Of course, dates between the Beast Lord and Kate Daniels don’t always go as planned. Undead run amok, heads are chopped off, lawyers are deployed with extreme prejudice, and drunk vikings call people out.Novella is after Magic Slays, same time as Andrea in Gunmetal Magic, both intersect.Note: This novella can be found at the end of the Kindle edition of Gunmetal Magic.

    In the aftermath of a tragic loss, they struggle to reconnect as the big day draws near and their work keeps pulling them apart. When a new clue in a cold case surfaces, Nick asks Sam not to take any foolish chances before the wedding and to leave it alone for the time being. Sam agrees, but she can’t let it go entirely and winds up trapped in an explosive situation. Then an unwelcome visitor from her past threatens her future happiness. With trouble at every turn, will Sam survive long enough to walk down the aisle?

    No Pack responsibilities, no homicidal half-demons or power-hungry sorcerers to deal with – just the four of them, alone, at a chalet outside Ontario’s Algonquin Park.Then a strange werewolf shows up at their door…while the town is buzzing about a young man, back from college, found half-eaten in the woods. And there’s the missing little girl …With all the signs pointing to a rogue mutt with a taste for human flesh, Elena and Clay have no choice but to investigate. But are they the hunters – or the hunted?

    Get set to swoon: read Ash's heart-rending final letter to Meghan.It was available on the author's website as a pdf file.

    But their yuletide plans are shattered when a mysterious stranger shows up and reveals long-buried secrets that threaten to take a bite out of their holiday cheer – and lives.

    A police sketch based on eye-witness testimony reveals the killer has green skin, swollen red eyes, goblin ears, and a dislocated jaw-structure that defies the human form. Is it a mask? Is it make-up? Or is the explanation more sinister? Dallas faces off against multiple suspects—all of them students of medicine capable of precisely slicing the ears, noses, and eyes of the three victims. But who had the motive? More importantly, what kind of rogue science are these healers practicing?

    Darynda Jones revisits the sexy, suspenseful world of supernatural shenanigans she created in her Grave series with For I Have Sinned.  In this Charley Davidson story, Charley helps a woman find out how she died and gives her the closure she needs to pass through to the other side.

    "Not enough to be useful, you know. Just glimpses. My wife dead, things like that to keep me up late at night. I had this vision that I was going to be killed by forty men, all at once. But now that you're here, I see they're all you. Durzo Blint."Durzo Blint? Gaelan had never even heard the name.***Gaelan Starfire is a farmer, happy to be a husband and a father; a careful, quiet, simple man. He's also an immortal, peerless in the arts of war. Over the centuries, he's worn many faces to hide his gift, but he is a man ill-fit for obscurity, and all too often he's become a hero, his very names passing into legend: Acaelus Thorne, Yric the Black, Hrothan Steelbender, Tal Drakkan, Rebus Nimble.But when Gaelan must take a job hunting down the world's finest assassins for the beautiful courtesan-and-crimelord Gwinvere Kirena, what he finds may destroy everything he's ever believed in.Word count: ~17,000

    Written in Derek's POV.

    A short story written by Derek Landy dedicated to the winner of the character competition, Charlie Smith, containing the winning entry of "Geoffrey Scrutinous".

    Also told from Derek’s point of view.Disenchanted (overlaps part of The Awakening) Simon and Tori continue their journey after Chloe and Derek are left at the truck stop. Told from Tori’s point of view.Please note: these are stories, not novels. Combined, they equal half the length of a Darkest Powers novel.

    What she isn't used to is having suburban housewives refusing to acknowledge the presence of ghosts in their homes. There are lots of reasons why someone might harbor a spirit, and none of them are good.At least Chess has Terrible on her side. But things are never as black and white as they seem, especially not when love is involved, and Chess finds herself making a decision she never thought she'd make.

    Puck. Summer Court prankster, King Oberon's right hand, bane of many a faery queen's existence—and secret friend to Prince Ash of the Winter Court. Until one girl's death came between them, and another girl stole both their hearts.Now Ash has granted one favor too many and someone's come to collect, forcing the prince to a place he cannot go without Puck's help—into the heart of the Summer Court. And Puck faces the ultimate choice—betray Ash and possibly win the girl they both love, or help his former friend turned bitter enemy pull off a deception that no true faery prankster could possibly resist.An ebook exclusive novella from Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series.

    

    She did not believe in vampires, until she turns into one. Should she follow her vampire cousin's lead and walk away from everything she knows, or join Shadow Falls, a camp for special teens?This short story from C.C. Hunter gives readers a look into Della's history.

    We cured cancer. We cured the common cold. We died.This is the story of how we rose.When will you rise?Countdown is a novella set in the world of Feed. Word count: ~19,500

    At seventeen, she's pretty much accepted that she's a freak by mortal standards… and that she'll never be prepared for that duty. According to her mother, that’s a good thing. But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return—the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death… because she's being hunted by the very creatures she'd once trained to kill. The daimons have found her.

