Speculative fiction anthology, written by Derek Moreland and published by Digital Broccoli Productions in 2025.
This collection of tales by author Derek Moreland hits a variety of genres, sub-genres, and genre mixtures. Looking for horror? It's in here. Science fiction, fantasy, high fantasy, romantic fantasy, sci-fi horror, weird slice-of-life -- it's all in here.
Among the offerings we've got in this collection:
- "Good Bones" - A creepy story of STDs and body horror.
- "Guts - A Love Story" - Not many Bigfoot stories start out with gruesomely slaughtered deer and end up with important advice about life and love -- all from the same sasquatch!
- "If Not Completely Satisfied, Please Return For a Full or Partial Refund" - a short tale about love, devotion, and regrets with a wonderfully lengthy and weird title.
- "Digger" - Why shouldn't monsters have their own personal gravedigger?
- "Pit Stop" - A lightly fictionalized account of the weirdest thing that ever happened to Moreland at a drive-in restaurant.
- "Reap What You Sow" - "I can learn so much by kidnapping and experimenting on the fae!" Yeah, but what you learn is you better not kidnap or experiment on the fae.
- "Message Received" - A touching study of the brutality of grief, wrapped around an eerie tale of the supernatural.
- "Fermata" - a novella that previews Moreland's sequel to his 2023 fantasy novel "Songweaver." Betrayed gargoyle Tanith Ven is lost far from home in deadly cold, knowing his former friend X'on may soon destroy the world -- but he hasn't yet, and Ven finds himself given shelter by a tribe of cold-loving sasquatches. Does an injured and powerless gargoyle have any chance to save the world?
One of the things I love about this collection is the variety of stories we get. There are some truly merciless horror stories, some science fiction and fantasy stories steeped in danger and wonder, and some purely enjoyable, light-hearted tales to help balance everything out. Moreland has an impressive range of storytelling styles, and it's always fun to see a writer who enjoys playing in multiple different genres and styles.
Moreland is also a writer who clearly loves the power of words and works hard to craft his stories to deliver their maximum impact. He writes like a guy who's done some serious thinking about stories and how they're told, and who picks his words very carefully to make sure he's got the right words working to get the job done.
If you love excellent, well-crafted speculative fiction of all different genres and styles by a guy who, hopefully, is going to be a lot well-known real soon, you should certainly pick this collection up.