Dale Hartley Emery: 16 books

What if magic were right in front of you every day, but hidden from your sight? For all you know, it is. Maybe the reason you love the tasty creations from the nearby chocolate shop is that one of the ingredients is magic. Perhaps some of the dreadlocks of the beautiful young...

Humans prove great fodder for fiction. But what about the universe of possibilities offered by the nonhuman protagonist? The eighteen daring humans of Fiction River’s latest volume explore just that. From a goblin who must choose whether to risk everything for love to a heroic rat adventuring at...

Forget the old adage that cautions against wishing. The sixteen stories in this latest Fiction River contain just the right amount of heart, magic, pathos, and even hope. From a daughter hoping to save her father with a crash-course in wishery to an unfortunate victim at the wrong end of someone else’s...

In this second Fiction River Special Edition, award-winning editor Kristine Kathryn Rusch performs editing magic in assembling this anthology of stories saved by not one but six different Fiction River editors. Culled from stories that did not fit in the magazine’s regular run, these gems piece...

In this latest volume of Fiction River, editor Dean Wesley Smith pulls together an eclectic but cohesive group of stories filled with difficult decisions. From a man who must question the line between justice and vengeance to a teenage fixer fighting hypocrisy to a post-apocalyptic survivor’s mission...

Alone on an empty, eerie road in the middle of the Sacramento Delta, Carla fumes at the boyfriend who abandoned her. The sun sets. A car appears. A pleasant looking couple offers wary Carla a ride. The fare: "Tell us the story." Not just any story. The story. But this...

Norm Wheeler’s luck at the racetrack runs out, leaving him deep in debt to a ruthless bookie. When he tries to hire a rival thug to kill the man, the negotiation takes a dangerous turn, doubling Norm’s trouble. Desperate, with time running out, caught between two dangerous criminals, Norm...

Yantriel lives on a small pig farm, grieving the loss of his wife, trying to make a good life for his two daughters. Then, on a midsummer day, an endless mass of frogs begins to ooze out of Yantriel’s outhouse. Not just ordinary frogs. These frogs know things. Now the frogs...

Trapped in a funhouse in the sweltering Sacramento heat, Mark and his little brother Davy watch in horror as a zombie eats their friend. Now they must work together, one supplying the wits, the other supplying the blood, to find the doors to escape. But an even greater danger awaits, and the...

When Geoff Palmenter demands a refund from a master negotiator, he expects an impossible negotiation. Instead, he wins far more than he bargained for: A second chance at love.  But with second chances, timing is everything. A time travel short story from Dale Hartley Emery.

Curtis Poole's estranged daughter dies, leaving him with fading memories of her and vivid memories of his actions that carved the decade-long rift in their relationship. With all hope of reconciliation severed, Curtis grasps for redemption through the people his daughter loved. But redemption...

Fresh out of Folsom State Prison, Jake Abbot craves one thing: A thick, hot, juicy whiskey bacon cheddar burger from Saint Florian’s Abbey. But traffic and a greedy cabbie conspire to keep Jake from satisfying his hunger. And when he finally arrives at Saint Florian’s, Jake's crimes...

On a busy street corner in the searing heat of a Sacramento July afternoon, homeless veteran Gene Garron makes a seemingly simple promise in exchange for a donation beyond his wildest dreams. But a large sum of money attracts a great deal of attention. The wrong kind of attention. Attention...

“What does a girl have to do around here to prove she is a virgin?” A tattered wedding dress. An enraged bride. And Clarke Whiteley is all out of virgins’ tears. He brought the problem on himself, of course. He should not have imbued Dulcie’s wedding dress with magic. Not with...