An intriguing anthology where reality is transient and the puzzle box holds the key to the meaning of life. Archeology Professor Albert Mallory understands reality. He knows the way the world works. When he steals an ancient puzzle box to pay off gambling debts, he thinks the only mysterious thing about the artifact is how to get it open. But when a stranger appears at Albert’s door demanding to see the box, Albert is plunged into mysteries he never dreamt possible. Through the tales of four others who succeeded in opening the puzzle box — a musician named Warlock with a weakness for witches; photographer Autumn Bailey, with a strange link to the past; video store clerk Angela Matterly with those unworldly eyes; and a comic book illustrator called Sam, on a quest for his life — Albert learns that reality is transient and the way the world works is not found in text books.

AN AURORA AWARD WINNING COLLECTION! Four women. Four shooters. Four destinies to save the world… The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are coming. And four Archangels must find the perfect champions to save the world: fighters, warriors, soldiers, and brave men, all ready to fight for humanity against end times. All they have to do is drink a shooter — a caustic mix of alcohol and divinity that will imbue them with the conviction to battle the Four. The only problem is these warriors don’t drink the shooters. Call it fate, chance, or what you will, but four women drink the divine concoction. Alexandra Carlton, Julia Wolfe, Emily Keller and Dinah Medrano must all take up the mantles of champions … whether they want to or not. Four writers, four horsemen, four Women of the Apocalypse. The world will never be the same again. Praise: "This book has a very different premise. Archangels, all men, leave a guy (Tobias) on earth to warn them if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse plan to destroy humanity. That guy is supposed to get four male champions to fight the horsemen. When four women drink the Four Horsemen shooters (and there’s a recipe) and get empowered instead of the men, the angels aren’t happy. Then the fun begins. Four very different stories, all with surprises. I was going to read one story each night. I read all four stories last night. This whole book is a very good read, every story. Angels aren’t always what you think they are and neither are the horsemen. And I warn you, you might get your eyes opened about where famine will strike." – Lin, amazon.com "Women of the Apocalypse is a great example of the welcome, though long overdue, trend in fantasy writing towards women as central characters—as heroes. The story involves four different women, each of whom have unwittingly become a warrior to champion the cause of humanity against one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse: war, famine, pestilence or death." – Derek Donais, goodreads "What I liked about this book was the fact that it really showed off the novella's strengths as a literary form. I liked the concept of the four connected novellas, each of which developed a strong, independent story that worked within the wider frame narrative. The stories contained were fast-paced, snappy and uniformly well written." – Helen Marshall

Nancy Kilpatrick has gathered together twenty-five original stories by Kelley Armstrong; Nancy Holder & Erin Underwood; Steve and Melanie Tem; Lois Gresh; Gar and Judy Reeves-Stevens; Daniel Sernine; Paul Kane; Sephera Giron; Kathryn Ptacek; Steve Vernon and others to look at the what-if’s of our expiring future.

As the City of Calgary expands into rural areas, communities will encounter Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), which is defined as any area where structures are located near or among combustible wildland fuels. With the exception of Calgary, much of Alberta and British Columbia have implemented FireSmart principles that reduce the risk of WUI fires. This study provides recommendations as to how the City of Calgary can address the challenges of implementing FireSmart principles. This study combines a multi-case review of successful FireSmart communities, and elite interviews to gather data. Best practices indicate that organizational capacity, development application procedures and WUI administrative responsibility are integral to develop a framework for implementation. Accordingly, this study recommends that institutional and procedural reforms are needed if the City of Calgary is to implement FireSmart principles.