Laura Solomon's stories inhabit the borders between the mundane and the magical. Whether looking for love, or trying to understand a sibling, these stories have a very human heart. Solomon's characters are often looking for answers, and in the process of dealing with their dramas and disappointments they come across those things that can only be glimpsed from the corner of the eye. Sea monsters and angels, head grafts and werewolves, roses blooming from the tip of a blind man's cane ... The fantastic exists, though the miracle can fade with a wrong decision, or an unkind choice. These stories do not provide easy answers: the fantastic does not compensate for foolishness, and there are not always easy explanations. You may be touched by the marvelous, Solomon seems to say, but what happens next is entirely up to you. --Viki Holmes, Author of miss moon's class (Chameleon, 2008), co-editor of Not A Muse (Haven 2009). "Early Responses to 'Shingle Bar Sea Monster'.