At TrailWalker Books, fiction is where imagination meets craftsmanship. We champion stories that walk the line between the intimate and the universal—narratives rooted in place, character, and the quiet revelations of everyday life. From debut voices to seasoned storytellers, our fiction invites readers to slow down, listen closely, and rediscover the wonder in the ordinary.

In Family Matters, David Kranes crafts a lyrical and deeply human portrait of Hunt—a painter, father, and husband—caught between art and obligation. His search for meaning leads him from the deserts of Tucson to the museums of Europe, tracing the delicate balance between creation and connection. With prose as precise as brushstrokes, Kranes explores how the heart reconciles family, ambition, and the endless pursuit of beauty.

Shelby Raebeck is a writer living on Long Island's East End, a longtime teacher who has recently graduated from academia to write full-time. In addition to the works of fiction described on the Works page, Shelby is slated to re-release the novel, Wonderless, a Gen-Z tragi-comic odyssey, in the summer of '25. He is also at work on a memoir, Playbook for Lost Souls, a series of related essays, the first of which, "Freetown," is included in the Works page. A former basketball player (high school, college, and a lot of pick-up), Raebeck now loves to hike along the beaches of the East End with his dog, Rusty, and, whenever possible, in the American southwest.

In the shadow of 9/11, a restless generation comes of age in a country that no longer feels like home. Wonderless follows a band of disillusioned high school dropouts on a cross-country odyssey of escape and discovery—searching for meaning, belonging, and the courage to rise through the cracks. Shelby Raebeck’s prose captures the pulse of a nation in transition, where wonder and loss walk side by side.