Huck, a young man from Weston, Mississippi, sits alone in a diner, pondering the misery of his life. The weather is dreary, much like Huck's life at the moment. An elderly gentleman joins him for a cup of coffee while riding out the storm. Huck's life will never be the same. Bloom has been described as a mixture of The Notebook and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. With its unique twist on the genre, you will find yourself in love with the characters. Love, loss, friendship, and betrayal play out against the backdrop of the deep South. Bloom is the story of a young man's struggle with life, a kindly old soul's wisdom, and a love so powerful that even darkness cannot prevail in the lives of the willful. Full of raw emotion, and a stark, but real view of life, Bloom is a story guaranteed to resonate with readers on many levels, and shows we are more than the sum of our experiences. What people are saying about Bloom: " I (& many others I'm sure) totally get the point!! Struggle, sweetness, magnolias, friendship, redemption, love...." "This book moved me to tears. Sad, happy, and everything in between. True life, true love." "I cried out loud, and I laughed out loud. What a beautiful story!" "I want more!" There is nothing in the world like a wedding in July. Especially if that wedding is in a church in the country. This particular church just happened to be the oldest one in Reid County, just outside of Weston, Mississippi. The wedding plans had been ramping up for months, and it was finally the day. Huck looked out and imagined what it would be like later when the guests packed in the church, and all the guests would be dressed in their best. But for now, it was quiet. The women always take priority on the wedding day; the men just have to show up and do as they are told. Everyone knows that weddings are run by the women. As long as the men do as they are told, all will be OK. Huck had butterflies in his stomach. He had dreamed of this day for so long, and he couldn’t believe it was finally here. There was a time that he didn’t believe that a day like today could happen. Huck heard some of the women coming in the back of the church. He decided that he should get out of the way and let them get settled. He walked out of the front doors of the church and toward the pasture that sat to the west of the church and toward the split rail fence that separated the church from the pasture. Two sides of the pasture were lined with magnolia trees that were in the final stages of bloom. Their petals had fallen over the course of the last week or so and made a surreal picture of white and pink carpeting along the edges of the field of green. Huck walked toward the fence, the journal that he had been carrying all morning under his arm. One hop over and he was walking through the trees. He sat down under a sizeable magnolia and faced the church. This day was happy for so many reasons, but he felt the full weight of it all of a sudden. He had not read the journal in a long time and with today being the start of a new chapter, it felt like a good time to reflect. There were so many times that could not have turned out well. Life has a way of knocking the breath of you when you look back on it. Joy and sadness are close kin. Huck closed his eyes and thought about that day back then. The day that he thought he could not go on. The day that the dreams had finally caught up to him. He flipped open the journal and began to read.

The sun is hot, the air is humid, and trouble is brewing on the Wiggins farm in Weston, Mississippi. The Depression has hit, the Mississippi River is rising, and Jacob Wiggins finds himself with a farm full of cotton to harvest with no one to help him other than his young son, Benjamin. Until the day Mulligan arrives, that is. From Hank Garner, author of Bloom, comes a riveting tale of pride, redemption, and the importance of family and friendship.

This issue of Tales from the Canyons of the Damned consists of four sharp, suspenseful, thought provoking short stories - from four of todays top speculative fiction writers. Ernie Howard visits an astral plane. Hank Garner continues the crossroads series. Will Swardstrom tells the tale of man machine unity. And Daniel Arthur Smith introduces The Pirate. Tales from the Canyons of the Damned (canyonsofthedamned.com) is a dark science fiction, horror, & slipstream magazine we've been working on since 2015. What is Dark Science Fiction and Horror? Think of it as a literary Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, or Outer Limits, it's Netflix's Black Mirror in the short story format. And it's a bargain. Each monthly issue has three-to-five sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales from today's top speculative fiction writers. These are Dark Sci Fi Slipstream Tales like you've never read before.

Nominated in the P & E Readers' Poll for Best Fiction e-zine published in 2016! This Omnibus edition of Tales from the Canyons of the Damned consists of Eighteen sharp, suspenseful, thought provoking short stories - from Nine of todays top speculative fiction writers. Tales from the Canyons of the Damned (canyonsofthedamned.com) is a dark science fiction, horror, & slipstream magazine we've been working on since 2015. What is Dark Science Fiction and Horror? Think of it as a literary Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, or Outer Limits, it's Netflix's Black Mirror in the short story format. And it's a bargain. Each monthly issue has three-to-five sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales from today's top speculative fiction writers. These are Dark Sci Fi Slipstream Tales like you've never read before.