    But when it's revealed that the robber is the brother of a dangerous criminal, Elizabeth finds herself the target of a vendetta. Ronan, the Bear Shifter, takes her to Shiftertown for safety, where Elizabeth learns that the mateless Ronan, alone in the world, takes care of Shifters who have also been left on their own. Having grown up in foster care, Elizabeth can only admire how protective Ronan is. But Ronan will only let Elizabeth leave the confines of Shiftertown if he becomes her 24/7 bodyguard. Elizabeth chafes at the restriction, but agrees. The trouble is, the sassy human Elizabeth is triggering Ronan's long-buried need to find himself a mate.

    When words fail, claws and fangs must do the talking.

    As a lupi warrior who’s lived most of his life at Clanhome, Benedict is more than a little nervous. He isn’t used to fitting in with humans, let alone a family who celebrates the Wiccan holiday of Yule. Benedict even asked his brother for advice about clothes, hoping to create the right impression. So it's a shame that things go wrong from the moment he steps out of the car . . .Originally found in anthology Tied with a Biow

    . . When a wave of violence that hits too close to home forces shapeshifter and underworld nurse Vladlena Paskelkov to go undercover, her first stop is a haven of vice—with a dangerously sexy vamp in charge . . . Legendary, jaded, Nathan Sabine is the manager of Thirst, a wildly popular vampire club—and secret underground blood arena. But Nathan, a rare daywalker, possesses other, even more explosive secrets, as does his beautiful new medic, Vladlena. The one thing they can’t conceal is the lust that simmers between them . . . Now, in an underworld divided by revelry and violence, debauchery and vengeance, Nate and Lena will discover which risks are worth taking—and which desires demand surrender . . .

    It occurs between books #2 (Red Fox) and #3 (Dead Sky Morning) and is the perfect primer for anyone interested in the EIT series.

    Valente takes on the folklore of artificial intelligence in this brand new, original novella of technology, identity, and an uncertain mechanized future.Neva is dreaming. But she is not alone. A mysterious machine entity called Elefsis haunts her and the members of her family, back through the generations to her great-great-grandmother—a gifted computer programmer who changed the world. Together Neva and Elefsis navigate their history and their future, an uneasy, unwilling symbiote.But what they discover in their dreamworld might change them forever . . .

    It contains enough ivory to make Ethiopia a wealthy nation. But the cave contains more than physical riches-it also holds the means to control the world. Fifteen scientists enter the cave. Only one leaves.Jack Sigler, Callsign: King (field leader of the covert, black ops Chess Team) receives a cryptic text from Sara Fogg, his girlfriend and CDC "disease detective". A catastrophic disease has been reported in Ethiopia's Great Rift Valley, but Fogg suspects something more is going on. Her suspicion is confirmed when King's arrival in Africa is met by a high speed assassination attempt.As King fights against two competing, high-tech mercenary forces, each struggling for control of the deadly discovery, Fogg disappears. Working with the surviving member of the science team that made the discovery, King begins a search for Fogg and the source of the potential plague that takes him back to the Great Rift Valley, back to the Elephant Graveyard, and brings him face-to-face with modern man's origins.

    It is only possible to witness it once from the same perspective, because the process eats up the record. The inventor and her husband draw attention to the atrocities of Unit 731 during WWII. They hope that eyewitnesses will shut down denialists. But Chinese versus Japanese, and U.S. politics start their own games.

    Instead Arlen finds himself alone on a frozen mountainside, carrying a dangerous cargo to Count Brayan’s gold mine, one of the furthest points in the duchy. And One Arm, giant rock demon, hunts him still. Novella.

    When Richelle first sat down to write Bloodlines each chapter was narrated by a different Character.This is Adrian's lost story.

    She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. In Glitches, a short prequel story to Cinder, we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch…

    and she finds a spelled Morovian (vampire)... and they work together to make sure the spellcasters are stopped.

    Job-hopping every few weeks, she refused to let anyone get close to her as she slowly made her way east. As winter plants itself firmly across the Rockies, she decides to take a chance on a job at a logging company with a family different from any she's ever known before. Watching the family interact creates more questions than answers for Amber. Feeling like she's entered the happily-ever-after written at the end of fairytales, she watches for cracks in the facade. Surely as the days pass, the play-acting will cease and the real family will emerge. Or could she be wrong? Could they truly be genuine? Could Faye understand the trauma from her past or Peter think of her as more than just the winter office help? Could this family really hold the key to what she's seeking?

    It is told from the point of view of Mab Monroe and shows how the Fire elemental grew up, including her first meeting with Eira Snow, Gin’s mother.

    Locals and newcomers alike find themselves eager for that special countdown…and that midnight kiss.Drew Foley and Sunny Archer are each visiting Virgin River for the holidays. Sunny was dumped at the altar the previous New Year’s Eve and is in no mood to celebrate. But her uncle and his fiancée drag her to Jack’s Bar. Drew, getting over his own heartbreak, sees Sunny across the crowded room and he’s instantly smitten.As the townspeople gather, two lonely revelers decide the best balm for their broken hearts might just be each other.Originally published in 2010

    When daughter Allie finds herself knee-deep in demons, Demon Hunter Kate Connor must come to the rescue in this first short story featuring not only Kate, but fourteen year old Allie, too!

