Women of Wonder

Three fantasy tales, three lively leading ladies!

Looking for magic-wielding women with brave hearts, amazing abilities, and a sense of humor? You've come to the right place.

Danielle Williams, fantasy fan extraordinaire and author of the inimitable sci-fi epic Steel City, Veiled Kingdom, brings together three of her favorite heroines in this special value collection that's sure to leave you smiling.

Women of Wonder contains the following stories:

The Capramancer Next Door — Down-to-earth mage Will Schafer has her hands full moving into a new house while keeping her mischievous herd of magical goats in line. Meeting handsome gardener Rickert Nash takes the sting out of moving…until his shadowy past comes roaring back to bite him in the butt. Now Will and the herd must step in to save their neighbor from getting mulched—but can a girl and her goats defeat a formidable hunter, or are they all about to buy the farm?

The Witching License — Mavis Burnsides is on her deathbed when her best friend brings her a Witching License. Now she’s got magical powers—and one last night to make up for a lifetime of regrets. By turns sassy and touching, The Witching License is a gentle tale of regret, romance, and righting wrongs.

Debuts and Dragons — Though she’s not much to look at, dragon Sellafield Terrormouth never worried about snagging a mate for herself. But now that her little sister is about to debut in dragon society, Sella’s got one night to go from drab to fab. If she fails, she’ll lose her entire dowry—and quite possibly doom herself to eternal spinsterhood! Can this plain dragon get herself a date, or is her future about to go up in flames?

Escape doesn't have to cost big bucks!

Pixelvania Publishing’s Value Collections are here to give you a much-needed break from life while stretching your entertainment dollar.

Women of Wonder: A Pixelvania Publishing Value Collection

Copyright © 2022 Danielle Williams

This collection or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously to convey a sense of realism. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Danielle Williams

Photo from DepositPhotos.com

Published by Pixelvania Publishing

Introduction

Hi, I’m author Danielle Williams. Welcome to Women of Wonder!

I’ve written a buttload of female characters in my career so far, and really…I love them all for different reasons (even if they’re villains. Maybe especially if they’re villains, ha!). Here’s a quick rundown of the heroines you’ll meet in this collection, and what I like about them.

(Or you can totally skip this and get to reading the stories! I don’t mind!)

In The Capramancer Next Door, you’ll meet Will Schafer, a mage in charge of a team of dimension-jumping search and rescue goats. She loves her herd, but since their escape artist ways can get them into trouble, she has to be tough with them, too! I think you’ll enjoy seeing the back-and-forth between her and her talented team—I know I do.

Unlike Will, Mavis Burnsides from The Witching License is brand new to magic, and only gets to use it a short while. But this tough cookie seizes the opportunities her new powers gives her and winds up making the most out it. She reminds me to live life boldly RIGHT NOW so I don’t wind up too much regret at the end of my life. I hope she inspires you, too.

Finally, there’s Sellafield Terrormouth, scaly star of Debuts and Dragons. In the world of dragons, she gets a lot of grief over her drab-looking exterior, but she’s hiding a talent that leads to one of the most triumphant endings of any of my stories. But I won’t spoil it for you!

All three of these stories happen to star lady protagonists, but I firmly believe that you can have strong female characters without tearing down the men around them. So hopefully you’ll find I’ve written the men just as respectably as the ladies.

I sincerely hope you enjoy your time with this collection. Thanks for supporting an indie author!

Until next release, I wish you good health and happy reading!

Danielle Williams

The Capramancer Next Door

Chapter 1

She’d picked the land for its weather‌—‌all four seasons, and plenty of falling leaves in autumn (the herd loved crispy leaves, snarfed them down like potato chips)‌—‌and the village for its lack of development, which meant plenty of browsing and wide-open blue skies.

She was enjoying just such a sky now on the front steps of her new brick home, which she had picked for the acreage. (She’d thought it a little strange the land was all straight out behind the house, like those small-until-you-realized-how-far-back-they-went shops she’d visited in Europe on vacation, but since it wouldn’t bother the herd any, she hadn’t spared another moment’s worry about it.)

The chipped mug of apple cider in her hand steamed, warming her round chin. It was hard to stop smiling. Today the boulders came in; with any luck, she could call the herd over before sundown.

