This mesmerizing collection features all of Ken’s award-winning and award-finalist stories, including: “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary” (Finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and Theodore Sturgeon Awards), “Mono No Aware” (Hugo Award winner), “The Waves” (Nebula Award finalist), “The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species” (Nebula and Sturgeon award finalists), “All the Flavors” (Nebula award finalist), “The Litigation Master and the Monkey King” (Nebula Award finalist), and the most awarded story in the genre’s history, “The Paper Menagerie” (The only story to win the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards).A must-have for every science fiction and fantasy fan, this beautiful book is an anthology to savor.

    A playwright conjures her perfect lover into existence. Three time travellers appear to a motorbike mechanic, drink a little tea, and ruin his life. Mankind discovers the secrets of travelling to the stars, and promptly forgets them again.Exurb1a has collected 18 of his best received short stories into a book. Some of them made it into magazines - others he wrote for friends - but always for fun and never on time. The Bridge to Lucy Dunne tries its hardest to convince you that in a universe this strange, an existential meltdown is a perfectly appropriate response to being alive. In any case, he hopes you enjoy reading it.

    When Agatha left for her Probi assignment Cat had one of her own. A serial killer stalked the South. Sometimes it takes a Monster to catch a Monster. Read this and other Tales from the Federal Witch Universe today!

    Stories of longing and belonging, they culminate with the heart-wrenching and unforgettable title story.

    Smith introduces twelve new Sherlockian stories in this collection, including “The Adventure of the XYZ Club,” “The Secret of Shoreswood Hall,” and “The Adventure of the Brown Box.” Set in the late nineteenth century before Holmes's disappearance at the Reichenbach Falls, these stories, written in the vein of the originals, recreate Arthur Conan Doyle’s world with deft fidelity, from manner of speech and character traits to plot unfoldings and the historical period. Whether in fogbound London or deep in the countryside, the world’s most beloved detective is brought vividly back to life in all his enigmatic, compelling glory, embarking on seemingly impenetrable mysteries with Dr. Watson by his side.For readers who can never get enough of Holmes, this satisfyingly hefty anthology builds on the old Conan Doyle to develop familiar characters in ways the originals could not. Both avid fans and a new generation of audiences are sure to be entertained with this continuation of the Sherlock Holmes legacy.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

    From neighbourhood yetis to military robots, this terrifying collection has it all and will leave you sleeping with the lights on! Get the No 1 bestselling collection today, but be warned, it might give you nightmares. Don't look under your bed! Collection includes 1. A is for Antichrist 2. B is for Bogeywoman 3. C is for Clown 4. D is for Detour (Empire of the Tooth) 5. E is for Exterminator 6. F is for Feral 7. G is for Genome 8. H is for Hell 9. I is for Ice 10. J is for Jaws 11. K is for Klutz 12. L is for Lamia 13. M is for Matty-Bob 14. N is for Nightmare 15. O is for Orifice 16. P is for Peeling 17. Q is for Quarantine 18. R is for Revenant 19. S is for Sand 20. T is for Troglodyte 21. U is for Urinary Tract 22. V is for Vulgar (Offensive!) 23. W is for Waste 24. X is for X-22 25. Y is for Yeti 26. Z - Zion "Iain Rob Wright scares the hell out of me." - J.A. Konrath, author of Afraid Keyword categories: horror anthology, horror collection, occult, supernatural, thriller, suspense, urban legends

    Become Enchanted, Haunted, and Hunted this Halloween.  12 NYT, USA Today, and International Best Selling Authors, bring you brand-new, paranormal shifter romances that are sure to make this a Shifters Hallows Eve you’ll never forget! Featuring stories by: Audra Hart, Bethany Shaw, Bryce Evans, Candace Blevins, Elle Boon, Julia Mills, KD Jones, Lori King, Melissa Bell, Melissa Snark, R.E. Butler, and Sydney LeaJoker’s Trick or Treat by Audra HartThe Wolf’s Ghost by Bethany ShawThe Haunted Mate by Bryce EvansHallowed Destiny by Candace BlevinsDark Lovers by Elle BoonTears for Her Dragon by Julia MillsOnce Upon A Hallows Eve by KD JonesHaunted By Love by Lori KingThe Valley of Shadows by Melissa BellHunter’s Mark by Melissa SnarkThe Tiger’s Bride by R.E. ButlerMate Hunt by Sydney Lea

    There is a concert pianist who defies death by uploading his soul into his piano. There is the person who draws his mother’s ghost out of the bullet hole in the wall near where she was executed. Another character has a horn growing out of the center of his forehead—punishment for an affair. But he is too weak to end it, too much in love to be moral. Another story recounts a panda breeder looking for tips. And then there’s a border patrol agent trying to figure out how to process undocumented visitors from another galaxy. Poignant by way of funny, and philosophical by way of grotesque, Hernandez’s stories are prayers for self-sovereignty.

    The last thing he ever expected was for her to be taken away from him and for her not to return to their small Montana town until twelve years later. Mia loved Drake with all of her young heart, but when all of her letters went unanswered, she assumed her parents were telling the truth when they said he'd moved on. Now, her mother's in the hospital and she's forced to return to Spring Creek, Montana and face him after all this time. Drake's been waiting for his mate to return home, to get answers for why she left without looking back, and to claim her as his. Now Mia's back where she belongs, in his bed and in his arms, but someone is still trying to keep them apart. Little do they know that Drake is her bear for life, and has no intention of ever letting her go again. Her Bear to Keep Tyson and Jordan were friends growing up, and although Jordan always had a crush on Ty, he didn't see her in that light until he finally came into his birthright. A late bloomer, it only took one look at Jordan after his first shift, to realize his mate had been right there next to him for years. Their love was young, strong, and true, but when Jordan became sick and could no longer be the woman she believed Ty deserved to be with, she pushed him away. Now Jordan will stop at nothing to find happiness for Tyson, even if her heart has to continuously break in the process. Frustrated with Jordan's antics, but realizing her heart is in the right place, Tyson plays along with Jordan's plan, even as he knows in his heart and soul, that she's the only woman for him. Ty will do anything to get his mate back where she belongs... by his side, forever. Her Bear to Hold Mika has wanted Trinity from afar since they were in school together. She was quiet, delicate, and sweet, which always brought out his protective side. An early shifter, Mika always felt like a large, bumbling, awkward bear in her presence, so he never worked up the courage to make his move. Trinity followed her dreams after high school and went to Los Angeles to pursue her a career in dance. Raised by a single mother with no idea who her father was, Trinity was shocked, confused, and terrified, when in her late twenties she found out she was a snow leopard shifter. Needing comfort, familiarity, and a place to roam safely, she decided to return home to Spring Creek. Mika knows interspecies mating is illegal, but when Trinity returns home, their pull is too great, and he decides she’s worth the risk. What starts out as chemistry, quickly turns to more, and Mika realizes that Trinity has always been his mate. Snow leopard or not, all Mika knows is that he wants to be with her for the rest of his life. The question is, can he convince Drake, his clan, and the town, that there shouldn’t be laws dictating who he can love, or will he and Trinity have to leave everything, and everyone they love, behind?

