David Kranes is the author of eight novels and three volumes of short stories, including Abracadabra, Keno Runner: A Dark Romance. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and is professor emeritus of English at University of Utah. Kranes writes about magicians, gamblers, hit men, painters, casino workers. His characters are frequently displaced seekers with volatile emotions—but always human. He writes about the West. And his characters struggle and love in its surreal landscapes of Las Vegas casinos, Utah deserts, and Montana towns. He exposes the magic in the mundane, the surreal in the simple, and the bizarre in the banal. His work superbly balances the fantastical with the raw.

• The Daredevil's SonThe Stand-Up PhobicA Man Walks Into A BarEscape ArtistWhen The Magician CallsTarget PracticeThe Warren Beatty ProjectThe Weight-Loss Performance ArtistMy Life As A ThiefDevouring FireThe Resurrection of Ernie FingersThe Photojournalism ProjectThe Fish Magician