"A Small Harvest of Pretty Days" by Larry Kimport - In 1890s Pennsylvania, lonesome Clara Waltz falls in love with an aging drifter whom she rescues from a world far stranger than her own. (Literary/Mystery)

"August in the Mind" by Nick Taddeo - Tony Antonelli can't explain why he attacked a total stranger fully intending to kill him. He suspects 'genetic memory' triggered his action; perhaps he's inherited an ancient hatred. Determinedly he journeys to Italy, back to his roots, in a desperate search for the elusive answer. (Mainstream)

"Martyr's Creek" by David Chacko - When your worst enemy makes you the executor of his estate, you don't expect an easy time. What James Pandolph discovers in settling Tom Powys' considerable estate is nothing compared to what is required settling the passions of his life. This includes neo-conservative politics at the highest level and the bodies that have fallen at every step along the way. (Literary/Mystery)

"Severan Prophecies, The" by David Chacko - When the Roman emperor Caracalla was assassinated, his family gave the task of safeguarding their dynasty to the questor Marcellus Decimus, the narrator of this story. How he led a young boy named Varius in a race against death that culminated in the restoration of the dynasty is one of the more remarkable episodes in the chaotic and violent history of Rome. (Historical)

"Tinnemaha Creek" by Nick Taddeo - Wildlife vs. human rights clash when a cougar approaches two young girls searching for wildflowers near the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevadas. Cobra Stevens, wildlife biologist, must restore peace out of chaos that erupts between the ranchers who form a hunter's coalition and the animal rights advocates. Time is clearly running out in this deadly battle. And what of the cougar? Will he be the ultimate loser? (Contemporary)