    Straddling the border between civilization and the wild, they all struggle to make sense of their loneliness and longings in the stark and often isolating enclaves they call home—golden fields and white-veiled woods, dilapidated farmhouses and makeshift trailers, icy rivers and still lakes that rouse the imagination, tether the heart, and inhabit the soul.In “Creek Dippers,” a teenage girl vows to escape the fate that has trapped her eccentric, rough-living mother. “Maggie in the Trees” explores the aftershocks of a man who surrenders to his passion for a wild, damaged woman—his longtime friend’s partner. In “God’s Country,” an elderly woman is unexpectedly reminded of a forbidden youthful passion and the chance she did not take. Returning to her childhood house when her mother falls ill, a daughter grapples with her own sense of belonging in “The Women Where I’m From.”In striking prose powerful in its clarity and purity, MacArthur effortlessly renders characters cleaved to the land that has defined them—men and women, young and old, whose lives are inextricably intertwined with each other and tied to the fierce and beautiful natural world that surrounds them.

    The eight stories in THE TOPLESS WIDOW OF HERKIMER STREET are smart, funny, and humane. In "Bioethics for Dunces," which takes its name from the title of a college course its main character Leonard teaches, Leonard suddenly finds that academic and abstract issues are all too real when his own daughter goes on life support. He and his wife disagree about what to do. A quote from this story speaks to the philosophical quandary that many of these stories explore: "The underlying problem was that Leonard's situation lacked a governing social convention." Many of Appel's stories feature characters grappling with moral, ethical, and philosophical situations that lack governing social conventions. His stories show how ethics something that sounds like an academic abstraction can be concrete, visceral, and immediate. With compassion, wit, humor, and intelligence, these stories explore the gray areas of our lives. Echoes of myth, fairy tale, and fable flavor them, underscoring the eternal nature of both the human condition and storytelling itself. In a starred review Kirkus Reviews described Jacob Appel's THE TOPLESS WIDOW OF HERKIMER STREET as a collection of "well- constructed stories that sharply but compassionately observe people trying to make sense of life's disruptions" and that "come to...thoughtful, often wrenching conclusions."

    From bewildering assemblies in school auditoriums to the murky waters of a Depression-era health resort, Beams’s landscapes are tinged with otherworldliness, and her characters’ desires stretch the limits of reality. Ing énues at a boarding school bind themselves to their headmaster’s vision of perfection ; a nineteenth-century landscape architect embarks on his first major project, but finds the terrain of class and power intractable ; a bride glimpses her husband’s past when she wears his World War II parachute as a gown ; and a teacher comes undone in front of her astonished fifth graders.As they capture the strangeness of being human, the stories in We Show What We Have Learned reveal Clare Beams’s rare and capacious imagination—and yet they are grounded in emotional complexity, illuminating the ways we attempt to transform ourselves, our surroundings, and each other.

    All three listed works are now released in Portents Betrayals Preorder Pack. Free with any preorder of Betrayals.Exclusive ebook collection of Cainsville stories for those who preordered, bought on the release week (Aug 9-15), or reserved Betrayals from the library before August 15 2016. Strictly the only way to get this mini-collection—the author's acknowledgement to readers who’ve jumped on board Cainsville.Contents include:- The Orange Cat: Gabriel story based on Poe’s The Black Cat, originally in Nevermore- Bad Publicity: a new Patrick story- Lady of the Lake: a new Liv & Ricky novella (set right after Deceptions)

    Where nature rubs against small towns, in mountains and woods and bedrooms, here is strangeness seen through a poet’s eye.They say there are always greener pastures. These stories consider the cost of that promise.

    For the Twelve Days of Christmas—a time of celebration, sharing, and giving—she offers these twelve plus one: a personal story of her own Christmas memories. These tales give the reader a portal into the spirit of the season, where time slows down and magic starts to happen. From trees with mysterious powers to a tinsel baby that talks, philosophical fairies to flying dogs, a haunted house and a disappearing train, Winterson's innovative stories encompass the childlike and spooky wonder of Christmas. Perfect for reading by the fire with loved ones, or while traveling home for the holidays. Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery, and a little bit of magic courtesy of one of our most fearless and accomplished writers.

    So the kind and character of his works: very rare, exceptional, unique, maverick, exceedingly original fiction: rara avis that's a quantum leap away and departure... At least three or four in this collection already strike one as veritable classics." - GREGORIO C. BRILLANTES

      A construction worker on the run from the shady local businessman whose dog he has stolen; a Custer’s Last Stand reenactor engaged in a long-running affair with the Native American woman who slays him on the battlefield every year; a middle-aged high school janitor caught in a scary dispute over land and cattle with her former stepson: Callan Wink’s characters are often confronted with predicaments few of us can imagine. But thanks to the humor and remarkable empathy of this supremely gifted writer, the nine stories gathered in Dog Run Moon are universally transporting and resonant.   Set mostly in Montana and Wyoming, near the borders of Yellowstone National Park, this revelatory collection combines unforgettable insight into the fierce beauty of the West with a powerful understanding of human beings. Tender, frequently hilarious, and always electrifying, Dog Run Moon announces the arrival of a bold new talent writing deep in the American grain.

    From a young boy with with an unhealthy fixation on what could go wrong to a man who can't accept that his wife wants to leave him, traipsing through The Corpse Garden certainly isn't for the faint of heart. Author S.H. Cooper presents a combination of works popularized on Reddit's NoSleep and four, previously unreleased stories for brand new thrills and chills that are best read with the lights on.