    Along with the letters, there is also a special note from Julia Spencer-Fleming and a sneak peak of ONE WAS A SOLDIER. Julia Spencer-Fleming burst onto the mystery scene with her debut, In the Bleak Midwinter, garnering almost every award imaginable. Since then, her Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series has taken suspense and heart-tugging to the next level, making for truly satisfying reading. The newest installment, ONE WAS A SOLDIER, is available April 2011.

    Forays into Parthonia's Underworld, treachery, encounters with gangsters and an old flame are just some of the challenges facing Major Bhaajan in pursuit of the missing aristocrat. "The City of Cries" novella will be included in the 2011 WindyCon collection of Catherine Asaro's writings called AURORA IN FOUR VOICES (see http://www.windycon.org/windy38) Begins Earth year ~2205 and tells story of when Major Bhaaj was hired by the Majdas to find Prince Dayj.

    Jackie and her accountant friends call in sick and escape wintry Chicago to celebrate in the sunshine, but an unexpected twist breaks up the party. On her own for a weekend in America’s least inhibited city, Jackie meets a man who makes her heart do a tropical dance. Mitchell is handsome, charming, and knows just where to touch her. If he looks a little familiar, the thought is quickly lost on the hot sands. Mitchell finds Jackie equally irresistible as he romances her on Blue Bottle Beach, but he has no idea she should be in her cubicle in Chicago balancing the books for one of his many companies. What will happen when Mitchell and Jackie eventually look past their attraction to discover he’s her boss? Will a hot weekend in Key West still sizzle in wintry Chicago at the corporate Christmas party?

    It’s told from the points of view of Jo-Jo Dev­er­aux and her sis­ter, Sophia Dev­er­aux. When a car­jacker fol­lows an injured Gin back to Jo-Jo’s beauty salon, Jo-Jo and Sophia join forced to elim­i­nate the threat.

    Short story prequel to Backwards to Oregon.When her mother dies, twelve-year-old Lucinda Hamilton decides to start a new life—as a boy.

    Preventing your possible murder? Even better.Alice Clark, a Wyr and schoolteacher, has had two friends murdered in as many days, and she's just found the body of a third. She arrives at the scene only minutes before Gideon Riehl, a wolf Wyr and current detective in the Wyr Division of Violent Crime—and, as Alice oh-so-inconveniently recognizes at first sight, her mate.But the sudden connection Riehl and Alice feel is complicated when the murders are linked to a serial killer who last struck seven years ago, killing seven people in seven days. They have just one night before the killer strikes again. And every sign points to Alice as the next victim. Product WarningsThis book contains a hot police detective, a violent murderer on the hunt, and a heroine that can blend in anywhere...

    He loves his wife, loses more than he wins, and lives his days in the gray zone between right and wrong. After a junkie walks into his pawnshop with a mummified head, Samson is thrown into a downward spiral through the streets of Philadelphia, getting more blood on his hands wherever he goes. In 24 hours, Samson learns how deep betrayal can run, how strong the bonds of love are, and that winning can sometimes require sacrificing everything—including himself.

    To find eternal rest, the ghost rock star must make peace with his brother Mickey, before his guilt over Logan’s death drives him to suicide.Krista sees ghosts everywhere, but never the one she needs most. A chance boardwalk encounter with Logan turns her Senior Week party into a rescue mission. Can her own grief give her the strength to save Mickey’s life?Loaded with bonus material, the “Bridge” ebook is the perfect introduction to the young-adult Shade trilogy—a tale of ghosts, music, and everlasting love.---"Bridge" was originally published in the YA paranormal anthology Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions, edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong. "Bridge" the ebook will include Lots o" Logan in one place: •The story "Bridge"•Lyrics to "Forever," the song he wrote and sang for Aura on the tear-jerkingest page of Shade (listed on GR as Shade #1.5)•Logan's deleted interludes from Shift (listed on GR as Shade 2.1), including an EXCLUSIVE "Outro" that shows what Logan thought of Zachary when they met.•BRAND NEW BONUS MATERIAL: 1. Heart-to-heart interview with Logan and his brother Mickey, the other major character in "Bridge." The brooding, tortured Mickey has never before spoken in public, and this interview will be EXCLUSIVELY available in this ebook.2. Actual scanned images of Logan's songwriting journal as he was writing "Forever.""Bridge" is the first in what has been dubbed the "SHADEboys Trifecta of Awesome," continuing with "Shattered" (Zachary's novella, listed on GR as Shade #3.5) in May 2013 and Martin's as-yet-untitled short story in August 2013 (listed on GR but not numbered yet).

     When author Meghan Reese’s agent suggests she add more sizzling heat to her novels, Meghan decides hands-on research is the best way to learn. Since she doesn’t know the first thing about being satisfied by a man, she practices what she preaches with self-pleasuring. What she hasn’t anticipated is Christopher Montgomery—the sinfully sexy alpha male next door. When Meghan returns to Wisconsin for a week of self-exploration, Christopher offers to show her anything she wants to learn. Eager to experience every one of her sexual fantasies, Meghan agrees to become Christopher's pupil. Only she’s in for far more than she bargained for when Christopher goes above and beyond the call of duty. And now that he’s made the first move, the gorgeous hunk plans to take her on the most sensual ride of her life. From the Author This novella was included in the September 2011 trade paperback release of In Her Neighbor's Bed.

