a Catholic Worker farm in upstate New York where she spends her days tending goats, gardens and guests and her evenings reading and writing stories. She has been part of a church group that did outreach to migrant workers and offered hospitality to those who were injured.  Her stories have recently appeared in publications including Factor Four Fiction, Metapsychosis, and Upper Rubber Boot Books’ anthology Broad Knowledge: 35 Women Up To No Good.

Frank Saverio grew up reading the likes of Piers Anthony, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Stephen R. Donaldson. He lives in central Oregon with his wife, where he is working on his first fantasy novel. He has also written more than two dozen crime fiction novels under the name Frank Zafiro.

P.L. Sundeson is a native New Orleanian who hates the climate and the parades, yet still draws inspiration from the city.  He has done time as a delivery driver, radio announcer/producer, and computer programmer/analyst/technical writer, and since 2002 has worked as an administrator for Tulane University.  His short stories have appeared in online magazines Crime and Suspense, Thrilling Detective, Mysterical-E, and Under the Rainbow.  In February 2019 his short story “One Summer Night, With Spirits” won first place in the inaugural New Orleans Public Library Winter Writing Contest.