    When she bumps into her old best friend Amy, the one she had to get away from, all that was left unspoken bubbles to the surface and they revisit the past in more ways than one.A HIGHER EDUCATIONAt an economics conference Gail Garvey ends up sharing a room with a teacher she had a crush on twenty years ago. They're both professors now, and Gail's crush has long faded, but finding herself in the same room as Professor Joanne Ferguson two nights in a row proves to be more challenging than Gail would like to believe.A HARD DAY'S WORKJo fancies her straight, married boss Amanda. She's convinced her crush is a hopeless one, until a performance review changes everything.YOUNGER THAN YESTERDAYRose's husband died seven years ago, but when she welcomes an unexpected guest in her Tuscan holiday home, she's forced to remember what instant desire feels like. Desire for a younger woman no less.LEARNING CURVEAda's company relocated her to Berlin, provided that she'd take an intensive course in German. It proves to be a steep learning curve, until her teacher Giselle implements some alternative educational methods.THE HONEYMOONA sizzling novelette featuring a couple of newlyweds honeymooning in Phuket. When they encounter a mysterious Asian woman in their beach side resort, they decide to give each other a very special wedding gift.PIANO LESSONSRuby is finding it hard to get over the break up with her girlfriend, but her piano teacher Jill is not having any of it. After Ruby's lack of focus makes for another dismal lesson, Jill invites her reluctant student into the home she shares with her partner Charlotte for an afternoon of extreme relaxation, and getting over her ex.At over 75,000 words, this collection is sure to provide some blissful reading.

    collection—features twelve of the World Fantasy and British Fantasy Award-winning Australian author’s finest, darkest fairy tales, and adds two new novellas to her marvelous cauldron of fiction. Stories peopled by women and girls—fearless, frightened, brave, bold, frail, and fantastical—who take the paths less traveled by, accept (and offer) poisoned apples, and embrace transformation in all its forms. Reminiscent of Angela Carter at her best, Slatter’s work is both timeless and fresh: fascinating new reflections from the enchanted mirrors of fairy tales and folklore.

    Reminiscent of Amy Bloom and Charles Baxter, Jodi Paloni is an eloquent and deeply humane writer with her ear tuned to the quiet, pivotal moments in her characters' lives. The unsung and the unseen; the decent and the petty: the characters in these interwoven stories will remind you of people you know, and of yourself, at your most tender.

    The very sharpest edge of any military throughout history. Now, they face their greatest challenge yet. Undead, mutations, monsters, all the things no-one ever believed could happen are here in the pages of SNAFU: Black Ops. Read tales from existing bestselling series by Jonathan Maberry, Nicholas Sansbury Smith, Hank Schwaeble, John O'Brien, and James Lovegrove, along with some of your SNAFU favourites in this collection of the very best stories by the very best writers of military horror. Full list of contributors: Jonathan Mayberry & Bryan Thomas Schmidt (A Joe Ledger/Rot & Ruin crossover novella) RPL Johnson Richard Lee Byers James A Moore & Charles R Rutledge Alan Baxter Christine Morgan John O'Brien (A New World novella) Tim Marquitz & J M Martin Kirsten Cross Hank Schwaeble (A Jake Hatcher novella) Seth Skorkowsky Lovegrove & Sharps (A Pantheon series novella) Nicholas Sansbury Smith (An Extinction Cycle novella)

    His quest to return to the past has tested him many times, but now the stakes are higher than ever. All 20 issues of the "Samurai Jack" comic book series written by Jim Zub with art by Andy Suriano, Brittany Williams, Ethen Beavers, Andy Kuhn, Sergio Quijada, and Christine Larsen are collected in this massive compendium.

    Historically, women have been instrumental in moving the essay to center stage, and Waveform continues this rich tradition, further expanding the dynamic genre s boundaries and testing its edges. With thirty essays by thirty distinguished and diverse women writers, this carefully constructed anthology incorporates works ranging from the traditional to the experimental.Waveform champions the diversity of women s approaches to the structure ofthe essay today a site of invention and innovation, with experiments in collage, fragments, segmentation, braids, triptychs, and diptychs. Focused on these explorations of form, Waveform is not wed to a fixed theme or even to women s experiences per se. It is not driven by subject matter but highlights the writers interaction with all manner of subject and circumstance through style, voice, tone, and structure.This anthology presents some of the women who are shaping the essay today, mapping an ever-changing landscape. It is designed to place essays recently written by women such as Roxane Gay, Cheryl Strayed, Margo Jefferson, Jaquira Diaz, and Eula Biss into the hands of those who have been waiting patiently for something they could equally claim as their own.Contributors: Marcia Aldrich, Jocelyn Bartkevicius, Chelsea Biondolillo, Eula Biss, Barrie Jean Borich, Joy Castro, Meghan Daum, Jaquira Diaz, Laurie Lynn Drummond, Patricia Foster, Roxane Gay, Leslie Jamison, Margo Jefferson, Sonja Livingston, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, Brenda Miller, Michele Morano, Kyoko Mori, Bich Minh Nguyen, Adriana Paramo, Jericho Parms, Torrey Peters, Kristen Radtke, Wendy Rawlings, Cheryl Strayed, Dana Tommasino, Sarah Valentine, Neela Vaswani, Nicole Walker, Amy Wright"

    These women paved the way for Serena Williams, Carli Lloyd, and Lindsey Vonn, yet few today know who they are. Slowly but surely, the account gained a following, and the result is Game Changers, a beautifully illustrated collection of these trailblazers’ rarely-before-seen photos and stories.Featuring icons Althea Gibson and Wyomia Tyus, complete unknowns Trudy Beck and Conchita Cintron, policymaker Margaret Dunkle, sportswriter Lisa Olson, and many more, Game Changers gives these “founding mothers” the attention and recognition they deserve, and features critical conversations between past and present gamechangers—including former US Women’s National Soccer Team captain Abby Wambach and SportsCenter anchor Cari Champion—about what it means to be a woman on and off the field. Inspiring, empowering, and unforgettable, Game Changers is the perfect gift for anyone who has a love of the game.

    From a philosophical thief to a stingy trader to a sly godman, the men and women who appear in these pages are mired in the everyday rhythms of life. But in their ordinary adventures lies the promise of theextraordinary and the incredible.Told in a fresh new voice that is wry yet humane, these tales are very much like R.K. Narayan's Malgudi stories, full of life's little ironies and delicate wisdom.

