Love is electric. Power is deadly. Secrets haunt a family forever. When Sara O'Neill goes on the run, she believes the tiny town of Kowhiowhio is just the sanctuary she needs. Her family's old colonial house needs repair, but it's safe from the abusive husband she left behind. However, a hostile local holds a grudge and a dangerous presence haunting her new home threatens Sara's chance at peace. How can she create a new life while dealing with ghosts from the old? For local electrician, Nate Adams, parenting his young daughter alone has not been easy - particularly in a town where he is still...

Drag queens fight zombies with the help of a disabled neighbour. An immigrant artist hopes love conquers all. Deep space explorers wrestle with an alien artifact. A superhero is locked in an insane asylum. These 16 stories span the worlds of fantasy, sci-fi, and literary fiction, and cause the characters' worlds to fundamentally change. Includes several prize winning stories as well as some that are seen for the first time in this collection.

Writers know that their characters and stories should be multi-layered and believable. Now here's a simple workbook that uses the same knowledge that gives therapists insight into human behaviour to create fiction that hits the mark. Each chapter outlines an aspect of psychological theory as it can be used for writing and provides two worksheets to translate it into action - one to develop characters, one to develop the story. Darian Smith is a prize winning fiction writer with a degree in psychology, a Diploma of Counselling, and is a member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors. He...