Creativity Hacker

The 2017 ImmerseOrDie Anthology. Each year we hand-pick 50 of today's top indie authors and ask them to submit a story. Then we ask a team of ruthless judges to scour that ore and pick out the gems. The result is All These Shiny Worlds II:

• a world of today where cosplay and stagecraft are bright lights hiding dark shadows
• a world of tomorrow, where kitchen appliances fend for themselves and take solace in each other's arms, refugees from indifferent owners
• a world of little cogs in big machines, where the humble trash collector is the unsung hero of getting evil done
• a world of small magics and big hearts, where a little chaos can go a long, long way

From the brutal curators at ImmerseOrDie.com comes another collection of indie short stories, each a distinct jewel forged in the fires of judgment, and all still carrying our one simple promise: Guaranteed not to suck.

What do you get when you ask 34 of today's top indie authors to each submit a story and then ask a team of ruthless judges to scour that ore and pick out the gems? You get All These Shiny Worlds: A world of today, divided black from white, good from evil, and held apart by the taste of a cookie. A world of griffons and glimmer bunnies, sassy llamas, and the magic of beer. A world of contemplation and serenity, of service and devotion, ruled by a jewel and guarded by children. Plus 12 more, for a total of 15 sparkling worlds to explore.

From the brutal curators at ImmerseOrDie.com comes this collection of indie short stories, each a distinct jewel forged in the fires of judgement, and each carrying that simple promise: Guaranteed not to suck.

In this stand-alone episode, Karsten and Babette are on the run with magebreakers closing in, but their luck appears to change when they encounter a mysterious crossroads and an unexpected choice: In one direction, the meandering old road. Safe, familiar, and slow. Take it and they'll keep their lead but gain no ground. In the other, the new road. Unproven, unmarked, but with the tantalizing possibility of escape. The only catch? It leads straight into the blighted wasteland known as the Widow's Wrinkles.

Guess which way they go.

With a killing sun overhead, an ancient evil on their tail, and no idea how to use the powers they’ve been given, Karsten and Babette take shelter in the desert city of Pryloon, hoping to discover the hand guiding the evil that hunts them. Before it discovers them.

Karsten and Babette are an unlikely pair. One is a violent man at the end of a violent career, the other is the llama who carries his gear. With reflexes slowing and his appetite for brutality fading, Karsten has begun to think about a quiet retirement and maybe a woman to keep him warm. But when a simple wager over a bottle of beer goes disastrously wrong, those dreams are ensnared in the tendrils of a curse and the pair must swear service to the distant Dowager Empress

Or forfeit a year of their lives for every day they resist.

Tam, Kern, and Merrik are all failing at life: a homeless thief, a disgraced baker’s apprentice, and an incompetent smith. But witnessing a strange ritual in the middle of the night sets them on a collision course with destiny—and with each other. Accused of crimes they did not commit, the boys must band together to clear their names. And in the process, they just might have to do something useful, like battle monsters and save the city. But frankly, that sounds a lot like work.

In a world that has known only peace, a Warrior-King has arisen. His Gnome army swarms unhindered through the Forest. Refugees scatter. And the Three Avatars of the Dragon have chosen sides in their contest to either restore the peace … or to shatter it for all time.

In the midst of this chaos stands Tayna, a runaway orphan from the streets of our world, who must make an impossible choice: find the parents she had thought were long dead…

…or embrace her destiny and save the freaking world.