Alice is an overweight millennial who seeks a way to feel-rather than eat-her emotions; Goldie Locke, a recent Yale graduate, nannies for a dysfunctional family of bears; Mike is a lonely card shop employee in search of human connection; and Effie Elfman, a too-cute-for-this-world misfit, finds employment and acceptance at a cupcake factory. These are just a few of the characters in One Tough Cupcake, a collection of short fiction that features strong, quirky people confronting a variety of life's challenges. In this short fiction collection, fairy tales are recast in contemporary settings while the lives of real-world characters cross over into fantasy. Reality swerves suddenly into the world of magical realism and back. The stories range in voice from darkly humorous to absurdist, ironic, sentimental, and defeated. One Tough Cupcake will transport readers through many sweet and poignant realities with characters that will linger long after reading.