    This time she didn’t want to believe what was right in front of her eyes.In Bow and Arrow by Carsen Taite: Bounty hunter Luca Bennett has always lived on the edge of the law, but now she’s living with a cop and doing her darnedest to stay out of trouble. When an old enemy resurfaces, will the shady ways of Luca’s past come back to haunt her?In Hell Fire by Ali Vali: Dr. Abigail Eaton stumbles into a massacre, but once someone tries to kill her it seems like no accident. While hunting for the perpetrators of a sex trafficking empire, Agent Riley Abbott saves Abigail from a professional hit and discovers the young mother might be the key to more than just her case. Riley takes Abigail and her family to what she thinks is safer ground, and runs right into the arms of reputed mob boss Cain Casey.

    These stories range from a transgender woman trying an experimental transition medication to young lovers separated through decades and meeting far in their own future. These are stories of machines and magic, love, and self-love.This collection features prose stories by:Cherie Dimaline "The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy," "Red Rooms"Gwen Benaway "Ceremonies for the Dead"David Robertson "Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story," Tales From Big Spirit seriesRichard Van Camp "The Lesser Blessed," "Three Feathers"Mari Kurisato "Celia’s Song," "Bent Box"Nathan Adler "Wrist"Daniel Heath Justice "The Way of Thorn and Thunder: The Kynship Chronicles"Darcie Little Badger "Nkásht íí, The Sea Under Texas"Cleo KeahnaAnd an introduction by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair "Manitowapow," with a foreword by Grace Dillon "Walking the Clouds".Edited by Hope Nicholson "Moonshot," "The Secret Loves of Geek Girls"

    While Arthur Conan Doyle sent the great detective to tend hives in retirement, here bees are front and centre in stories of love and romance, war and hope, of honey on the tongue and a sting in the tail. In tales of rare nectars, secret diaries, and the private language of lovers, bees may be the buzzing heart of the story...or as ephemeral as a murmur. What you'll find in every tale are John Watson and Sherlock Holmes helping one another, wanting one another, loving one another. To encourage a world where such love is seen for the precious thing it is, profits from "A Murmuring of Bees" will be donated to the It Gets Better Project.

    Another tale tells of the heroic exploits of “sysadmins”—systems administrators—as they defend the cyberworld, and hence the world at large, from worms and bioweapons. And yes, there’s a story about zombies, too.

    But the once-popular Kendell is recovering from a marriage-gone-wrong, and she regrets turning Tyler down for high school prom. On their road trip to deliver a refurbished camper, Kendell rediscovers all the reasons she liked Tyler, but it might be too late to rekindle their friendship.ANTIQUES ROAD TRIP by Sarah M. EdenKelsey is living out her dream for the weekend as she participates in a reality show contest by living on a 19th century film set. The contestant who wins the show receives a trip to England and $100k, more than enough to get her through grad school. When she meets Devon, who was coerced by his sister to participate, friendship blossoms. When things go wrong for Kelsey, Devon is there to help, and she soon realizes that winning the contest isn’t what she most desires.WOULDN’T IT BE NICE by Ranee` S. ClarkWhen Jacqueline's boyfriend Colin drops out of their long-planned road trip with friends to put his job first—again—it's the final nail in the coffin of their dying relationship. But then Hudson, her best friend’s brother, takes Colin's spot for the road trip, and Jacqueline’s disappointment in her ex takes a back seat to the chance for reestablishing the close ties she once had with Hudson. When their friendship detours into romance, it forces Jacqueline to question her reasons for breaking up with Colin and her future with Hudson.HEAD OVER HEELS by Annette LyonTristan is proud to be an entrepreneur, running a popular singles’ lifestyle blog. So when she gets an offer to cover a singles convention in Las Vegas, she needs to find a way to get there from another freelance job in Salt Lake without breaking into her personal savings. Her friend sets her up with a co-worker who happens to be driving that way, and Tristan is more than surprised to come face-to-face with a man she has a lot in common with, not to mention seems to click with right away. The two decide to play a prank on Tristan’s friend, and pretend that they are smitten with each other, but soon, the lines between pretend and reality start to fade.TWO DOZEN ROSES by Heather B. MooreDayna reluctantly takes time out of her busy work life to drive her mother up the Pacific Coast Highway from California to her brother’s home in Oregon. Strangely enough, they keep running into two brothers who are traveling the same route in honor of their sister’s memory. The older brother Garrett is a merciless flirt, but the younger brother Roman is who captures Dayna’s attention. Soon she realizes that the brothers are extremely competitive, and she’s just become their next target.TRY, TRY AGAIN by Aubrey MaceSarah’s secret crush on Justin takes a sudden turn when he breaks up with his girlfriend and declares that he’s interested in Sarah. She believes he’s just on the rebound, and they slowly drift apart. Six months later, Sarah still can’t stop thinking about what might have been. She ropes her friend into taking a road trip to visit Justin, hoping for a second chance. When Justin sees her, he wants answers, and Sarah has to decide if she’s brave enough to finally tell him the truth.

    The dark fantasy collection features 19 stories, including the Australian Shadows Award-winning "Shadows of the Lonely Dead"; and original title story "Crow Shine" in addition to two other never before published stories.

    Filled with odd tales, a wry wit, and creepy adventures this book will have you sleeping with the lights on, so grab a scythe and get ready for a frightful read.

    In “The Prettiest Girls,” a location scout for a Hollywood film studio falls in love with a young Mexican woman who is more in love with the idea of stardom than with this older American man who takes her with him back to California. “Clear Conscience” focuses on the themes of family loyalty, divorce, motherhood, and whether “doing the right thing” is, in fact, always the right thing to do. In “Beach Vacation,” a mother realizes that her popular and coddled teenaged son has become someone she has difficulty relating to, let alone loving with the same maternal fervor that once was second nature to her. The title story, “The Virginity of Famous Men,” explores family and fortune.Long intrigued by love and loneliness, Sneed leads readers through emotional landscapes both familiar and uncharted. These probing stories are explorations of the compassionate and passionate impulses that are inherent in—and often the source of—both abiding joy and serious distress in every human life.

    and selkies and griffins and maybe even a mermaid or two. Twenty fantasy authors band together to bring you a collection of thrilling tales and magical monsters. Do you like to slay dragons? Or befriend them? Do you prefer to meet cephalopods as gigantic kraken or adorable tree octopuses? Each story focuses around a fantastic creature from folklore or mythology, and they range from light and playful tales for the whole family to darker stories that may make you wish to leave the lights on. These stories carry the Fellowship of Fantasy seal of approval. While our monsters may be horrifying, you won't stumble into graphic sex and constant swearing. Perfect for the fantasy lover who can't get enough of mythical beasts.

    Or is it the other way round? Either way, Knitted Tales is a bouquet of emotions that is bound to touch both your head and your heart.

