A Chimaera in my Wardrobe — Tina Rath

A collection of short fantasy stories for the 21st century, told by a gentle little monster with a penchant for happy endings. He introduces policemen, mummies, bikers, vampires, background artistes, fantasy figures like a stage-struck devil and a successful author as well as an unusual take on some fairy stories you thought you knew… ideal for commuters each section is complete in itself, but the story of the chimaera itself will carry you through to the end.

When a small chimaera appears in her wardrobe â€" probably accidentally packed up at the end of long day on a film set, the narrator, who is spending a long hot summer in a rented attic, working as an SA while writing her masterpiece and waiting for her true love to return from his world trip â€" is only mildly surprised. She agrees to let him stay and he tells her stories in lieu of rent, stories featuring such characters as Sergeant Prendergast, an ordinary policeman with some rather unusual friends including the Queen of Elphame and a sexy young gorgon, a hob with a grievance, an avatar of the Moon goddess, a stage-struck devil, plus fairy tales which tell you what really happened to the Frog Prince, and the truth behind Rumplestiltskin. Each story is complete in itself, and ideal for those boring commutes, but readers will have to wait for the end of the book to find out if the narrator ever does finish writing her novel, if her true love does come home, and what ultimately happens to the chimaera.