Yard God, The (Short Story)

The Yard God is a short story by James Van Pelt. It appears in Talebones (2001), Strangers and Beggars (2002), and Curious Fictions (May 3, 2019). In 2001, it was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and got honorable mentions in the Best of Soft SF Contest, Gardner Dozois’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction, and Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling’s The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror.

Word Count: 4,616

Author's Note
From Curious Fictions:

''The creatures in Demi's backyard love her, and she loves her mom. Life should be good with the love that surrounds her, but Demi has challenges too: Mom is sick, the neighborhood is rough, and what's a good daughter to do?''

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