    Seven marks upon a wall.Tom may rise, but he may fall.Through five lives, no one dares mention,of the sin for which he seeks redemption.Fates will meet, and you will see,what will thus become of he.

    Yoachim showcases a wide-ranging selection of dark and beautiful stories, fiction that explores human nature against vividly imagined speculative backdrops. Here you’ll find time travel, alien invasions, Japanese mermaids, and more–stories of struggle, heartbreak, and hope. The book features twenty-five of Yoachim’s most popular published pieces, and two brand new stories exclusive to the collection.Cover art by shichigoro-shingo. Table of Contents Part 1: Our WorldFive Stages of Grief After the Alien InvasionBetty and the Squelchy SaurusRock, Paper, Scissors, Love, DeathThe Philosophy of ShipsTemporary FriendsInterlude: Flash Fiction WorldsA Million Oysters for ChiyokoCarla at the Off-Planet Tax Return HelplineDo Not Count the Withered OnesPieces of My BodyEveryone’s a ClownHarmonies of TimePart 2: Fantasy WorldsStone Wall TruthThe Little Mermaid of InnsmouthOn the Pages of a Sketchbook UniverseSeasons Set In SkinThe Carnival Was Eaten, All Except the ClownInterlude: Flash Fiction WorldsPaperclips and Memories and Things That Won’t Be MissedPlease Approve the Dissertation Research of AngtorGrass GirlOne Last Night at the Carnival, Before the Stars Go OutHoneybeeElizabeth’s Pirate ArmyPart 3: Alien WorldsMother ShipFour Seasons in the Forest of Your MindPress Play to Watch It DieNinety-Five Percent SafeSeven Wonders of a Once and Future World

    This is the 1st episode in the second season of Tremontaine, a 13-episode serial from Serial Box Publishing. This episode written by Ellen Kushner. All eyes are on Duchess Diane Tremontaine at the Convocation, an annual soiree that opens the Council of Lords. With her mad husband exiled to the country, Diane is on the hunt for a new lover and better fortunes. But the path to power—and revenge—is never without obstacles. Welcome to Tremontaine, where ambition, love affairs, and rivalries dance with deadly results. A Duchess whose beauty is matched only by her cunning; a handsome young scholar with more passion than sense; a foreigner in a playground of swordplay and secrets; and a mathematical genius whose discoveries herald revolution when games of politics begin, no one is safe. Keep your wit as sharp as your steel in this world where politics is everything, and outcasts are the tastemakers.

    Late on Christmas Eve, he finds her sleeping in Santa’s chair. Sexy shenanigans ensue as Amy gives Luca a Christmas gift to remember. Hurry Down The Chimney - V.T. Charbonneau Ivy Dixon’s hopes for a sweet Christmas Eve at home with her boyfriend are dashed when she sees a picture of him on Facebook at a party, his lips locked with some other woman. Kaylee’s Christmas Treat - T.D. Crawls Kaylee Francis is torn between her boyfriend Marcus and his best friend Micah. When they get snowed in for Christmas, Kaylee sets a plan in motion for a Christmas Eve none of them will ever forget. The Best-Laid Christmas Party Plans - Constance Edwards Olive and Teddy have hated each other since they first met four years ago at new employee orientation. Now they’re tasked with throwing the company Christmas party, and they just might find that there’s a thin line between love and hate. The Gift That Keeps On Giving - Ariel Bishop Jess has been handling her crush on Ryan, the hot guy she knows from the gym, just fine, thank you very much. But when she and Chris run into Ryan at a holiday party, Chris has a plan to get Jess the Christmas present she really wants. Those Good Old Christmas Days - Ava Bari Nina Toriello, former child star, returns to her acting career to star in the anniversary Christmas special of her old show. Reuniting with Chase Tyler, her former co-star and now a world famous movie star, it soon becomes apparent that they're not little kids anymore. Staying Warm - Leah Pink It’s Christmas Eve, and Charlie gets snowed in overnight at work with her boss. Finding something to eat isn’t a problem, but there’s not a whole lot of options for sleeping space. She’s about to get a lot closer to Eddie than she ever thought she would. Santa’s Wicked Elf - Livvy Ward Hollie Nikolas had been away from home for awhile; school and a normal life in her aunt's home. Back with her family at last, she's ready to take her place in her father's workshop. But the tall, gorgeous elf who runs her father's stables is wreaking havoc on all her plans. Best Christmas Present Ever - Líadáin Douglas Company Christmas parties can be difficult for everyone, but especially when you know your awful ex will be there. What’s a girl to do, when that happens? Talk her best friend into pretending to be her date, of course. Jingle The Bells - Audrey Noire Nothing’s worse than being single at Christmas, especially at a work function. Amidst all her coworkers and their plus ones, Avery’s feeling pretty lonely until Liam shows up and gets under her skin, as per usual. Just when she thinks her night can’t tank any further, her ex-boyfriend decides to make an appearance to win her back. A New Tradition - Amelia Rockwell Daphne Moller comes back to her small hometown to spend Christmas with her family. Retreating to a small local bar, she inadvertently rekindles a high school crush on Joshua Locke, current bartender. An old crush turns into a new flame. A Winter’s Ball - Ally Parker It’s the annual regimental Christmas ball, and Matthew’s short a date once again. Luckily, his brother in arms Victor has him covered; a blind date for the ball with Victor’s little sister.

    I’m so happy this collection exists. I feel drunk with love for these stories. They’re so funny and weird and true.”—Sheila Heti“With a weird, beautiful energy, George explores the challenges of woman-being: singlehood, self-doubt, motherhood, the dismaying fact of aging, the (dis)ability to love. A modern-day Jane Bowles, George engages these mysteries in prose that is funny, charming, dark, and insightful.” —Deb Olin UnferthFive stories—several as long as novellas—introduce the world to Jen George, a writer whose furiously imaginative new voice calls to mind Donald Barthelme and Leonora Carrington no less than Kathy Acker and Chris Kraus. In “Guidance/The Party,” an ethereal alcoholic “Guide” in robes and flowing hair appears to help a thirty-three-year-old woman prepare a party for her belated adulthood; “Take Care of Me Forever” tragically lambasts the medical profession as a ship of fools afloat in loneliness and narcissism; “Instruction” chronicles a season in an unconventional art school called The Warehouse, where students divide their time between orgies, art critiques, and burying dead racehorses. Combining slapstick, surrealism, erotica, and social criticism, Jen George’s sprawling creative energy belies the secret precision and unexpected tenderness of everything she writes.

