OUR BOOKS

When the clock strikes twelve, the garden blooms with secrets.

In this haunting and evocative collection, the writers of the Novelitics Writers Collective take readers on a journey through the shadows of the human heart. Midnight in the Garden offers a fresh and unexpected exploration of the seven deadly sins—lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride—through stories that are by turns chilling, poignant, darkly humorous, and utterly unforgettable.

From quiet betrayals and whispered confessions to explosive confrontations and eerie reckonings, each tale digs deep beneath the surface of sin to uncover the desires, fears, and fragile hopes that drive us all. This is not a morality tale—it’s a mirror.

Dare to wander the garden paths after dark. You might not come back the same.

Coming September 2025 in paperback and ebook.

How many stories can a single urban edifice inspire? The writers of the Novelitics Writers Collective found quite a few at the corner of 3rd & Oak.

As it turns out, 3rd & Oak is the place to find hidden compartments from which to view the neighbors, demons who create graffiti and demons who spew grief, portal-traveling witches, stolen bags of gold, lost sisters, and maybe even the man who is trying to kill you.

It’s the place to remember the love of your life, the girl who got away, the home you’ve always dreamed of, and Barry the Abominable Bozeman . . . but, for heaven’s sake, no union plumbers.

Check out the array of stories one address can inspire in this delightful short story anthology.

Available in paperback and ebook.

In this mesmerizing compilation, fourteen authors weave clever tales of imagination and discovery, loss and redemption. Though each story is vastly different than the last, they all have one thing in common: a necklace.

There’s the Saint Christopher pendant a brilliant city engineer wears that will test his faith, a cryptic ring on a chain that holds a mother’s dark secret, a sapphire necklace that bears magical power, a rose crystal medallion a young man gives away on New Year’s Eve before he vanishes without a trace. The grimness of prison life, a kidnapping gone wrong, a haunting of two sisters, a poisoning that saves a child, and more come to vivid life.

From California to New York City, London and Paris, to an elusive planet called Eleusis Well somewhere in the Milky Way, this gripping volume is crammed with unforgettable stories.

Each tale is as deftly rendered as it is skillfully told, the necklaces that connect them echoes of the humanity they share and the wider world they explore.

Available in paperback and ebook.

Get ready for the latest rip-roaring “Good Time Girls” adventure with Ruby Calhoun and Pip Quinn, two accidental outlaws now on the run for too many crimes to count.

As the silent film industry booms and Westerns steal the spotlight, a movie producer sees potential gold in Ruby and Pip's outlaw story. With their misdeeds now legendary, the duo is offered a chance to play themselves on the big screen. It's an opportunity for fame, fortune, and a safe getaway to Mexico once the film wraps.

However, the world of filmmaking proves to be a turbulent ride, even for these seasoned outlaws. The law is hot on their heels, pursuing them from Kansas across the plains to the Rockies, determined to bring them to justice. The newspapers tell half-truths and tall tales of their exploits. To make matters worse, a feared foe from their past has resurfaced, putting the film troupe and Ruby's sister in grave danger.

Can the women outsmart the law, rescue Ruby's sister, and secure their freedom? With a little help from their friends, they just might pull it off. "The Good Time Girls Get Famous" is a heartwarming and uproarious novel that celebrates fierce female friendships and the audacious spirit of two unforgettable women in a world that's anything but ordinary.

Avaialable in paperback, large print, and ebook.

A novel of wild women, the bonds of friendship, a harrowing road trip, and help found in the least likely places.

In 1905 Kansas, ex-dancehall girl and outlaw Ruby Calhoun has settled into a (mostly) quiet and (mostly) lawful life. But out of the blue her past comes hustling into town when her ex-friend and ex-dancehall partner, Pip, shows up with a grim message and dangerous mission: Cullen Wilder, an old enemy with a long memory, wants them dead and the only way to survive is to kill him first.

With Cullen’s henchman hot on their heels, Ruby and Pip hightail into the hinterlands of Kansas to save another friend from Cullen’s vengeance. Unprepared for the journey, their trip is filled with mishaps and mayhem, blunders and bounders, con artists and the circling noose of the law.

Through it all, Ruby is tormented by the memories of her life years ago in Arizona Territory, when the upstairs girls at the Paradise Saloon and Dancehall kept her safe, and the dreadful day when it all went wrong.

Will Ruby have the guts to face her turbulent past, or will she cut and run like a coward one more time?

"Blakemore’s madcap novel sparkles with scintillating wit, heartfelt warmth, and snappy repartee..." - Historical Novels Review

Available on paperback, large print, ebook, and audiobook.

Orinda, Arizona, 1898. When a pint-sized scruff of a dog named Gimp saunters into the dusty town, he sets off a wild turn of events. Dubbed “El Diablo” by some townsfolk, a supposed goblin who surfaces every six years to wreak havoc, Gimp becomes the unlikely center of attention. Dancehall girls Pip Quinn and Ruby Calhoun, unfazed by such folklore, make it their mission to find the poor dog’s owner.

However, small mishaps and misfortunes escalate, culminating in the mysterious disappearance of Baby Jesus from the volunteer firemen's creche. Blame is unjustly laid at Gimp’s paws, leading to a fatal sentence. Pip and Ruby concoct a daring plan to save the dog. Will they succeed without losing everything?

Join the Good Time Girls in another hilarious escapade, as they face off against superstitious townsfolk and half-baked curses.

Coming October 2025 in ebook.

A New York Public Library Best Reads for Teens.

NEW YORK, 1883: Gamblers and thieves, immigrants and street urchins, Do-Gooders and charity houses, impossible goals and impossible odds. The Bowery is a place where you own nothing but your dreams. And dreams are the only things that come cheap for pickpocket Mollie Flynn and prostitute Annabelle Lee. Pleasure is fleeting - and often stolen. Nights at Lefty Malone's saloon, sneaking into the Thalia Theatre. Then it's back to their airless, windowless tenement room and the ongoing struggle to keep a roof over their heads and bread in their stomachs.

The Brooklyn Bridge is nearing completion, and things are changing in New York City. The two women fantasize of starting a new life across the East River. Nothing but a flight of fancy, perhaps, until wealthy Do-Gooder Emmeline DuPre, who has opened the Cherry Street Settlement House, steps into their lives with her books, typewriters, and promises of a way to earn a respectable living. Despite Mollie and Annabelle's fascination with the woman and what she offers, is Emmeline helping or meddling?

Is it really possible to be anything other than a Bowery Girl? Mollie and Annabelle will have to decide exactly who they are, and what sort of women they want to be.

Available in paperback, ebook, audiobook.

Winner - Willa Literary Award for Best Young Adult Fiction

On the unforgiving Depression era Colorado plains, Cissy Funk is alone on a scrap of a farm with her mother and brother, struggling to keep her hopes alive in the face of her mother's coldness and her own broken heart. When her Aunt Vera arrives with warm hugs and pretty clothes, Cissy finally has a chance to find safety and love. But when a long-hidden family secret threatens to tear everything away, Cissy must find the courage to fight for what she needs. With dust and danger all around, it's up to her to prove that even in the harshest of times, love is stronger.

If you enjoyed the grit and heart of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, you'll love Cissy Funk and the long-lost family secrets of the Colorado plains.

“admirably evokes the dusty, gritty aura of Depression-era Colorado” – Publisher’s Weekly

“With subtlety and insight, Taylor introduces readers to complexities and truths about love and family” – American Library Association

“Taylor nails small-town agrarian Dust Bowl life in the ’30s.” – School Library Journal