Missing Possibilities, by Jaime Balboa

“Jaime Balboa’s Missing Possibilities cleverly brings together an eclectic mix of stories, blending them to create a unified and powerful collection. Whether presenting us with dreams, nightmares or unflinching reality, Balboa’s writing is both tender and honest. He doesn’t shy away from the darker side of life, writing about abuse, poverty, loss, and death, but these stories are peppered with just enough hope and light to guide you through. They are stories of salvation and self-discovery. Belief in God, love, magic, family, and nature. This collection will help you see the world anew. ”
— Keely O’Shaughnessy, author of Baby is a Thing Best Whispered and The Swell of Seafoam

A doctor befriends a terminal cancer patient. A magical elf king befriends a child in need. Gods of old visit a contemporary church service. A customer in a neighborhood café is transported to an alternate reality. A teenager develops a quirky, wonderful superpower. The 16 stories in /Missing Possibilities/ each grapple with key themes about what it means to be human. Alienation. Isolation. Transformation. Violence and hope, silence and voice, desperation and patience each is framed with compassion and shines light into the dark edges of society. In some cases, playfulness, humor, and light drive the stories while in others strong, gravitational forces bring us, with the characters themselves, to the breaking point.