    Tail of the Taniwha is Meredith’s first book of short stories and follows her much lauded 2012 collection of poems Brown Girls in Bright Red Lipstick (Beatnik Publishing) and multi-award-winning 2010 play Rushing Dolls (Playmarket, 2012).

    Unavoidably affected by a difficult political past, this challenging landscape is navigated by characters who are searingly honest, humorous and, at times, heartbreakingly poignant. The result is a collection that is enthralling, stirring and quietly disconcerting.Individually, these intriguing stories make an indelible impact and are cause for reflection and contemplation. Together, they transgress their social, political and gender constraints, instead collectively presenting a distinctive, resolute and impassioned voice worthy of recognition and admiration.

    Death and Deception Appearances are often deceiving and that's the underlying premise of this collection: In “Live Free or Die,” a naive 21-year-old Emmy falls hard for 31-year-old Jack, an efficiency expert from New Hampshire who is not all that he seems. In “Murder in the Marsh,” cyclist Carrie Anne Camack discovers more than she bargained for in the fertile farmlands of Ontario’s Holland Marsh. In the “The Cycopaths,” a triathlon team’s open-water swim training in Collingwood, Ontario, has deadly consequences.

    A dream house that is hiding something sinister; two women having lunch who share a husband; an old woman doing her weekly supermarket shop with a secret past that no one could guess; a couple who don't know each other at all even after fifteen years together; and, in the story from which this collection takes its name, a bird and a servant girl in ancient Pompeii who cannot converse, but share a perfect understanding.In this new and varied collection of short stories, Penelope Lively shows that she remains a master of her craft, and one of our finest English writers.

    Past versions of a man show up at the birthday party he’s thrown himself. A lonely trucker delivers two-headed angels as part of a money-making scheme. And, in the title story, a daughter of monsters awaits her coming-of-age.

    Within, you’ll find a tender heart, a painful core, and a paradoxically disastrous and beautiful coming-of-age of every and any girl, told through fairy tales that mirror real life and are at once contemporary and timeless. Joining the ranks of Angela Carter, Kate Bernheimer, and Allyse Near, Lau weaves tales of a girl who is too fantastical to be real and too real to be fantasy.“A beautifully vicious first collection of retrofitted fairy tales, with whip-smart swerves, darkly funny moments, and razor-sharp language. Like Angela Carter meets Let the Right One In with a dash of Lady Vengeance tossed in for good measure.”—Brian Evenson, author of Windeye and ALA-RUSA Award-winner Last Days

    John Mandel, Charlie Jane Anders, Paolo Bacigalupi, Madeline Ashby, Mark Oshiro, Meg Elison, Maureen McHugh, Deji Bryce Olukotun, Hannu Rajaniemi, Annalee Newitz, Lee Konstantinou, and Mark Stasenko—Future Tense Fiction points the way forward to the fiction of tomorrow. A disease surveillance robot whose social programming gets put to the test. A future in which everyone receives universal basic income—but it’s still not enough. A futuristic sport, in which all the athletes have been chemically and physically enhanced. An A.I. company that manufactures a neural bridge allowing ordinary people to share their memories. Brimming with excitement and exploring new ideas, the stories collected by the editors of Slate’s Future Tense are philosophically ambitious and haunting in their creativity. At times terrifying and heartwrenching, hilarious and optimistic, this is a collection that ushers in a new age for our world and for the short story. A partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University, Future Tense explores how emerging technologies will change the way we live, in reality and fiction.

    Caught in extreme states of tension, in a world of shifting borders, of instability, Rao's characters must rely on their own wits. When Partition established Pakistan and India as sovereign states, the new boundary resulted in a colossal transfer of people, the largest peacetime migration in human history. This mass displacement echoes throughout Rao's story couplets, which range across the twentieth century, moving beyond the subcontinent to Europe and America. Told with dark humor and ravaging beauty, An Unrestored Woman unleashes a fearless new voice on the literary scene.

    The debut collection of short stories by Kathy Anderson. Darkly funny, these stories explore gender, sexuality, and family dynamics.

    A permanent end. Termination of life. Some embrace death as if reuniting with a long-missing old friend. Others fear it, try to outwit it, hide from it. And then there are those who are fascinated by it, mesmerized by it, chasing it down, taunting it, challenging it. In Ink Stains, Volume 1, eight authors explore death in all its facets in a collection of short stories that range from fantastical to gritty to supernaturally creepy. Join them in a journey through the darker side of fiction. This dark fiction and horror anthology series is a quarterly publication featuring occult horror stories and dark and chilling fiction. Ink Stains, Volume 1 features stories by Michelle K. Bujnowski , Eddie Cantrell, John S. McFarland, Steph Minns, A. O’Neal Tamela J. Ritter, Aaron Vlek, and J. S. Watts.

    What happened to Adam's first wife? Why has she been written out of history? This is her story. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

     In Stealing Christmas, two modern-day Robin Hoods use a little fa-la-la-la-larceny to bring cheer to those who could use it most. Tipping Point is the story of a single act of generosity that sets a series of acts into motion, touching a surprising number of people with the holiday spirit.

    The granite is slashed with a vein of quartz that is literally laced with gold! The problem is that the granite upthrust is unstable, and taking out the quartz might just bring the whole thing tumbling down. But Wetherton could really use the money for his family. Should he chance trying to mine that gold?In Keep Travelin', Rider, Tack Gentry has been away for a year when he returns to the familiar buildings of his uncle John Gentry's G Bar ranch. To his amazement, the ranch has a new owner, who is unimpressed when Tack explains that his uncle was a Quaker, didn't believe in violence, and never carried a gun. His advice to Tack is to make tracks-but Tack has other plans.In Big Medicine, old Billy Dunbar has discovered the best gold-bearing gravel he's seen in a year, but now he is down flat on his face in a dry wash, hiding because a small band of Apaches has shown up. It will be just too bad for him if they catch sight of his burros or notice any of the prospect holes. He's going to have to figure out a pretty good strategy to get out of this one alive.In Trail to Pie Town, Dusty Barron rides his steel-dust stallion at full gallop out of town. Behind him a man lies bleeding on the floor of a saloon. Dan Hickman had called him yellow and gone for a gun, but Dan was a mite slow. Maybe if Emmett Fisk and Gus Mattis hadn't appeared just as he was making a break from the saloon, he could have explained himself. But they reached for their guns when they saw him, and Dusty had hit the desert road. The dead man has relatives in the area, and now it looks like Dusty is going to be facing a clan war.In McQueen of the Tumbling K, Ward McQueen is foreman for Ruth Kermitt, owner of the Tumbling K Ranch. He finds traces of a man, apparently wounded, who has sought shelter in the hinterlands of the Tumbling K, but he is unable to locate him. When McQueen rides into town, he is shot down by gunmen and left for dead. But they made a critical mistake, because McQueen is not dead-and he's looking to get even.In Dutchman's Flat, it all seemed a simple matter to the six men in the posse. A squatter named Lock gunned down Johnny Webb in the Bon Ton, shooting him in the back. Now, once they catch him, there isn't going to be any trial. However, as the posse heads out after him, it becomes only too clear that Lock knows the desert better than they do, and he knows how to pick them off one by one.

