Author:
Alex McGilvery has been reading since before he can remember, and writing almost that long. He has published 18 books and is author and editor at his imprint Celticfrog Publishing. He lives in Kamloops with his dog and the stories clawing their way out of his head.

The Heronmaster includes the title story, which is the tale of Leaper who grows from a tadpole to become a legend. Murder in the Woods is a noir style mystery with animals rather than people. Nick, a young wolf, is forced to seek out the answer to Bob the moose's disappearance. Sammy is a the story of a young man on a cruise with his new car, the elderly man he takes with him and a red balloon. Madison's Meteor tells the story of Frank Madison, a farmer outside of the town of Madison which has fallen on hard times with the closing of the plant - the main employer for the town. Frank finds a meteor one night and changes start in both him and the town.

The Heronmaster

Feeling Nick's teeth in his belly drove the bull mad. He spun wildly and tried to dig Nick away with his antlers. The combination of spin and antler finally tossed Nick into the deep grass with the taste of moose on his tongue. 


Ted was hardly scratched, but Nick didn't care. Fire burned in his gut. Instead of running away like any sane wolf would when faced with an enraged bull moose, Nick scrambled to his feet and launched himself at the big bull.


The sweep of antlers barely missed Nick and he sunk his teeth into the bull's neck. Once again the bull threw him off without him doing any serious damage to the big animal. Ted came after him and Nick had to dodge the huge hooves and vicious antlers. The fire in Nick's belly changed, it flowed white hot and made him something different than he had ever experienced. He didn't care whether he lived or died, but this prey animal that dared attack him would breathe his last before the night finished.


Chapter 24: Murder in the Woods, Part 10