Before I was a liar I was a historian, which is a kind of storyteller who doesn’t make any money and likes footnotes. When I took up professional lying (writing fiction), I thought I was done with the truth. But when I paused and turned back to look at my almost-decade of stories, I didn’t find pure fantasy. I found history, fractured and recast, but not false. I am still telling the truth – but slant, by starlight. From the award-winning and internationally bestselling author comes a new fantastical collection of stories old and new – including The Six Deaths of the Saint and the story that started Alix’s career, A Witch’s Guide to Escape. These are stories about the past as it wasn’t quite, but might have been, from ancient battlefields all the way up through roadside attractions off I-70. They’re about the people caught in the mean jaws of history: the women and workers, the soldiers and mothers, everyone shoved into the margins of the world. But these aren’t tragedies – these are the stories of the ones that got away. The ones who defected and dissented, who broke the rules, who ran and tossed a match behind them.
