The Dragon Within: and Other Short Stories

by Lindsay Schopfer

Professional security consultant Rick Tansom is called to a fantasy-themed pleasure planet to protect the secret for genetically-engineering dragons.

This is just one of the stories you’ll find in this collection of eighteen short stories from award-winning author Lindsay Schopfer. From intense, psychological sci-fi to ridiculous tabletop gaming satires, this collection comprises every short story written by Schopfer in the last ten years.

Within this captivating collection you’ll also find:
The first short story set in the award-winning, monster hunter series The Adventures of Keltin Moore
A young woman’s journey to compete in the first Lunar Olympics
A Con-goer’s struggle to survive in a Lovecraftian horror
A steampunk reimagining of an Edgar Allan Poe short story
A genie taken to court for giving out bad wishes
…and so much more!

Whether you love light-hearted fantasy or pulse-pounding science fiction, there’s a little bit of everything here for fans of elaborate settings, exhilarating action, and engaging characters.

Genres: Fantasy

227 pages, Paperback

Published May 25, 2022

About the author

Lindsay Schopfer is the award-winning author of The Adventures of Keltin Moore, a series of steampunk-flavored fantasy novels about a professional monster hunter. His second Keltin Moore novel, Into the North, won first place in the OZMA Award for Fantasy as part of the Chanticleer International Book Awards. He also wrote the sci-fi survivalist novel Lost Under Two Moons and the short story collection Magic, Mystery and Mirth.

Lindsay’s short fiction has also appeared in Merely This and Nothing More: Poe Goes Punk from Writerpunk Press and Unnatural Dragons from Clockwork Dragon. His nonfiction includes a series of articles for ParentMap Magazine on his experience of being a first-time father of twins.

Lindsay’s workshops and master classes on the craft of writing are top-rated in writing conferences across the Pacific Northwest. He is also a volunteer mentor for Educurious, a Gates Foundation-funded program designed to connect high school students with professional writers. Currently, he teaches creative writing for South Puget Sound Community College.

Reviews

[Hannah HB. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though he seemed quite a nice person when we met, I expected, in a collection of short stories by an author whose writing was unknown to me, to find at least one or two stories that did not interest me, be it for tone or content or, in the worst case, poor writing. This was not the case. Every one of these stories was not just well-written, but interesting. While they run quite a range in tone (from scavenger fish pilots to a djinns in court to eldrirch abominations disrupting a con), every story had stakes and made me care about them. I know one of them was set in the world of some of his longer works, but a lot of these spoke to interesting larger worlds, and while I doubt he'll do much expanding on most of them, what he has given us here is a delicious taste to whet our creative appetites. I very much look forward to reading more of his work.

[Christine Herbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful collection of fantasy, sci-fi, and whimsy. Each story showcases the author’s imagination, wit, and talent for creating characters that the reader can’t help but root for. These bite-sized tales are just right for coffee breaks, waiting rooms, or just reading in bed—a perfect little collection of escapism to have on hand for busy lives.

[Bailey Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book! I really enjoyed all these short stories.