"Durgin has a remarkable gift for inventing unusual characters doing incredible things."
--Kliatt
The Heart of Dog is a collection of seven dog-themed stories (including The Right Bitch series), and is a fundraising project for ConneryBeagle. Deep River Reckoning: The journey of a woman recently passed strikes close to home for Garrie and Trevarr, as living and dead clash over the mysteriously damaged spirits of the Rio Grande. Set in The Reckoners paranormal romance series, in which a spirit-busting young woman once mentored by a ghost tangles with a fiercely driven demon-hunter from a different dimension. Tracking Murder: Who really has the nose for trouble…Flagstaff veterinarian Dale Kinsall or his young Beagle Sully? A trip to New Mexico for a tracking dog test leaves Dale with as many questions as answers…especially when Sully, true to form, tracks his way to more than the final glove.
The Scoria (Originally published in Under the Cover of Darkness): Only a teen herself, Galetia is sworn to protect a desperately hidden group of youngsters fighting for survival in a world unfriendly to their differences.
Emerging Legacy: A Story of the Wolverine's Daughter (Originally published in Young Warriors):
The slavers who capture Kelyn's youthful hunting pack also threaten her village--which depends on the meat and trade pelts the pack brings in from the harsh land of Ketura. But except for Kelyn, the pack is drugged…and Kelyn's nickname is Kelyn the Clumsy...
Hair of the Dog: An A Feral Darkness Story (originally published in Sirius: the Dog Star): One woman, one dog, one god...finding the line between justice and revenge. [included in THE HEART OF DOG]Call from the Wild: (originally published in ReVisions; alternate history): In Neil's world, there are miniature seeing-eye horses, service pigs, stock-guarding llamas, and bred-up Siamese guard cats—because in Neil's world, dogs were never domesticated, and never will be. But it seems no one's asked the dogs what they think... [included in THE HEART OF DOG]Feef's House: Feef is a smelly, insecure little creature who calls the Toklaat Space Station home. Shadia is a tough, independent itinerant worker who calls no place home—until the day Feef needs help…and offers her something priceless in return. [included in THE HEART OF DOG]Just Hanah: Young Hanah and her brace dog Sharlie are part of the team that keep her community safe—but Sharlie’s inability to complete the bond between them jeopardizes both their home and their lives . Or so Hanah thinks… [included in THE HEART OF DOG]
A Bitch in Time (originally published in Did You say Chicks?!): With her handler, Shiba patrols her territory for illicit magic. But Shiba has just lost her lifelong partner, and his replacement doesn't trust he--and he doesn't want to, for he's just lost his own partner. With nasty illicit magic sneaking across the border, what's a bitch to do? Of course, the real question is, will she do it in time... [included in THE HEART OF DOG]
The Right Bitch (Originally published in The Chick is in the Mail): Shiba isn't your average bitch in chain mail...she's a line hound with a very special tracking skill. With her handler, she patrols her territory for illicit magic. But Shiba isn't alone on the border line; she now shares the territory with a hound named Sabre, who would rather leave her in his dust. Two hounds, two handlers, and a new kind of magic rising...someone's got to figure it all out. Who else but the right bitch? [included in THE HEART OF DOG]
Bitch Bewitched (Originally published in Misspelled): As a linehound, Shiba protects the borderlands from spellrunners--but she never thought she'd be protecting her puppies from their magic! [included in THE HEART OF DOG]Fountane Of (originally published in HelixSF): Short and edgy, the classic SF "What if..?" An everyman "Joe the Plumber" risks everything in an attempt to prove the establishment wrong and achieve his dreams his own way... In the tradition of Fredric Brown.