Last updated on October 2, 2026
Two free short stories from the Nine Kingdoms, yours for joining my newsletter — a world of found family, small magics, and the finest customer service you will ever encounter.
Sequins at the Orphanage
Madame Norma Kaufhaus-Reinhold has never met a room she couldn’t command — or a child she wouldn’t fight for.
When she sweeps into Blackstone Orphanage in crimson silk and phoenix plumes to choose new apprentices for the Emporium, she expects a pleasant morning of contraband candy, cheerful mischief, and scandalizing the matron. She does not expect competition. Least of all a Master with a gambling house to staff and no scruples about who staffs it. And she certainly doesn’t expect a gray-haired boy with no memory of his life before — or the supposedly inert magical artifact on her wrist to blaze to life the moment she takes his scarred hand.
A prequel to my forthcoming cozy fantasy novel The Emporium of Wishes & Wares.
The Seven-League Spree
Erasmus Quince is an Enchanter of Quality — a title he awarded himself, and one unlikely to survive scrutiny by the Wizard’s Council.
His enchantments do genuinely work. Just not the way he promises, and rarely twice in the same direction. So when Lady Hilde, Court Wizard of Apfel, arrives to arrest him over a hexed baker performing acrobatics on the town clock tower, Erasmus does what he does best: he runs — into the Enchanted Wood, where a friendly ogre, a fortune in crystallized pixie magic, and a spectacularly ill-advised idea are waiting for him.
The boots he builds carry him seven leagues in a single stride. They also develop opinions about where he ought to land. The list includes a basilisk’s nest, a wedding cake, and the precision round of the Annual Enchanter’s Guild Knitting Championship.
A madcap caper about dubious magic, unlikely friendships, and the awful possibility of being taken seriously. Originally published in the anthology Artifact Origins from Raconteur Press.
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Content notes for Sequins: on-page death of a spouse from illness, grief, and a predatory adult’s interest in children (no harm occurs).
No AI was used in the writing, illustration, or production of these stories.