    A winter storm traps Savanna at the ski lodge with the man whose heart she broke four years ago. Stunned to discover Luke never left, but worked his way up from lift operator to resort manager, Savanna sees her snowbound predicament as an opportunity, a gift. But Luke has worked hard to get past his hurt and intends to steer clear of the woman with the breathtaking smile who chose ambition over love.Can Savanna convince Luke that she’s changed? And when her dream job beckons, forcing her to choose between two priceless gifts, will she sacrifice her dream, or a second chance at love?

    He gets what he wants, social repudiation be damned. But society can keep from him the one thing he truly desires, the untouchable Lady Julienne La Coeur. Until she sneaks into his club dressed as a man and searching for her irresponsible brother. Suddenly she's in Lucien's grasp, his to take, and his mind is filled with the most wickedly sinful thoughts. A gentleman would walk away from the temptation she presents. But then, Lucien has never claimed to be a gentleman...

    Her second book, 'THE EYES OF WAR', is selling well. Yet after a decade looking into hollow eyes, capturing men at their worst, her personal focus is a micron out. She watches a woman with two young girls. One, the younger, trips, falls, screws up her tiny face, crys silently. Then she sees him. 'Broken' glides to her eye in one instinctive movement. Click, click. Nailed him. Click. Why is he smiling so inanely? Why smile like that, selling ice-cream to tourists from a cafe with a few tables? And what's with all the glancing at the sky?' She looks up herself, half expecting to see an American drone stooging around. Nothing but fat dreamliners heading for Heathrow. She's drawn to the ice-cream seller, has to find out...

    

    A dystopian mystery.

    But in the dark, he realizes that the dead are never very far away. Not when there are secrets yet to be uncovered. Because Paul hasn't lost everything. Not yet. And as he struggles to separate dreams from reality, he is forced to answer the ultimate question: How far would you go to get back those you've lost?

    She’s rock hard, but capable of extraordinary tenderness. She’s a brilliant cop, but she’s capable of making life-altering mistakes. She’s uncannily talented, and she’s heartbreakingly human.In this novella, set before the action in Dewey’s first novel, Protector, a man named Devinder Bashir reaches across the threshold of the hereafter to ask for Jane’s help. When Jane investigates his case, she learns that the man died ignominiously, but not suspiciously. But when Bashir continues to haunt her dreams, she realizes that the story of the man’s death is far from finished.

    Abel finds his sister's journal an intimate insight to Arien's seduction of his sister Allie. In her own words, Allie describes what it was like to meet a vampire and her unknown addiction of vampire venom. Her poetry is both dark and gut wrenching; yet it is raw and beautiful. This is a novelette, a short story in diary format. Note to Reader: This story may include spoilers to "The Legacy of Kilkenny."

    His fans and rivals know whom he can mimic—every speaker in the world, it seems—but they still want to know the man behind the voices. Even when he stops performing and disappears from view, even after his death, their interest in him doesn’t fade. When an autobiographical but enigmatic manuscript is discovered, do lay comedy fans and Comedic Studies scholars have access and insight to the real Douglass Myles? Or has this tale of voices and silences, laughter and sadness, solitude and crowds, race and identity only just begun?

    Major Tyson wants to see his family this holiday season but things keep getting in his way.

     As forgotten colonists descend into a world of villages and clanboats to survive the planet's terrain, a young Islandian stumbles across a small orb, a power far greater than he could have imagined, and the knowledge it holds is the last hope to save his people—and humanity across the galaxy.

    But news that Sergeant First Class Jim Micah is missing in action leads her on a dangerous trek overseas to rescue the man who secretly captured her heart. Although her DOD connections quickly cut through the red tape, she also enlists the help of her ex-boyfriend and Micah’s best friend, Lieutenant John Montgomery. As they hatch a covert plan to find and rescue Micah, Lacey’s feelings are once again torn between the two men. Filled with romance and adventure, this twisty tale will hold you captive to the very last page.

    Follow their journey through temptation, deception & forbidden love.

    Anna Lawrence, nineteen and inspired by Lord Byron’s poems, is determined to seek a life of travel and adventure. Both decide to flee society. They meet when Giles rescues Anna from her first escapade. Anna is resolute in demonstrating her independence but, somehow, she always ends up in trouble. His own pleasures forgotten, Giles rescues her from one potential disaster after another. He knows he cannot live without her, but he meets an unexpected obstacle, for Anna has a secret that means she can never be more than a friend to the man she has come to love with all her heart... Is there any way for their love to prevail? Beth Elliott was born in Lancashire, but fell in love with books during many childhood visits to her Welsh grandparents, whose bookshelves were always well stocked. Her greatest discovery was the novels of Jane Austen, which have fascinated her ever since. Having first taught languages in various countries across the globe, Beth eventually decided to write her own novels. Her previous books The Wild Card, In All Honour and April and May were also published by Robert Hale and you can learn more about her on her website: www.bethelliott.webs.com.

