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

Nick walked carefully around the island until he found rock that led from the water up onto the island. Irma had said that they were nose blind. He followed the rock up to where he saw their strange dens. Regular breathing came from inside the dens. The Lost Ones were sleeping. To one side of the dens the bones of the lost moose hung from three trees leaning together. He'd had his fill of moose for the night.


Nick padded carefully through the clearing smelling the entry to each den. In front of one was an odd-looking stick with a stink that put his hackles up. His flank ached briefly in sympathy. This was one of the Lost Ones killing sticks. Nick picked it up carefully, half expecting it to turn on him and strike him dead.


Chapter 25: Murder in the Woods, Part 11