Bøger af Dixie Jo Jarchow

Walking in the Graveyard is a lot of the creepy short stories I've written over the years. Don't expect sweet romance. Not happening.

Abby spent every cent she had to open a Christmas store called The Christmas Wish. The numbers worked out perfectly on paper but she only has enough money to last till January. On a dark morning in a snowstorm, black ice causes Russel's truck to tear the door off Abby's car. He offers to give her a ride to work every day until the car is fixed. Russel smells like Christmas cookies and offers Abby a plan to save her business. All she has to do is turn her entire store over to him during December.

Mia was bitten by a werewolf as a child and left for dead. But a magician called the Hunter saved her, using magic and healing arts. He smelled of smoke and cloves, and once she was healed, he left to continue hunting the werewolf who bit her. But he left some of his magic in her. Not only is Mia one of the rare female werewolves, but she grows to an enormous size and is able to wield magic. One day, she hears laughter and is drawn to a small group of homeless people, who teach her how to pass for human. One of the group comes into possession of a defunct forest preserve/rest stop and incorporates it as the town of Miasma, population four. Mia comes of age and werewolves, who are almost exclusively male, find her scent intoxicating and won't leave her and her people alone. Some packs try to take her by force while others try to woo her or reason with her. Mia just wants them to leave her and her group alone. Then, werewolves start being hunted and killed and no one can figure out how or what is doing it. But to Mia, the scent of cloves and smoke are like a signature. And she knows the Hunter is trying to find her.

Friar Hades is a man on a mission to save some souls, hoping to atone for a myriad of sins committed during his time in the military. But, before that can happen, he's got to be accepted by the tough people of the isolated quarry town. The good Friar felt more comfortable on the streets of New York City eating things out of the garbage alongside the street people than with the bratwurst chowing, coffee swilling, football fanatics of Fell, Wisconsin. But, as the church secretary informs him, "Fasting won't impress anyone here. They'll step right over your body to get to the buffet line." Can the Friar find a place in the hearts of the people of Fell? He's a tad short of social graces and his face and body are scarred as a result of torture he received at the hands of the enemy. His robes could use a good washing and he's prone to screaming nightmares. When a dead girl floats to the top of the quarry lake, the Friar is forced to resurrect his mythical skills as a hunter of men, to save his flock. But can he save the murderer's soul even as he stops the killing?

All her life, Tes has lived in the shadow of her brilliant, charismatic brother, but the novelty of having a serial killer in the family has long worn off. All she wants is answers: Why did he butcher five people? Was there anything she could have done to stop him? When she discovers that he has escaped from the state hospital and may be coming for her, she takes the first opportunity to leave town. An enigmatic Native American mercenary offers her a chance to renew her hunt for the fabled treasure of Mel's Hole several states away. She found it once years ago as a grad student but then her brother massacred five people and her life was derailed. Tes sets off to give herself some breathing room while she figures out how to find out why her brother turned murderous without becoming her brother's next victim.