Trifles and Folly: A Deadly Curiosities Supernatural Mystery Adventure Collection Books 1-2-3 By Gail Z. Martin
The Magic of ‘Extra Episodes’ in a Book Series
By Gail Z. Martin
Trifles and Folly 3 is like getting ‘extra episodes’ of your favorite TV show (book series) in between the longer seasons (books).
I’ve done three collections of short stories/novellas set in my Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy series. Cassidy Kincaide can read the history and magic of objects by touching them. She runs Trifles and Folly—an antiques and curio store in Charleston, SC that specializes in getting haunted and cursed objects out of the wrong hands and saving the world from supernatural threats.
Some of these stories were originally written for anthologies while others were released individually. They take place before, after and in-between the books and are written to be enjoyed even if you haven’t read any of the series.
Writing short adventures—‘episodes’—is fun because I get to explore ideas that might not be big enough for a whole book or tie into anything else, but which make a spooky little adventure. Maybe it’s a setting, or an object, or something that came up in another book as an off-hand comment or background element that stuck in my mind. I might not have been able to explore that tangent right then, but I can circle back and follow that idea to its conclusion in a separate story.
The stories are also a great place to get to know the characters a little better, for people who have read the books. Nothing pivotal happens in the short pieces, but we get to see them in other situations—out with friends, going on a date, at work, etc.—that we don’t often get to explore in the middle of a big save-the-world adventure. Don’t get me wrong—there’s plenty of action and scary fun in the stories, but the focus in tighter and less sprawling.
I hope you’ll dive in and check out Trifles and Folly 3!
BOOK 3 – NEW RELEASE
Book Title: Trifles and Folly 3: A Deadly Curiosities Supernatural Mystery Adventure
Author: Gail Z. Martin/Morgan Brice
Publisher: SOL Publishing
Length: 320 pages
Release Date: March 29, 2022
Genres. Urban fantasy with a prominent gay secondary character in an evolving, committed and plot-important relationship
Tropes: Evolving established relationship/commitment
Themes: Found family, learning to use magic, sharing secret abilities,
Heat Rating: 4 flames
These are collections of short stories and novellas that originally appeared either individually or reverted from anthologies, so while they function like ‘extra episodes’ for the novels, they were intended to stand alone.
Buy Links
Kobo | Nook | Audible Coming Soon
Trifles and Folly 3 is a wickedly wonderful set of dark urban fantasy tales full of cursed curios, stolen relics, haunted heirlooms, creepy castles, menacing monsters, magic, and mayhem.
Blurb
The ghost of a jilted lover, an accidental hell-mouth, a soul-eating monster, cursed needlework, and a rogue’s gallery of sullied spirits—all this and more awaits!
Wander the shadowed paths through this spooktacular collection of short stories and novellas that take place around and between the novels in the Deadly Curiosities series.
An extension of the Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy novel series, this collection can be read as a standalone. It contains two novellas and five short stories: The Adventure of the Melted Saint, Keepsakes, Catspaw, The Piper’s Song, Innocence Lost, Crewel Fate, and Heap of Trouble.
Cassidy Kincaide owns Trifles and Folly, an antique shop with a secret history. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching them. She and her allies use magic and paranormal abilities to keep Charleston and the world safe from supernatural threats.
Trifles and Folly 3 is a wickedly wonderful set of dark urban fantasy tales full of cursed curios, stolen relics, haunted heirlooms, creepy castles, menacing monsters, magic, and mayhem.
This collection includes a Morgan Brice MM Paranormal Romance novella set in the Deadly Curiosities’ universe with scenes only appropriate for readers 18+.
Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003
Three collections, all with great standalone stories.
This blog post is already too long so I’m going to put links to my reviews on Goodreads instead of putting them all here. The bottom line from me is that this is a great collection of standalone stories. They’re full of adventure and some spooky happenings. I’m not normally an Urban Fantasy reader but I’ve really enjoyed Gail Z. Martin’s books written under her Morgan Brice pen-name so I wanted to give these collections a try. I’m so glad that I did.
I want to note that I listened to the audiobooks of the first two collections and Amanda Ronconi did an amazing job performing these stories. I normally prefer listening to a male narrator, and can sometimes be a bit critical of female ones if there are a lot of male character voices needed. But Amanda did a fantastic job with the many different voices that were needed for these stories. She truly made it seem like there were multiple narrators instead of only one.
Book 1
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4635078898
♥♥♥♥♥
Excerpt from book 3
“Come back inside, Cassidy,” he urged. “I don’t know why, but I don’t like the vibes I’m getting out here tonight.”
Teag’s intuition is fueled by strong magic, so I take his “vibes” seriously. I’m pretty good with both intuition and magic myself, and I felt a shiver go down my back. “There’s something out here,” I murmured, looking down the alley toward the streetlight at the end and seeing a dark shape in the roadway I had not noticed before.
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Teag said. “Come back where it’s safe.”
Wardings protected the old antique shop against dark magic. Salt and iron lay beneath the sill of every door and window to repel evil, and as an added protection, sometimes we had a nearly six-hundred-year-old vampire staying in the secret room in the shop basement. Teag and I both wore protective amulets, and when it came to defending ourselves, we were no slouches. So when I lingered a moment longer, I took a calculated risk.
