The Chronicles of Captain John Barlowe continue with Volume 2: The Shastice Uprising.

In this sequel to The Bear Rebellion of Califia, Barlowe and his party travel to the far north of the Isla de Califia to seek out an alliance against the forces that have over-taken the island and declared it an independent republic.

Excerpt:

        The night sky over Lake Da’aw was a patchwork of stars and constellations, forming and reforming into shapes that I conjured out of my imagination. A bear. A flying horse. A dog sleeping on the ground.

        The last image shook me out of my reverie. A sleeping dog? What the hell constellation is that? I looked up at the group of stars that I had been pondering moments before. No, not so much a sleeping dog but a badger, crouching, ready to leap. Yes, much better, I thought to myself, stretching out my aching knees and standing up. Enough of this sitting around “sleeping” nonsense. Time to badger-up, as my Uncle Nick would say.

        Actually, I very much doubt that my Uncle would say that at all. An extremely learned man, a graduate of Oxford like myself, he would certainly know all about badgers. And he was a man of action, a spy-for-hire who had served in some of Europe’s elite fighting forces and then invited me to join the same secret society that had trained him in the martial and alchemical arts. But he was too much of a gentleman to say anything as droll as “badger up.” His loss, I thought as I walked back from the shore of the lake to my tent. 

Experience the thrilling conclusion of The Chronicles of Captain John Barlowe with Volume 3: The Battle for the Barbari Coast.

In this finale to the trilogy, Barlowe confronts his past and future in a struggle for control of the Barbari Coast, the heart of the Isla de Califia.

Excerpt:

      The smells had become almost unbearable at the Internment Camp, the result of hundreds of magical creatures and human sympathizers crammed together for months in the hastily-built encampment. Filth filled the icy streets that ran in between the wooden huts that housed the so-called “residents” of the camp. Residents but really prisoners.

     The ‘Termnents, as they were known by the prisoners, had been erected under the orders of Major John Fremont, the self-proclaimed Protector of the Independent Republic of Califia. Using a magical object, the Oro, Fremont had seized power of the Califia from the Mexican government, ostensibly to support the United States settlers who had made their way to the Isla. But Fremont had declared Califia to be an independent country, set free by his Bear Rebellion which was commemorated in the flags that now flew over the towns across Califia. A brown bear, on its hind legs and teeth bared; a star like that of the Republic of Texas; and a bloody red swath at the bottom. One such flag flew at the center of the Internment Camp, flapping in the breeze. 

Strawberry Valley is a short-story collection by Keith Bran, with interconnected tales of magical realism set in the fictional rural town of Strawberry Valley.

The town is in transition: the logging industry is on the decline, the future is uncertain, and an isolated community is increasingly becoming a part of the greater world around it. 

In Part 1: Wellspring, a young woman decides her future in "Periwinkle", dry summer heat beats down on a group of teenagers on a quest in "The Cross", spring-time buds portend a miracle in "St. Pete", and a snow blizzard interrupts a high school football game in "Undefeated".

In Part 2: Aether, an unexpected nap leads to a mass hallucination in "Alpenglow", a monster terrorizes the town in "Tarman", a crystal wields unusual powers in "Little Glass Mountain", and a mother's grief finds a voice in "Scholars and Champions".

In Part 3: Resonance, racial tensions escalate in "A Fight at The Rock", freshly-picked blackberries bring a community together in "Windsor's Drugs", and a teacher tells his life story (or is it a tall tale?) in "Wolf".