After a few too many years, I’m publishing a new collection of rare and unpublished short stories! While Volume One was all science fiction and fantasy stories, this book will be all literary stories with the occasional thriller. Many could even be called “romantic comedies.”

This cover is a photograph taken and edited by my sister, Sarah Marchand. It was snapped in a back alley in the small town of Columbia City, Indiana. The cape, which is part of a Christopher Reeve Superman costume I own, factors into my favorite story in the collection, “The Discarded Gift.” Appropriately, it’s a Christmas story.

The (current) promo copy for the book reads:

FOR THE HOPELESS ROMANTIC IN ALL OF US…

Nathan Marchand dipped into his story vault to take you to fantastical worlds in his first collection, and now he takes you to…your neighborhood.

These (mostly) down-to-earth literary stories feature lost souls in search of redemption and lovelorn romantics in search of, well, love. They look in a graveyard, Washington, D.C., a WWII airplane hangar, an arcade, and the small Midwestern town of Vienna. Their problems range from flat tires to a discarded Superman cape to a kidnapped daughter. At every turn in every story, loneliness and love wage battles for the seekers’ hearts and minds. These everyday heroes never come out unscathed, but their very human quests for connection, no matter how unattainable it seems, cannot be denied. Each story includes a short introduction by Marchand, which gives readers insight into his creative process.

So, get cozy in your favorite reading spot for 15 Tales of the Lost and Lonely, many of which are published for the first time in this little volume!

The tentative release for the book is December 16. Watch for more announcements!