“We need to see what that is,” I said, jerking my head toward the lump that lay near the far end of the alley. I let my athame slide down beneath my sleeve into my hand and jangled the old dog collar on my left wrist, smiling as the ghost of a large dog appeared at my side. Teag muttered something under his breath and joined me a moment later, carrying a wooden martial arts staff and a wicked knife.
Together, we advanced on the shape, which lay still in the dim glow of the distant street light. A mangy cat paced near the body, staying just out of reach as we approached, even though Bo’s ghost growled and stepped toward it. If the cat could see Bo, the ghost dog didn’t intimidate him. I paid attention to what my senses were telling me, shivering at the resonance something evil left in its wake. Yet the closer we got to the thing in the road, the more certain I became that the threat itself had come and gone.
BOOK 1
Book Title: Trifles and Folly: A Deadly Curiosities Supernatural Mystery Adventure Collection
Author: Gail Z. Martin
Publisher: SOL Publishing
Cover Artist: Lou Harper
Length: 396 pages
Release Date: October 18, 2016
Genres: Urban fantasy with a prominent gay secondary character in an evolving, committed and plot-important relationship
Tropes: Evolving established relationship/commitment
Themes: Found family, learning to use magic, sharing secret abilities,
These are collections of short stories and novellas that originally appeared either individually or reverted from anthologies, so while they function like ‘extra episodes’ for the novels, they were intended to stand alone.
The short stories were designed to be standalone and not require prior knowledge of the series.
Buy Links
Trifles and Folly is a fascinatingly frightful set of dark urban fantasy tales full of abandoned mansions, restless spirits, Hoodoo, magic, supernatural creatures and long-overdue revenge.
Blurb
Haunted places. Cursed heirlooms. Vengeful ghosts. Dark Magic
Cassidy Kincaide owns Trifles and Folly, an antique shop with a secret history. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching them. She and her allies use magic and paranormal abilities to keep Charleston and the world safe from supernatural threats. Journey…if you dare…through these satisfyingly spooky short stories and novellas that take place around and between the novels in the Deadly Curiosities series.
A collection of nine stand-alone adventures: Buttons, The Restless Dead, Retribution, Coffin Box, Wicked Dreams, Collector, Bad Memories, Shadow Garden, and Spook House.
Trifles and Folly is a fascinatingly frightful set of dark urban fantasy tales full of abandoned mansions, restless spirits, Hoodoo, magic, supernatural creatures and long-overdue revenge.
A companion to the Deadly Curiosities series. Can be read as a standalone.
Revised Edition 2, 2018. Includes an updated cover, minor edits and the BONUS section with three stories chronicling Sorren’s early days: Vanities, The Wild Hunt, and Dark Legacy.
“A fabulous job of creating a world that was steeped with curses, lore, lure, deadly consequences, and magic.” — The Book Junkie on Trifles & Folly
BOOK 2
Book Title: Trifles and Folly 2: A Deadly Curiosities Supernatural Mystery Adventure Collection
Author: Gail Z. Martin
Publisher: SOL Publishing
Cover Artist: Lou Harper
Length: 568 pages
Release Date: December 27, 2017
Genres: Urban fantasy with a prominent gay secondary character in an evolving, committed and plot-important relationship
Tropes: Evolving established relationship/commitment
Themes: Found family, learning to use magic, sharing secret abilities,
These are collections of short stories and novellas that originally appeared either individually or reverted from anthologies, so while they function like ‘extra episodes’ for the novels, they were intended to stand alone.
Buy Links
Trifles and Folly 2 is a satisfyingly spooky set of dark urban fantasy tales full of Southern cemeteries, restless spirits, Voodoo, magic, supernatural creatures, pirate ghosts, vampires and vengeance.
Blurb
Curses, vengeance from beyond the grave, haunted curios, werewolves, and wicked faeries.
Walk on the wild side, deep in the shadows through these delightfully creepy short stories and novellas that take place around and between the novels in the Deadly Curiosities series. Cassidy Kincaide owns Trifles and Folly, an antique shop with a secret history. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching them. She and her allies use magic and paranormal abilities to keep Charleston and the world safe from supernatural threats
An extension of the Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy novel series, this collection can be read as a standalone. It contains three full novellas and four short stories: The Final Death, Predator, Fair Game, Fatal Invitation, Redcap, Bloodlines, plus three bonus stories: Among the Shoals Forever, The Low Road, and Steer a Pale Course.
Trifles and Folly 2 is a satisfyingly spooky set of dark urban fantasy tales full of Southern cemeteries, restless spirits, Voodoo, magic, supernatural creatures, pirate ghosts, vampires and vengeance.
“This book is honestly as good as the first. I love it when a series starts out great and stays that way.“—T’s Stuff on Trifles and Folly 2
Gail Z. Martin writes epic fantasy, urban fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, SOL Publishing, Darkwind Press, Worldbuilders Press and Falstaff Books. Recent books include Convicts and Exiles, Sellsword’s Oath, Inheritance, and Night Moves. With Larry N. Martin, she is the co-author of the Spells Salt & Steel, Wasteland Marshals, Joe Mack and Jake Desmet series.
As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance including the Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail and Fox Hollow series.
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