Fiction - Dancing Moon Press

Dancing Moon Press Fiction

Bend Daycations

Written by Carla Perry, Sara Lou Heimlich, and Jess Bondy with cover art by Sarah Gayle.

What starts as a simple desire for revenge quickly becomes a fast-paced escapade for three women "of a certain age." Vengeance takes them from Oregon to Maui where they rub elbows with nefarious characters, stumble into a hidden commune's Purim luau, and fight their way into the boardroom of a newly formed solar investment group for a seat at the table. This is a tale of sleuthing, shenanigans, romance, and long-lasting friendship as the trio plots to solve livability challenges in Newport, a small town on the Central Oregon Coast.

Demoted reporter Barney Starr comes to a small town in Oregon's wine country on a routine assignment to interview a celebrity dessert diva. Despite the fact that he is prohibited from any form of investigative reporting as a condition of his probation, he becomes obsessed with the peculiar barber he meets, a man who carries around a straight razor and a Beanie Baby plush toy -- and hides a suspicious array of mounds and excavations in his backyard. Barney and his lively new girlfriend Stella set out to uncover the mystery of the Yamhill Barber, only to open a further mystery involving many of the other townspeople.

The deceitful, shifty, and underhanded Local City Councilor of the quaint, well-mannered town of Port City, South Carolina, had been enjoying a long life of privilege and perks while suffering no chastisement for his misdeeds. But when his luck ran out, he decided to hide his latest wrongdoing at the condemned and haunted Old City Jail. Southern Intrigue at the Local Greek Deli is a satire written in the style of an Italian opera buffa (comic opera) that culminates in a “quartet-finale” where all the main characters are brought together onstage, singing their own lines simultaneously with a crowd of bystanders in the background looking on and commenting.

Bend Daycations

Susi Klare exquisitely celebrates the natural world in this collection of short fiction, while also delivering biting commentary that cuts to the heart of our relationship to the land. Bringing her intimacy with nature to the page, she creates a sensual interweaving between the details of a particular landscape and the main character's dilemma and state of mind. The voices in these stories come from people who are variously attempting to lose or find themselves in the wild country from Alaska to Guatemala. Klare's work explores the nuances of mother-daughter relationships, aging, desire, and what it means to persevere and find identity in the face of trauma.

Neil Danielson knows it’s time to come to terms with his alcoholism. He figures the best place to do that is at Aurora Borealis, a treatment center in Lake Boreal in northern Wisconsin. It’s pretty there on the banks of Loon Lake, and quiet, and the staff and residents of the center won’t let him dodge and shuffle away from his addiction any longer. But as the annual spearfishing confrontations among the local Native Americans flare up on the lake, Neil’s peace—and sobriety—are threatened.

It’s 1971, and recent UCLA graduate Thomas Williams Mendoza accepts a job offer that seems like the perfect blend of travel and adventure. But when the copper mining company he works for sends him to the austere and politically volatile Atacama Desert of Chile, Thomas gets more than he bargained for. He’s only been in the desert for a few hours when he meets the company's community outreach specialist Carmen Segura, an alluring “daughter of the desert” who reveals insights and powers far beyond that which the science-minded Thomas can comprehend. Just as he’s succumbing to Carmen’s enchanting ways, the two are drawn into a cultural and political conflict more complicated and dangerous than either can predict, and which will put their very lives at risk.

Bend Daycations

A collection of short stories and poems about the Tucson, Arizona area, illuminating hiking, mining, history, humor and culture.

This author is an Oregonian through and through. Born in Portland, Oregon and raised in the Tualatin Valley, she has lived on a farm and in the Oregon wilderness.for six decades. Her vision is told in the context of history, folklore, and in the natural world. She paints a picture of her home and her illustrator creates the humor and symbolism of this corner of America.

The year is 1975. In the remote African savannah region of northern Nigeria, a lone American Peace Corps Volunteer mysteriously disappears while searching for a secret oasis. It was an innocent-enough camping trip that went horribly wrong. In a race against time, three of his friends—two Peace Corps volunteers and a Marine security guard from the U.S. Embassy—embark on a search and rescue mission like no other. Their manhunt takes an unexpected turn when they stumble onto an ancient and deadly side of Nigeria's past. Survival soon becomes the primary goal for the search team as they close in on their objective, become isolated, and face unimaginable terror.

Bend Daycations

Inspired by Edgar Cayce’s readings on Atlantis, and the author’s own past life memories, The Isle of Horses recalls an Atlantis many will find strangely recognizable. Book One, first in a series of five, introduces Al-Ya, a reluctant priestess in training who discovers her gift of Second Sight, a gift urgently need by the People of the One to prevent the destruction of Atlantis.

Bend Daycations

Deep within the majestic Eagle Cap Wilderness of Northeastern Oregon, a handful of vacationers assemble to unwind—in ways both beneficial and detrimental. Will their packs be heavier when they leave the wilderness a week later? Family secrets and behaviors forged by unfortunate experiences shed light on current motivations and personalities. Can traits change through the interplay of family and strangers? “The bird held in tight grasp will never be yours, but the bird that flies back to the hand after release sure is.” – An adulterated, but true, Chinese proverb. Fly-fishing is a meditation, a ballet with nature. Patience and the luck of the fly provide intermittent gratification. But make no mistake—the allure is in the Zen. Delayed gratification is both cursed and embraced. Learning this might take a lifetime.

"What's a sideman?" I asked.
"A musician with a level of proficiency high enough to sit in and play with others, whenever needed, for gigs and recording sessions. A good sideman can keep himself busy jobbing out his services. It pays the bills. That's me, Sideman."

Sideman's story is the struggle of a war veteran after he returns home and must face readjustment to a life after combat. Guilt, relationship issues, alcohol and drug abuse, and self-forgiveness are the issues he must deal with—or not. Walk awhile in his boots. Would you walk differently?

Bend Daycations

"In the beginning, Bob didn't plan to start a religion; it just happened." So begins a wild and fantastic romp through the fictional Free Nation, satirizing religious fanaticism, politics, and human fumbling. The plot is driven by a host of quirky characters: Bob, a middle aged blank slate living in the Northwest region who first converses with his dog and then with God; nineteen year old Sophia Wise whose life goal is to cover her entire body with tattoos; Roland Brand, a chameleon whose ascension to power becomes progressively more outrageous; and Delbert Thorne, the Chosen Leader of the Free Nation who conducts a continuously fruitless search for a Secretary of Religion and who bears a striking resemblance to another idiotic world leader from recent history. The Book of Bob dashes drunkenly through the house of mirrors of Western culture, dissecting with pinpoint precision the absurdity, tragedy, and hilarity of the human race.

Riva's guardian angel is a wisecracking cynic who would rather be anywhere than imprisoned in Riva's body. But assignments are not negotiable. The place: New York City. The time: Spring 1963. His assignment: Whatever it takes to help Riva survive.

"Riva Beside Me" is based on real life, growing up in Manhattan in a dysfunctional family. But the story is one of transition and hope, where humor and love prevail. The story makes it obvious that angels walk among us.

Bend Daycations

Love is a journey as treacherous as the Oregon Trail. Lynn Malen has finally reached her breaking point. Determined to escape an abusive marriage and get out of Independence, Missouri, she disguises herself as a young man and changes her name to “Larry” to get the last spot on a wagon train heading west. Lynn finds comfort and friends along the trail. What she didn’t expect to find was an attraction to Ben Alenson, the strong wagon master. The Oregon Trail brings many trials, but love may be the most trying of them all.