Her lips worked inward momentarily. Luck and contractors did not go together in the same sentence, let alone the same reality. And she hadn’t finished unpacking, so who knew where her luck talisman was hiding. Probably in one of those Trader Joe’s paper sacks she’d used to pack up her staff-care drawer. She’d thrown a lot of sundries from around the house in that paper bag.

Pride in one’s mage staff was emphasized at the University of Rivermoon (waxing), with staff inspections carried out by the TA’s every week, and special staff inspections carried out by the head mages of the department every month (and only once a month, if you’d chosen well; randomly two to three times a month if you’d chosen the wrong major), and a final staff inspection upon graduation by the dean.

But since she’d become a practicing capramancer, she’d found she only brought the staff out twice a year, max, at summer solstice and Easter. And even then, it was mostly for show. She’d attempted to use her mage’s staff‌—‌which, of course, had a crook on the end, like any self-respecting shepherd’s staff‌—‌to herd the goats only once, because something about the blue glassy stone from which it was made enticed Elvis (the herd’s voice) to try breaking it. Via ricocheting off it. Of course, that had been when she’d first taken in the herd; she and Elvis were cool now, so maybe it’d be different…‌but Wilhemendra didn’t want to risk it.

So for now her staff hung from a hook on the inside door of the wardrobe with the winter coats and boots. Her hand went to the wardrobe key around her neck, disguised as a dainty bronze choker. Still, she was a mage, and it was her staff, and it did merit some protection. So the wardrobe was kept locked year round.

Will heard the rumble of plastic wheels on pavement. She looked next door to see a man walking his garbage out to the curb. He wore a rugged hat with quite a brim (it reminded her, somehow, of Australia), a long-sleeved shirt in a color she believed they were now calling greige, and pants a shade darker. Coyote brown boots completed the ensemble, or so Will thought, until the man turned around to return up the driveway. Then she saw the sturdy yellow gloves tucked into the waistband of his pants. Gardening gloves.

Morning! she called, waving her free hand in a wide arc. They may have been next door neighbors, but unlike the tract housing she’d grown up in, their houses weren’t jammed up next to each other like sardines.

The man blinked at her as if he couldn’t quite believe she were there. Then he smiled and walked towards the brown picket fence that delineated his front yard from hers.

Will grabbed the neck of her fuzzy purple bathrobe (she had full-length flannel PJ's on underneath, and the cuffs of her pants were clearly visible beneath the hem of her long robe, but figured it best to keep a tight rein on the girls, lest her new neighbor get the wrong impression) and crossed the damp grass to meet him.

Hi, I’m Will, she said, sticking out her hand to shake. Your new neighbor.

Rickert Nash. He took her hand with one that was rough and dry. Will’s smile widened. His voice was as rough as his hand‌—‌but it was coated in one of those buttery English accents that had always made her wibbley in the knees as one of her college roommates used to tease. He also wasn’t bad looking, with a few uneven teeth that gave him a cowboy character she liked. Sure, he looked a little older than her…‌but what was age to a wizard?

Rickert, her neighbor, looked down. If I’d known you were in your slippers, I would’ve come over there.

Will shrugged. They’ll wash. I’ve got a dozen of ’em.

Their hands were still clasped. Reluctantly, Will let go, and the man‌—‌her neighbor, oh boy‌—‌let her hand slip out.

I just moved in. Will spun around towards her house, suddenly nervous.

It was a two-story red brick cottage with a winding walkway to the front porch she loved (it would be perfect for putting out Jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween) and a little turret at the rear that faced into the backyard, the pasture. The last owner had let the front yard run wild, but her herd would take care of that.

Her neighbor took a moment to look over her home, despite, Will realized, it not being at all new to him.

She dropped her gesturing hand back to her mug. How long have you been here? In the neighborhood, I mean.

Fourteen years, if you can believe it. He shook his head, as if the fact wasn’t quite real to him. This house doesn’t keep people long. ‌—‌Not ’cos of me, he added, seeing Will’s smirk. It gets a lot of young couples but I reckon they outgrow it faster than they think. Longest fellow who lived there stayed four years before he died. He winced, suddenly drawing his hand down his face. He was an old bloke, though. Sorry, I’m making it sound like you’re moving into a haunted house.

