Publisher's Synopsis
SIGN OF THE BLACK HORSE is a collection of 22 tales, stories from the misty past to the dazzling future. A few of the stories ... The Heir of Dun Eistean: Clan wars in the Scottish Highlands tear a young warrior away from his mysterious bride. When at last he returns home, she has disappeared, leaving him with twin children to raise and a mandate to restore the Moireasdan clan to its former greatness. The Water Horse: High in the Tennessee mountain wilderness, Ellie MacRae encounters a kelpie-an elvish creature who can change from man to horse and back again. Lynx on a Chain: Two young men backpack into the Big Horn Mountains in search of trout. The pair meet catastrophe attempting to ford a river running high and deep with meltwater rushing down from the peaks. Will they emerge with their lives or perish in the heartless wilderness? Potter's Field: Dalia Lindstrom has fallen in love with her ailing mentor and seeks to make his perfect art her own, breaking the promise she has made to the dying man. But there's a high price to pay for betrayal. The Wedding at Tommy Knocker's Cavern Tavern: Goblins, trolls, gnomes, knockers, and kobolds coexist with mankind in the most unlikely places-under the hills of western Wisconsin, for instance. Here a convivial evening in a cavern tavern threatens to morph into a battle for the hand of a lovely goblin-until a fire-breathing, gem-hoarding dragon enters the fray. Sparrow on Whole Wheat: A lonely old woman with a taste for cheap vodka, Fern faces off with a cat and his owners over a fresh-killed sparrow. Can a pot of homemade chili and the promise of more vodka distract Fern from her mission? Esperanza's Sorrow: A widowed seamstress, grieving the death of her wayward child at the hands of a Chicago gang, stitches a quilt from scraps of her daughter's clothes and discovers that a machine can respond to human emotions. The Rolling Crones: Sitting around and knitting just ain't their thing, and so a pair of enterprising old broads decide to turn their RV into a rolling bordello. Everything is going just great until things started to go bad. You'll need to read the story to find out how the ladies fare. Be prepared to meet a gang of horny old bikers, wildlife agents, and a passel of alligators. Could things get worse? Yes, of course they can! What people are saying about Jill Vogel Svoboda: "Svoboda is truly a WONDERFUL writer. I find laughs and tears in all her stories." Robert Feher. "BEAUTIFUL portrayals and story lines. Reminds me of Ursula LeGuin." Kimberly Hines. "ENCHANTING! I love the mystical elements." Ida Sorci.
