Alternative Nightmares in Bloomington, MN

Plague Doctor Children, Moral Mycelium and an Apocalyptic Tardigrade are a few of the strange creatures in Part One's short story collection.
Part Two's three novellas pay homage to the empathetic, heroic, and gothic:
In Empiphany, Jessica and Blair's community live in blissful happiness thanks to emotional transfers via touch, but they soon discover they're living in a utopian nightmare.
Athena's Crucible is the goddess's last chance to save the fallen ancient Greek pantheon.
And in The Diary of V. Frankenstein, simple changes spark big consequences in an alternative-reality telling of the gothic classic.