    This is the 4th episode in the second season of Tremontaine, a 13-episode serial from Serial Box Publishing. This episode written by Joel Derfner. Diane begins to gather support for her bid to become duchess in her own right. Rafe uses Arthur in his quest to find Will. Micah, confronted by Diane, wonders if the duchess is a secretly a mathematician. And after a strange encounter with a shadowy Riverside criminal, Kaab fights her first professional duel. Welcome to Tremontaine, where ambition, love affairs, and rivalries dance with deadly results. A Duchess whose beauty is matched only by her cunning; a handsome young scholar with more passion than sense; a foreigner in a playground of swordplay and secrets; and a mathematical genius whose discoveries herald revolution when games of politics begin, no one is safe. Keep your wit as sharp as your steel in this world where politics is everything, and outcasts are the tastemakers.

    Enter the twisted world of the New York Times bestselling Asylum series with these three spine-tingling novellas starring supporting characters from the novels, available in a print bind-up for the first time.In The Scarlets, Cal is drawn into New Hampshire College’s twisted secret society—one with a deadly initiation.In The Bone Artists, Oliver tries to make a little extra money for college by working for a seedy organization that traffics in human bones.In The Warden, a young nurse starts a new job at the Brookline asylum, but soon becomes suspicious of its unorthodox procedures.…Be careful where you go digging in history. Sometimes the past is better off buried.This edition also includes a bonus sneak peek at Escape from Asylum, a prequel to the mind-bending novel that started it all.

    *Includes award-winning story "The Island of Bliss"*

    What would you give — or give up — to fulfill your most cherished sex fantasy? In this Cleis Press collection, erotica editor Rachel Kramer Bussel brings us femme fatales and shy women, women on a mission and women opening up to new worlds of discovery: women who know what they want and are not afraid to beg for it! Let yourself go with these 21 tantalizing tales of tortuous longing and release.

    CaoBook of Lilith by P.K. TylerAdventures in Gaming by Tonya LiburdPain Relief by Julie ReaOpen Space by Kelsey MakiStar Girl and Captain Obvious Meet the Troll by Kim Wells THE DAY THE WIND STOPPED BLOWING by Patty Somlo Six Poems by Elizabeth S. WolfThe Chinchorro Boy by Sarina DorieThe Last Automaton, and accompanying art piece by Jordanne FullerFEMINA VIRTUS by Keira Michelle TelfordSpace Travel Loses Its Allure When You've Lost Your Moon Cup by Sylvia Spruck WrigleyThe Reluctant Flesheater by Naomi ElsterThe Living Wood by Karen HeulerThe Queen of Lakes by L.S. Johnsondaydreamsdandelions.com

    If gender is a construct, this anthology is the house it built. Look through its many rooms, some bright and airy, some terrifying-- with monsters lurking in the shadows. Mosaics Volume Two features twenty self-identified female authors writing about Intersectionality, including women of color, disabled, trans, and GLB/GSD* (Gender and Sexual Diversities). We have curated amazing short fiction, flash fiction, poetry, essays, and art. It’s personal, political, and a great read. Volume 1 included Hugo Award Nominees, Tiptree Shortlists, Pushcart Prize Winners, USA Today Bestsellers, indie superstars and traditionally published talents alike. The anthology combines leading and new voices all proclaiming their identity as Women, and their ability to Roar. Volume 2 features many new voices debuting their gifts with us! Profits donated to the Pixel Project to end Violence Against Women.

    I. Us., Annalisa Crawford captures everyday people during poignant defining moments in their lives: An artist puts his heart into his latest sketch, an elderly couple endures scrutiny by a fellow diner, an ex-student attempts to make amends with a girl she bullied at school, a teenager holds vigil at his friend’s hospital bedside, long distance lovers promise complete devotion, a broken-hearted widow stares into the sea from the edge of a cliff where her husband died, a grieving son contacts the only person he can rely on in a moment of crisis, a group of middle-aged friends inspire each other to live remarkable lives.Day after day, we make the same choices. But after reading You. I. Us., you’ll ask yourself, “What if we didn’t?”

    Sierra finds herself getting to know Jude—and she likes what she sees. But he wouldn’t be interested in a food-obsessed assistant editor right? Sierra knows she’s quirky—her fondness of Magic 8 Balls is proof of that—so there’s no way he could look her way. Or can he?In DOWN, THEN UP by Beth Labonte, Lauren Oswald never expected to see her college love, Jamie, again. Not after the way things ended. She certainly doesn’t expect to see him ten years later at a bachelorette party in Vegas, waiting inside a hotel elevator. Slightly older. Different haircut. No wedding ring. Same eyes. As the pair embark on a late night errand, Lauren is flooded with memories of how Jamie became the one that got away—and she realizes that this one night could be their last chance to make things right.In GOING UP? by Whitney Dineen, Fiona Kitchen had a dream when she moved to New York and it wasn’t taking a job as an elevator operator in a posh, West Side, apartment building. She also didn’t expect to meet a hot handyman, a Columbian drug lord and a notorious mob boss and then fall for one of them in a big way. Life in the Big Apple isn’t quite turning out the way she planned, but who said that was a bad thing?In Becky Monson’s TAKING A CHANCE, Liza Parker has a fear of heights, crowds and small spaces. So what’s a girl like her doing on a crowded elevator going to the top of the Empire State Building? Freaking out, that’s what she’s doing. Enter Jay Sanders, a tourist who thinks he might be able to help Liza face her fears, but she has to be willing to spend the day with a complete stranger. Maybe taking a chance on Jay is just what Liza needs.In HAPPY TO BE STUCK WITH YOU by Rich Amooi, Becca has had an office crush on Daniel—Mr. Delicious—for over a year. Getting stuck in an elevator with him was the last thing she expected. If only she can control her claustrophobia. To make matters worse, they're also stuck with an eighty-year-old man who has a weak bladder, and a penchant for playing cupid. But life is unpredictable. Sometimes, getting stuck is the best thing that can happen.Computer genius Maisy Potter crosses an ocean to take her dream vacation at an English country estate … where the winsome Mark Prebys works below stairs. With him, Maisy discovers a carefree happiness she's never known. But will the troubles dogging her from back home, a secret or two whispered behind the parlour curtains, and misunderstandings to beat the band extinguish the magic they think they've found in each other? And if not, what happens when Maisy's enchanting holiday ends? Find out in UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS … AND THE LIFT IN BETWEEN by Geralyn Corcillo.In THE ONLY WAY IS UP by Lindy Dale, Meet Bailey Burns: hottest thing on the literary circuit. And the most reluctant. After fainting in a lift and regaining consciousness to find herself kissing a stranger, Bailey thinks her week can’t get much worse. But it can. Much worse. Bailey is about to be proposed to by a crazed fan wearing a vampire costume. She’s about to discover she’s in relationship with the guy she kissed. Not only that, but said guy happens to be her new PR manager. Oh dear! In OUT OF ORDER, by Dee Ernst, Grace has sworn off good-looking men.

