Travel from cold Seattle and the view of the world from a private investigator, who just happens to be a ghost, down to the creole fairy courts of Louisiana, to women who may or may not have cloven feet and others who just need to slip outside of what's always expected of them. Here are six tales of fantasy and wonder to fill you up just right. Tales include: "Hell By Any Other Name" and "To Hell And Back" — stories set after the shredding of the veils between the seen and the unseen worlds when the living learned they weren't alone. Andy had seen it all, done it all as a human police detective, now, as a ghost, he still works as a private investigator. "Magpie" — When Sarah finds a beautiful, porcelain bird hidden inside a hollow brick inside her fireplace, she just thinks it's odd. Then her jewelry starts going missing. What will the magpie steal next? "True Vision" — Devil? Angel? Gabriella has lived all her life following other people's plans, using their definitions of her body, allowing them to judge her abilities. Finally, though, Gabriella is ready to take matters into her own hands. "Slipping the Leash" — Twyla learned early how to fight. The kids knew she was different, but she figured that was just her African-American dad and her Japanese mom. Now she learns just how different she is: she's not even human. How will she balance all these expectations and definitions? Or will she just slip the leash and run? "Golden Charms" — As a child, Jolene learned she had a gift. She could see people's fates: they appeared as a golden charm around the person's neck. She didn't want her gift, though. She just wanted a normal life—a job, a husband, and kids. Three years later, Jolene can't get pregnant. What must she sacrifice to make her dreams come true? And what kind of strange beings in the creole fairy court must she deal with? Leah Cutter's first novel, "Paper Mage" (Roc 2003) is set in China, during the T'ang dynasty, around 837 A.D. Her second novel, "Caves of Buda" (Roc 2004) is set in Budapest, with many different time periods, including pre-Christian Hungarian mythology, Roman magic, World War II, and 1957, when the Russians came back to Hungary. Her third novel, "The Jaguar and the Wolf" (Roc 2005) is set in the Yucatan peninsula, around 1000 A.D., and explores what would have happened if the Vikings had met the Mayans. Her short fiction includes fantasy, science fiction, and horror, and has primarily been published in anthologies. Praise for "Paper Mage": —"An enchanting novel, skillfully rooted in Chinese history and myth. . .mythical, unusual, and thoroughly convincing." –Terri Windling, Editor of "The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror" —"A magical world as solid and believable as our own." –Cecilia Dart-Thorton —"An exceptional tale by an exception writer. . .It doesn't get any better than this." Dennis L. McKiernan