We all have things we hide away inside—secrets, fears, aspects of ourselves we keep locked away. Or try to.
In that respect, the characters we meet in Impossibilia are like any of us. They have things inside them too. Only their things are a little... different.
A dead wife that won't leave. A wolf. The secret to being the luckiest man alive.
Impossibilia is Doug's first collection of short fiction and includes the following novelettes:
"Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by van Gogh" (Aurora Award Finalist)
"Spirit Dance" (Aurora Award WINNER)
"Going Down to Lucky Town" (Aurora Award Finalist)
In 'Bouquet of Flowers in Vase, by van Gogh', remote viewing drives a search through the past for lost masterpieces. An ex-CIA agent, haunted by the presence of his dead wife, falls in love with a beautiful remote viewer with her own secret. But can viewing the past change the present?
Cree Indian legends, a love triangle, a covert government agency, and shape shifters collide in the award-winning 'Spirit Dance', described in Challenging Destiny as "...a vivid and wonderfully written tale about Native Canadian spirits, in the vein of Thomas King."
In 'Going Down to Lucky Town', an itinerant gambler chases a streak of luck across the country, while trying to win back the love of his daughter. The secret he finds forces him into an ultimate gamble for the highest stakes of all: his daughter's life.
And through all the stories, these characters share one more thing beyond what they hold inside. In the decisions they face, in the choices they make, they do what they do out of love. Lost love, found love, the love of a child. But love. So maybe they aren't that different from us after all...
"Doug Smith is, quite simply, the finest short-story writer Canada has ever produced in the science fiction and fantasy genres... His stories are a treasure trove of riches that will touch your heart while making you think." --Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author
"A great storyteller with a gifted and individual voice." --Charles de Lint, award-winning fantasy author
"One of Canada's most original writers of speculative fiction." --Library Journal