    Except then he gets caught.It’s not his plan that backfires, oh no. There’s a rat somewhere and Val is pretty damn sure who it is – Ernesto, his prison lover who has joined him on the outside as his partner in bank robbery.Val stalks the city night on the hunt for Ernesto to exact revenge for breaking the ultimate criminal code: you don’t rat out a partner.Along the way Val wrestles with his feelings for another man. Was it a prison infatuation born out of necessity? Or is it something more? And which makes the betrayal sting worse?Populated by small time losers and petty crooks, Dig Two Graves is tough and stripped down like a fight without gloves. The humor is strictly from the gallows and the pace is relentless, plowing through one furious night like burning hate coursing through veins.PRAISE"Dig Two Graves" is the product of a diseased mind, and I mean that in the very best way. If you like stories about revenge and criminals fucking up their own shit, this one's for you." -- Scott Phillips, author of The Ice Harvest and The Adjustment"DIG TWO GRAVES is everything you want a blackly comic revenge tale to be: fierce, fast, funny, and deliciously foregone. You'll know on page one that this story isn't going to go well for anybody involved, but read that page and see if you can look away. I couldn't. It's all in the voice, and Eric Beetner's got a live one. I look forward to hearing more of it." -- Sean Doolittle, author of The Cleanup and Safer

    For decades, Ganny has had a very successful business, using her way station to sling cargo and passenger ships all over the asteroid belt and to most of the planets as well. But now, technological advances and corporate greed are threatening her livelihood and the continued well-being of her granddaughter. What’s an old lady to do? Digging back into her past, Ganny applies an ancient technique to modern materials. She begins to create a spaceship that will enable her and Starling to survive—and even to prosper. How? By knitting it. All is going well. But once the corporate interests that were plotting to seize her way station realize what she’s up to, they set out to stop her by any means fair or foul. Mostly foul. Her crew is suborned, murder attempts are launched, financial plots are set underway. What’s an old lady to do? Apply a long lifetime’s sagacity and resourcefulness, that’s what. Guided always by her knowledge that revenge is a dish best served old. Written by the Hugo and Nebula award winning author of "The Trouble With Tribbles," The War Against the Chtorr series, "The Man Who Folded Himself," and "The Martian Child."

    But Richie - fresh out of the YOI and about to be a dad - has just lost the gun to a bunch of young thugs. And Goose isn't the kind of bloke who gives second chances ...GUN - previously published by Crime Express, now an e-dition with a brand new introduction by Martyn Waites.Praise for GUN:"GUN is arguably the purest example of what makes Ray Banks the most singular voice in crime fiction today." - Spinetingler"GUN is quick and dirty crime fiction. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed." - The Electric Mayhem"GUN is a buy in the morning and devour by the afternoon mini-masterpiece." - Tony Black, author of TRUTH LIES BLEEDING Praise for Ray Banks:"Banks is one of the freshest voices in hard-boiled crime fiction today." - Library Journal"Ray Banks writes with harshness, humour and elegance, and his punchy dialogue teems with vigorous authenticity." - The Times"Banks has an ear for the vernacular as sharp as, but a shade or two bluer than, that of George V. Higgins. Let the squeamish stick with Tony Soprano; this is the real tough stuff." - Kirkus"Quick, sharp and emotionally raw, reading Banks is like a dinner of blowfish with a sociopathic chef serving up a slice of death on a plate. One bad cut and it could all go wrong, but when it's served with skill, it's an adrenaline rush." _ Crimespree Magazine"Lots of neo-noir's young tyros can punch -- and Banks can punch as hard as the best of them -- but he also has the heart and soul to back it up." - January Magazine"For those bored with the traditional approach of crime and mystery series – who know that there is more to be found in the big, bad world of crime fiction – Banks is the man. His books are smart, unpredictable and, above all, dangerous." - Crime Scene Scotland"For my money one of the top crime writers currently operating in Britain." - Martyn Waites

    I see now that which before could not be seen. The gray matter of us allThe soul The light The sparkle of the infinite night. Seeking only to be heardcause we are all dead or dying. And there in lies the truth of that which I am buying.I'm gonna live forever in the dark of night. Alive but dead Dead but alive Does it even matter? I'm lost now in a day dream of my own creation. Living And DeadAm I the soulless light?A young love destroyed, an entire village murdered. The year, 1363-the plagued ravaged the land in every corner of Great Britain accept one lonely isle called The Isle of Ely. The bishop, sure the village had consorted with the devil sent his Templar Knights to investigate. Their hearts thirsted for blood. They killed every living person in the village. Julia's soul, so angered by the actions of the knights, is given a power in death she did not posses in life. She must decide if revenge is worth the price she will pay.