Will laughed. Well, I already spent the night in it, and Freddy Krueger didn’t chase me out, so I think I’m doing OK.

Good! Good. Right on ya. I, uh, anyway. I’m home most days if you need anything.

Will’s eyebrows raised. Work at home?

You could say that, he said smoothly.

Maybe a little too smoothly, Will thought, studying him during a long sip of cooling cider. Her mind batted around secret occupations for this man, each goofier than the last, until she had to snort into her mug.

What? He was grinning.

She waved him off, but he crossed his arms and said, You can’t laugh like that and not share. It isn’t sporting.

"Sorry. I was inventing jobs for you, and I went…‌way out there."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

How ‘out there’?

Living with Elvis, a creature who routinely urinated on his own face, had demolished her sense of shame. Even so, she surprised herself when she answered, I thought you could be a stripper.

His head bowed so all she could see was the top of his hat.

Oh, gosh, I shouldn’t have said that…‌now I have to move‌—‌

But to Will’s relief, when he looked up, his cheeks were stretched from fighting a smile.

I said I worked from home, not that I worked nights.

Their eyes met, and then they broke down laughing. When they had recovered, he said, "I’m a freelance writer, and I’ll have you know I only write for the respectable gardening publications."

Oh! Oh, that’s terrific!

Indeed it is. And maybe‌—‌just maybe‌—‌young lady, if you keep that sordid imagination of yours under control, I’ll let you visit my garden and pick some tomatoes sometime. He pointed towards his backyard.

Will’s embarrassment evaporated. It helped he’d pronounced it to-mah-toes.

Really? You mean it? I’d love that!

He cocked his head, evidently surprised by this enthusiasm. Yes…‌I do.

Probably doesn’t get too many neighbors this jazzed about to-mah-toes.

That’s‌—‌I’d love that. And I promise to keep my bad bad head under control. She thumped her palm off the side of her head for emphasis. "But I can’t do it today. I mean, I can’t visit today. I’ve got‌—‌I hope‌—‌landscapers coming in. They’ll be bringing in some boulders…‌I hope that won’t bother you. I’m sure there’ll be all kinds of noisy equipment…‌"

He waved her off, arms finally coming uncrossed. Nah, that’s what headphones are for. He glanced at his watch. Speaking of which, I ought to go in and get started.

All-righty, said Will, resisting the urge to snap off a salute. See you…‌well, when I see you, neighbor.

Be sooner than you think, he said with a smile.

Chapter 2

The landscapers were a half-hour late before Will found her other luck charm‌—‌not the one that encouraged good luck, but the one that absorbed the bad and neutralized it, like karmic Arm & Hammer. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived with their cranes and had the boulders settled in before dinner.

But though the sun hadn’t yet set, Will thought it best to examine the fence on her neighbor’s side of the yard and shore it up before she called the herd over. She fed the herd well, but if there were other tasty plants in Rickert’s garden besides the to-mah-toes, no self-respecting aether-goat would simply let them alone. No, good garden stuff was a reward for conquering the challenge of an iron fence and wards. So she’d made sure the boulders were arranged in the middle of a yard like an island, and now slowly walked the wire fence, muttering a spell here and there and dropping a cold iron capsule in deep holes magicked by her fingers.

As she walked beneath the fiery sunset, she couldn’t help but notice how lush the plants were up next to the fence. Leaves thrust in through the fence, so dense that they were like a wall in and of themselves. A wall of glossy green flats, perfect for browsing.

Good luck keeping the crew away from that. These leaves would be chewed down to the wards. Elvis was the herd’s voice, not a miracle worker.

Once or twice she rose up on her tiptoes to see into the garden next door, but the foliage was too tall for her. No wonder he writes for the ragweed rags, she thought with a chuckle. He’s got a thumb as green as a frog, from what I can see.

Not to mention he’s fine as frog hair, a little voice in her head whispered.

She accidentally shot an iron capsule deep into the turf, where it wouldn’t do any good as an aether-goat deterrent. What had gotten into her?

She got on the ground to try and dig it out, but it may as well have been in the center of the earth. Not to mention the long shadows of sunset were making things hard to see.

She