Joe Baumann’s fiction and essays have appeared in Passages North, Third Coast, Electric Literature, and many other journals. His debut short story collection, Sing With Me at the Edge of Paradise, was chosen as the inaugural winner of the Iron Horse/Texas Tech University Press First Book Award. He possesses a PhD in English from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and lives outside St. Louis, Missouri. He can be reached at joebaumann.wordpress.com.
Luke and Aliya are just figments of each others’ dreams. Until the nightmares start, and each needs the other to be real. Fast.
Sixteen-year-old Luke wants to go unnoticed. He doesn't want a girlfriend. He doesn't want to live in his own skin. He definitely doesn't want to have panic attacks whenever he questions his gender identity.
And these problems are nothing compared to the problems he has while he's asleep. When Luke's asleep, he's someone else.
Aliya's options all look bad. Get married as everyone expects ... or acknowledge that her strange ability to walk in other people's dreams means she's a shaman. That power might gain her respect, or it might lead to her being feared and driven out of her home. Yet, how can she deny her power when it's the only thing that can save her community from danger?
Her life’s about to get a lot more complicated. Curses, epic journeys, battles with the forces of nature, nightmares that can drag you down into death. And a boy from another world who's stuck inside her head.
When Luke’s sister develops a terminal illness, his connection to the magic of Aliya’s world is her only hope. But can he come to terms with his secrets in order to claim that magic as his own?
Together, Luke and Aliya will discover that the key to both their problems lies in the same place: through their nightmares to the other side of fear.
A.K. Adler lives in a Buddhist community in the middle of nowhere. They walk in the woods every day, and would probably be happy never to go into a city again (as long as they have access to WiFi, of course). They are the author of The Order of the White Raven series. Dreamwalker is their first Young Adult novel.
Discovering her descent from mythological African warriors called the Aziza was just the beginning of Justice Montgomery’s troubles. For not only has she been chosen to be their champion against supernatural evils—a demon is on the loose seeking to manipulate her into misusing her newfound powers.
Determined to do what’s right and live up to her heritage, Justice trains and forms a band of allies, both human and supernatural. Yet the demon is determined to lead her astray, in the hope that her power might be used to enact an ancient prophecy.
Should she succeed, Justice might become one of the most legendary Aziza to ever live. But should she fail, she might resurrect a goddess of Hell, and doom the world.
TreVaughn Malik Roach-Carter is a Queer Black writer born in Modesto, California. He is a novelist and Fiction Editor with The Ana Literary Magazine. He holds an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State University. His work has been featured in Ramblr Magazine, Tayo Magazine’s special issue: SOFT, Transfer Magazine, BAD EGG Magazine, Borderless Magazine, The Ana Magazine, Stellium Magazine, and Querencia Press. He is a recipient of the Leo Litwalk Literature Award, a Browning Society Award, and a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. He is the author of the Young Adult novel The Aziza Chronicles: Awakening, and the autofiction short story collection Her Daughters.
Rider Williams is a typical high school student. He has classes, plays guitar, and dreams of being a journalist. He’s out at school, even if it wasn’t his choice, and he’s secretly dating a boy from the basketball team. Okay, so he’s not your typical high school student.
While Rider might be out, his relationship with Cameron Walker is not. Cam loves their time together. What he feels for Rider is something he’s never felt before, but despite being head over heels for each other, both struggle to say how they truly feel.
Maybe the class trip to New York City will be the push they need to grow even closer? Or maybe not. Turns out Rider and Cam have to share their room with Octavius Spencer and Michael Myers—two of Rider’s biggest enemies. Relationships are difficult in high school, and even more so when they’re half in the closet.
Can Rider and Cam survive their senior year?
There’s still plenty of the school year left, but Rider knows L.I.F.E. is just getting started.
The Geist exist to ferry ghosts away from dead bodies and into the gates of the afterlife. At least, that’s what Ash Murphy was told after he died in a fiery car crash and became one.
Ash is forced to leave his old life behind and join the ranks of the mostly invisible, seemingly immortal Geist. And they all seem pretty perky for people who deal with death on a daily basis.
After years of rejection and isolation, Ash finally has a group of friends he's willing to fight for. Of course, not everyone believes that Geist are doing God's work. Ash discovers this when he attracts the ire of The Brotherhood of Eternity, who believe Geist are actually murdering those they reap. And they will stop at nothing to exorcize every Geist on Earth.
Ash will do whatever it takes to defend his new family and take down the Brotherhood…or he'll die (again) trying.
Mark Kelly is an avid gamer, wannabe model, and occasional podcaster. He has been writing novels since he was five years old, but most of them are not exactly publishable. After receiving a BFA in Creative Writing from Bowling Green State University, he’s tried his best to actually make it worth the money he spent on it. Originally from Cincinnati, he currently lives in Atlanta with his husband, Matt.
Fifteen-year-old Rainey Cobb never thought meeting someone could actually change her life. But, then again, she’s never met anyone like Juliet.
It’s 1995 and The Cobb Family Band, led by Rainey’s rock star parents, has arrived for a week-long gig at the Midwestern resort owned by Juliet’s family. Dazzled by Juliet’s carpe diem attitude, DIY tattoos, and passion for grunge, Rainey falls hard. And when Juliet gives Rainey a mixtape that unlocks her heart’s secret yearnings, Rainey starts seeing herself—and her vagabond, show-biz life—through new eyes.
If Rainey quits the band, her parents’ fading career might never recover. But if she doesn’t leap now, she might be stuck forever in a life she didn’t choose…and always wonder who she could have been.
Benjamin Roesch has an MFA from Lesley University and is a writer, musician, podcaster, and award-winning essayist. For twelve glorious, exhausting years, he was a high school English teacher, and is now a full-time writer based in Burlington, VT, where he lives with his family. Oh, and his name is pronounced “Rush,” like the band from Canada.