    Nothing has ever come between them-until she finds out Milo is her chief rival for a new account. Milo's not sure when it happened but his secret crush has morphed into an obsession. He wants Mya in his bed, screaming his name, and he knows just how to make it happen. When he proposes a friendly wager on the account, he knows the ultra-competitive Mya won't be able to resist. She's more than ready to lay it all on the line-until she finds out how high the stakes are. The two of them. Skin to skin. Suddenly, all bets are off. Asking for Andre Andre Lavin lives life in the fast lane and the pampered Italian playboy isn't used to being denied. Anything. Which makes his attraction to the shy, hauntingly beautiful Cassandra Michaels even more frustrating. She's unimpressed by his flashy lifestyle and his every attempt to get closer seems to drive her further away. Until he overhears her whispered wish for sex lessons. In Casey's experience, rich, handsome men don't fall for girls like her, but there's nothing to stop her from enjoying a fling. All she needs is one night to find out what she's been missing and then she can go back to her boring, predictable life. One night to touch and be touched, and she can leave with her heart intact. Or can she? Because although Andre is more than ready to teach her anything she asks, he isn't willing to let her go.

    When Carl is given the spark of intelligence by his creator, he becomes a creator himself. No longer just an automaton from a pirate ride, Captain Carl creates the love of his life and searches for her perfect body. He thinks he's found it in a big placenta. But programming is everything. When the placenta's desire to reproduce kicks-in, the whole park is endangered as the organ grows to monster size, spreading placenta babies across the planet and eating all the rides (and the people riding them!). Captain Carl must band together with a cat, a creator, and the Pope of The Church of Transubstantial Birth Fear to stop his love from killing everyone and destroying the park. Yarrrrr!

    It’s told from Detec­tive Bria Coolidge’s point of view and shows her search for her long-lost sis­ter Genevieve Snow. What Bria doesn’t know is what she’s going to do about the fact that Genevieve also hap­pens to be the assas­sin the Spi­der.

    Three bullies challenge her to seek the cave place out, and though the last man who went there never returned, she must accept this task or risk losing her music forever. Returning to her village with a small bone as proof, Elzibeth learns that the magic of dragons is more than skin deep...

    In fact, she’s not really fond of anything that doesn’t include making her public relations firm even better than it currently is. She’s been called many things before, “cold” being the one most frequently used. Not that she cares. As long as her business is prospering, and she’s raking in profits, Melanie is as “happy” as can be. An encounter with a new potential client begins to change that. Sebastian Cameron Mackintosh doesn’t need a publicist. He’s a businessman, not a celebrity, though the paparazzi seem intent on ignoring that fact. Still, when the person who thinks he’s in dire need of one is his relentless little sister, he has no choice but to show up to the appointment. Expecting a short and boring meeting, Cameron is instead intrigued by the cool, stoic Melanie Samuels, owner of the MS Agency. Within days, intrigue turns to more, and before long, Cameron is completely smitten with her. All he has to do is convince Melanie Samuels to take a chance and trust him. With all the baggage that Melanie carries around daily, it will be a Christmas Miracle if she does...

    This short story takes place when Gin is a teenager and is told from the point of view of Finnegan Lane, Gin’s foster brother.

    They proceed to tear themselves out of his head, steal his car keys, and take off for parts unknown... So he does what any of us would probably do in that situation... he goes back to bed, hoping it'll all resolve itself. Unfortunately, in the middle of the night, a pack of WOLVES moves in. The worst thing is, they're party wolves... BUT they gave him a security deposit, so he decides he's going out to get his eyeballs back. He joins forces on his epic quest with a woman named Zoe, who has a mysterious secret almost as crazy as Norman's Party Wolves. Besides, she needs him too... She's on the run from her psychopathic ex-boyfriend, who happens to be a dangerous sociopath, a classic car enthusiast and, worst of all, a fully grown walrus. The road trip/chase novel is flipped on its head with everyone chasing everyone... explosions, battles and madness are the drivers in this particular race, along with a few stops in such places as the Motel Sick and a cult town in North Dakota featuring some dangerous hooded guys who'll pretty much marry anything to anything. With violence and insanity nipping at his heels and a race against the clock to get his body parts back, this could turn out very badly for Norman Spooter.

    When she can bear the abuse no longer and gives in to a thunderous rage, she suddenly finds herself in an unfamiliar, yet beautiful, storm world. This limbo between dimensions appears to be her private sanctuary, but it may just be her purgatory. No one escapes fate without sacrifice, but is the price more than Carly is willing to pay?

    But even while he carves out a life and reputation for himself dispatching enemies of the syndicate, the hitter is planning his revenge against those who helped to make him what he is. From the cruel mob family to his own murderous old man, who sends threats and taunts from the safety of his jail cell. As the time approaches when his father will be free again, a Christmas nightmare of bloody retribution begins to unfold.Employing the unique, darkly humorous, and powerful noir voice that is his trademark, Piccirilli once again demonstrates why he's become a must-read author for admirers of both crime and horror fiction.

