The House in the Cerulean Sea

He expected nothing. But they gave him everything . . . Linus Baker leads a quiet life. At forty, he has a tiny house with a devious cat and his beloved records for company. At the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, he’s spent many dull years monitoring their orphanages. Then one day, Linus is summoned by Extremely Upper Management and given a highly classified assignment. He must travel to an orphanage where six dangerous children reside – including the Antichrist. At the orphanage, Linus must somehow determine if they could bring about the end of days. But their guardian, the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, will do anything to protect his wards. As Arthur and Linus grow ever closer, Linus must choose: his duty, or his dreams . . .

Under the Whispering Door

Welcome to Charon’s Crossing. The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through. When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own sparsely-attended funeral, Wallace is outraged. But he begins to suspect she’s right, and he is in fact dead. Then when Hugo, owner of a most peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace reluctantly accepts the truth. Yet even in death, he refuses to abandon his life – even though Wallace spent all of it working, correcting colleagues, and hectoring employees. He’d had no time for frivolities like fun and friends. But as Wallace drinks tea with Hugo and talks to his customers, he wonders if he was missing something. The feeling grows as he shares jokes with the resident ghost, manifests embarrassing footwear, and notices the stars. So when he’s given one week to pass through the door to the other side, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in just seven days.