Bridge of Sparks

Bridge of Sparks: Seven Stories Where Reality Fractures

From the haunted stretches of the Old West to the frozen edges of the Arctic, Bridge of Sparks brings together seven imaginative tales where nothing unfolds as expected. Possession, time distortion, and unseen forces reshape each journey, pulling characters into moments where the line between reality and the unknown disappears. In every story, chaos opens the door to possibility—through courage, wit, or sheer will, each character faces a turning point with something to gain… or everything to lose.

Blending humor, horror, and science fiction, A.D. Seagle crafts a collection that is both surprising and immersive. His storytelling is deeply influenced by the mystique of the Appalachian Mountains, where he was born and raised. That sense of place—its hidden histories and quiet mysteries—runs through each narrative. With a creative career spanning books, screenplays, music, and more, Seagle brings a seasoned voice to this collection, shaped further by his time exploring the outdoors, whether hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains or paddling the French Broad River. The result is a set of stories that feel grounded yet reach far beyond the familiar.

Discover a collection where imagination meets the unknown—start reading Bridge of Sparks today.

Excerpt from the book

Out of the darkness, the single-engine plane ascended, howling against a headwind before plowing deep lines into the snow-covered runway below. Its propeller spun to a lazy chop, and Alaska State Trooper Kuma Osuitok climbed out. He zipped his parka up to his chin and walked toward the scarcely lit terminal where Tuk and Trooper Jason Ward waited. A village elder, Tuk had watched Kuma grow from a curious cub to the bear-sized man who was now trudging toward him across the airfield. Well over six feet tall with a thick, muscular frame, Kuma was often able to end a village dispute by his arrival alone. His face was shaved yet rugged, with deep lines cut around his mouth and eyes, carved by the very winds and temperatures that for eons had shaped and reshaped the surrounding rock and ice.

Tuk cupped his hands around his leathery mouth and yelled, “Wind nearly blew you to Canada!”

“I should’ve let it!”

Tuk smiled. “That’s a fate worse than death!”

Jason removed his gloves and stuffed them into his coat pockets. “We got out just in time,” he said, with enough volume to overcome the loud gales funneling between the mountains and rushing along the valley floor. “They shut Fairbanks down about five minutes after we left.”

With the slender frame of an endurance runner, the academy had mistaken Jason for an unimpressive lightweight, but after breaking several long-standing records, his class dubbed him The Wyoming Wonder. When Kuma heard a kid from the lower forty-eight would be assigned to his outpost, he flew down a few months before Jason’s graduation and vetted the greenhorn. He knew the academy prepared the kid for an unforgiving and isolated terrain, notorious for persuading even the most resourceful intellects to turn their own cold hand, but what he didn’t know was who Jason was outside of that training. Isolation alongside an asshole could drive one farther from suicide and closer to homicide, and he was pleased to discover Jason wasn’t an asshole.

Kuma shook Jason’s hand. “Of course you made it. Tuk’s the luckiest bush pilot in the Arctic Circle.”

“Notice he can’t bring himself to say I’m a good pilot.”

“A good pilot would’ve waited for the storm to pass. Just tell me you didn’t teach him anything.”

“Only my bad habits.”

“Did you eat anything, Jason?”

“Maggie served him a piece of her famous perok,” Tuk said, tapping Jason’s stomach. “He won’t need to eat for another twelve hours.”

“Good. Let’s get moving,” Kuma said, motioning for Jason to follow. “Tell Maggie I said hi.”

Speaking in their native language, Tuk offered a goodbye and called Kuma by the nickname the village elders had given him when he was a child.

“I understood goodbye, but what did he call you?” Jason asked as they approached the plane and the growing engine noise.

Without answering, Kuma climbed into his aircraft, now undulating in the gusts as if anxious to escape the snowy tarmac. He helped Jason strap in and throttled through a nearly horizontal curtain of snow. They lifted into the dark sky, and as they pitched north, their headsets crackled with a female voice.