    When he meets Denise, a pretty young blonde with a bag full of tricks, his sad routine breaks, and the more they get to know each other, the more Blake can't figure out if he's on a road to salvation, or a road back to hell. "Trent Zelazny is off and running. I have someone new to admire." -Joe R. Lansdale "Trent Zelazny has already begun to carve out his own genre niche. He's got the right stuff to make fiction both engrossing and literate." -Tom Piccirilli "A gift for storytelling is in Trent Zelazny's genes." -Charles Ardai "Trent Zelazny will surprise you, entertain you, and take you places you've never been before." - Warren Lapine "Obtain Trent Zelazny's Fractal Despondency. It's your only hope of escape. Break out! Read the book!" -John Shirley, author of Black Glass "Passion. Power! Fear! Zelazny is a force of wonder . . . and darkness!" -Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.

    Cross-Genre. Fiction. Drama. "It would take a miracle to perform this pageant. For a start, you would have to reanimate Charlotte Bronte, Adolf Loos, and Ronald Reagan, and you would need an ungodly amount of wax. Most of the action is obscene, and therefore takes place offstage. The actors enter and report on scenes of spectacular violence that go on all the time every day. The audience is part of the spectacle too. We are all transformed into images somewhere in this script. At one point, all of Hollywood appears onstage on the form of dead horses, perhaps because Hollywood film continues to rely on narrative conventions that it exhausted long ago. The entire world also appears, played by a boy who, in a series of rapid costume changes, puts on increasingly pretty dresses"--Aaron Kunin.

    In a room that smells of death and sickness. Your food is running low, along with your resolve. You know you must leave here soon if you wish to live through the night.Outside, the Others wait. Their numbers are legion. Their shrieks echo up and down the corridor. Occasionally they pound at the door, trying to get inside so they can tear you limb from limb.But mostly they wait. So patiently. As if sharing one mind. A single dark purpose.They can be killed. You've seen it for yourself.But this isn't like the movies. Nothing you've ever seen in any old horror film could have prepared you for what is happening here.You love them. Once upon a time, they loved you.Now they want to watch you die.

    Should he not feed from human blood for the period between the new moons and find true love...he'll be restored to his mortal self. But with only a fortnight left, has he found true love in Annie?

    His homecoming is less joyous than he imagined when he finds the town under a strange curse. Can he solve the mystery of this curse before the town succumbs to thirst, the desert's most ruthless killer.Jaludin's Road is a fast-paced novella set in the same world as M. Todd Gallowglas's TEARS OF RAGE sequence.Other books by M. Todd Gallowglas:TEARS OF RAGE: First Chosen - The Amazon bestselling dark epic fantasy!TEARS OF RAGE: Once We Were Like Wolves - The Amazon bestselling dark epic fantasy!Halloween Jack and the Devil's Gate - The Amazon bestselling historical fantasy!The Dragon Bone FluteKnight of the Living Dead - with Stephen E. MooreKnight Terrors - with Stephen E. Moore

    Lansdale’s most indelible fictional creations: Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. Once again, the embattled but resilient duo find themselves enmeshed in a web of danger, duplicity, and escalating mayhem. The result is a tightly compressed novella that is at once harrowing, hilarious, and utterly impossible to put down.The story begins with a barroom brawl that is both brutal and oddly comic. The ensuing drama encompasses abduction, betrayal, robbery, and murder, ending with a lethal confrontation in an East Texas pasture. Along the way, readers are treated to moments of raucous, casually profane humor and to scenes of vivid, crisply described violence, all related in that unmistakable Lansdale voice. An essential addition to an already imposing body of work, Hyenas shows us both the author and his signature characters at their inimitable best. It doesn’t get better than this.Hyenas also includes the bonus Hap Collins short story, “The Boy Who Became Invisible”.

    Maybe you wouldn't even notice at first glance—all of the shiny, happy people with their smart phones and dumb ideas—but that's just the honey glaze on a week old ham that is starting to rot in the heat of a summer that never seems to end. Take a razor, cut a slice or two, and see what lies beneath the gloss of modern life... WARNING: For mature audiences. Explicit content.

    The hero and heroine from the award winning novel BLUE MOON, Jessie McQuade and Will Cadotte, return in a short adventure.Sent to a small Wisconsin town to investigate a sudden rash of insanity, Jessie and Will meet a mad scientist who has invented a new kind of werewolf--one that silver can't kill.

    Chapman"The Pastry Chef, the Nanotechnologist, the Aerobics Instructor, and the Plumber" by Eugene Mirabelli"Free Dog" by Jack Skillingstead"To Live and Die in Gibbontown" by Derek Künsken"A Hundred Hundred Daisies" by Nancy KressPoetry"Being One With Your Broom" by Ruth Berman"Extended Family" by Bruce Boston"The Music of Werewolves" by Bruce Boston"Galileo's Ink Spots Fade Into Twilight" by Geoffrey A. Landis"Vampire Politics" by Ruth BermanDepartments"Editorial: Send in the Right Reviewer" by Sheila Williams"Reflections: A Writer's Diary" by Robert Silverberg"On the Net: Steamed" by James Patrick Kelly"On Books: Inside/Outside" by Norman Spinrad"SF Conventional Calendar" by Erwin S. StraussAsimov's Science Fiction, October/November 2011, Vol. 35, Nos. 10-11 (Whole Nos. 429-30)Sheila Williams, editorCover art by Paul Youll

    Delta Force operative Kyle Garland divorced his wife to protect her. His top-secret missions expose him to constant danger, and his world is full of lies and deceit. But the threat to Aimee doesn’t come in the form of insurgents or bombs. Rather, his soul-deep love and the dreams he silently nurtures are her greatest hazard. When a career-ending injury brings him home for Christmas, to keep her safe he must bury his feelings and hide the monster he’s become.Fourteen months ago, Aimee had the perfect marriage… then Kyle blindsided her with a divorce. Now, he’s coming home, and she intends to get her answers. Yet the crippled man she confronts bears scars her years of nursing cannot heal. The secret he’s hiding is tearing him apart. No matter how she tries, he keeps her at a distance, despite the love that’s still evident in his kiss. What Aimee doesn’t know is her own damaged past terrifies Kyle more than any wartime horror.As she forces him to confront his demons, will the holiday shred the fragile bonds they share, or will Christmas complete all their broken parts?

    She even takes a summer job waitressing at The Shack - a greasy diner in the small beach town where she lives. Her feelings get complicated however when Adam's older brother, Camp, comes home from college and starts working there too.*This novella is approximately 27,000 words*Trust Me:After being hurt in a relationship herself, Rachel starts a website that allows girls from her town log on and 'review' guys they've dated. A gorgeous guy walks into the animal shelter where she works and she vows not to fall for him until she's looked him up on her website. Unfortunately for her, her website is offline today because she's gone with a cheap service provider, (hey the shelter doesn't pay very much ok).*This novella is approximately 13,200 words*

    Collector's edition limited to only 60 hand numbered copies.Imagine if Herodotus had lived on through the centuries, collecting supernatural tales along his travels; or if a collection of scattered medieval fragments could be brought together and made to yield their secrets. Imagine, too, a storyteller who writes for the dead, crafting tributes to past masters from the depths of his nostalgia. Imagine, finally, prose so pristine and economical that every tale is a universe, and you have, then, a true impression of George Berguño’s The Exorcist’s Travelogue, his second collection of short stories.The eight stories that are showcased in The Exorcist’s Travelogue blend history with the uncanny. From modern Scotland to sixth-century Norway; from Roman Constantinople to Soviet Russia; from medieval Iceland to an eerie contemporary London – the stories glow with compassion for their characters; a kindness that tells of the suffering of those who are spiritually homeless and dispossessed.An archaeologist stumbles upon an ancient riddle in the Outer Hebrides that can only be solved on an infinite chessboard. In the midst of a famine in Iceland a beached whale brings a message from another world. A young man searches for his long lost father in the secret galleries of the British Museum. A lonely old Lamia revises Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of love. On the day he dies, a maligned Russian author remembers a mysterious conversation with Joseph Stalin. These are some of the strange encounters to be found in this deeply autumnal book; a book that ends with a remarkable true story about an extraordinary incident one summer’s night in Aachen.ContentsThe Son’s CrimeThe Leviathan at RifskerA Chronicle of RepentanceThe Sad Eyes of the Lewis ChessmenThe Loneliness of the One-Night LamiaThe Farewell LetterFlaubert's Alexandrine

    Tired, weak, and nearly broken under the weight of his guilt, he wanders the streets waiting for death to catch up to him. But when he is beset by bandits, he gains a new perspective. Maybe he doesn't have to feel guilty about feeding, after all.Theron - Theron travels by ship to his long ago home of Athens, Greece. He soon discovers the Council of Thirteen has put a price on his head so large every Bachiyr in the city will try to collect it, which leads to a very tense reunion with an old lover.The Ugliest Thing, by Daniel Arenson - Just what is it about the image in the telescope that makes people lose their sanity? Is it worth the risk to see for yourself?Also included is a preview of 61 A.D., the thrilling sequel to David's 2010 horror bestseller, 33 A.D.

    Elena Martinez never wanted to fall for police detective Seth King. When they are teamed up on a charity hike in the Grand Canyon, however, their chemistry sizzles under the desert sun. But a vengeful drug lord is determined not to let them survive the canyon with their lives—and love—intact…

    Despite his better judgment, Hud is drawn to the woman across the street, a petite Dominatrix with a freeze your balls off name.Mary Beth Winters packed away her toys and put the BDSM lifestyle behind her years ago when she realized the men she dominated didn’t need her as much as she needed them. But when a troubled bad-boy, Elgin ‘Hud’ Huddleston, moves in across the street, she dusts off her toy box and risks her heart to help him heal.

    No one but him.Straight-laced principal Kira isn’t looking for love, especially not right after getting dumped. Then a chance encounter leads her to Jesse, and damned if she isn’t drawn to the bad-boy with a heart of gold. A night of reckless abandon leaves her confused. Was there something there, or did she imagine the connection between them?Jesse knows lying to Kira is a mistake, but she’s the first woman in a long time to see the man and not just the rock star. When his plan to come clean goes terribly wrong, Kira bolts, leaving Jesse in the dust.Now Eros has to nudge the star-crossed lovers together and prove to Zeus that love does exist, even among the gun shy.

    As the black curtains drop, Blake chances upon the one thing in the world that might keep him from complete and utter annihilation: a crack in melancholy time.