    . . EPIC Award finalist Howard Odentz has penned twenty-six disturbingly fascinating horror stories about the youngest predators among us. From Andy and Boris to Yuri and Zena, this eclectic anthology is filled, A to Z, with psychopaths, monsters, and murderers! So turn on the lights and huddle under your blankets because murder isn't just for grown-ups anymore. Come meet our gallery of little killers. After all, they're dying to meet you! Author and playwright Howard Odentz is a lifelong resident of the gray area between Western Massachusetts and North Central Connecticut. His love of the region is evident in his writing as he often incorporates the foothills of the Berkshires and the small towns of the Bay and Nutmeg states into his work. 5 Stars "a relentless, thrilling ride" - Court Street Literary, on Bloody Bloody Apple. "Howard Odentz takes this mis-mosh of dysfunctional characters and puts together a wonderful story that is equal parts horror and love." - Scared Stiff Reviews, on Bloody Bloody Apple.

    And there are stories without transgender characters, but with metaphors and symbolism in their place, genuine expressions of self through such speculative fiction tropes as shapeshifting and programming. Transgender individuals see themselves in transformative characters, those outsiders, before seeing themselves as human protagonists. Those feelings are still valid. But though the stories involve transformation and outsiders, sometimes the change is one of self-realization. This anthology will be a welcome read for those who are ready to transcend gender through the lens of science fiction, fantasy, and other works of imaginative fiction.

    “He wrote honestly and well.” O’Hara sought in his fiction to capture experience without pretension or literary affectation. A modernist like his contemporaries Hemingway and Fitzgerald, he drew on the plainspoken directness of the American vernacular to fashion a sharp-edged, urbane mode of storytelling distinctly his own—forthright, attentive to the smallest detail, unsentimental but powerfully sympathetic. Offering a fresh perspective on O’Hara’s brilliance as a short-story writer, editor Charles McGrath has chosen sixty stories in a selection that spans the entire remarkable career of one of twentieth-century America’s greatest social chroniclers.The oldest son of a well-to-do Irish Catholic doctor, O’Hara was born and raised in Pottsville, the small city at the center of eastern Pennsylvania’s anthracite region. Renamed “Gibbsville” after his friend the writer Wolcott Gibbs, the city and surrounding countryside provided a rich storehouse of material for O’Hara’s fiction. Like William Faulkner and William Kennedy, he was keenly alert to the particularities of his home region and to the manifold ways that locale shapes human behavior. The Pennsylvania setting is the backdrop for one of his most enduring stories, “The Doctor’s Son”—a long tale with roots in O’Hara’s own childhood that stands, along with Katherine Anne Porter’s “Pale Horse, Pale Rider,” as one of the most powerful literary treatments of the devastating 1918 flu pandemic in America—as well as “Imagine Kissing Pete,” a novella that follows a tumultuous marriage through its surprising twists and turns, and the poignant story placed last in this volume, “Christmas Poem.”The Gibbsville stories included here are joined by sketches, tales, and novellas that unfold in more glittering settings: Manhattan in the years following the repeal of Prohibition, and Hollywood, where O’Hara worked fitfully as a screenwriter. Often conveying the follies and illusions of worldly sophisticates never very far from their next drink, these stories offer a larger, more searching picture of American life, a Balzacian account of people from every station struggling with thwarted hopes and unresolved disappointments. O’Hara’s own sense of himself as a literary outsider, despite his success, enabled him to dissect the intricacies of class in America with singular insight. As Charles McGrath writes: “He knew, probably better than any other American writer, about social class in this country: about all the subtle markers and distinctions used to indicate rungs in the hierarchy, and about how rigid and how fragile the system is, a maze of envy, snobbery, and insecurity.”This revelatory collection is accompanied, for the first time, by extensive notes clarifying O’Hara’s many allusions to music, movies, fashion, and topical events, as well as a concise chronology providing crucial biographical context for many of the stories.

    Includes:The Last Temptation of ChristThe Girl Who Poked God with a StickThe Story of Emily and ControlThe Logician and the God-EmperorMight Not, Technically, Have HappenedThe Goddess of Everything ElseEverything Not Obligatory Is ForbiddenClarity Didn't Work, Trying MysterianismIt Was You Who Made My Blue Eyes BlueAlso May Not, Technically, Have HappenedThe Character’s ComplaintAnswer to JobUniversal Love, Said the Cactus PersonBiodjinneticsReverse PsychologyThe Witching HourAsches to AschesThe Study of AnglophysicsThe Moral of the Story...And I Show You How Deep the Rabbit Hole Goes

    Is that touch, that smell or that feeling that raises goosebumps on your arms really someone you love crossing back from the other side to let you know they are still watching over you? This collection of short stories may make a believer out of you.

    She's not put off by his pedantic corrections of her writing, despite the slow reveal that he is less than perfect himself.'The Unsuspecting Gold-digger' -- a woman gradually poisons her husband so that she doesn't have to break his heart.

    A heady stew of dark fantasy, dystopia, terror, and transcendence. "Sex, oddity, horror, transfiguration: Sunny Moraine's stories cut straight through to the heart of even the most complicated concepts, turning words inside out with truly offensive skill, wringing them for every last scrap of beautiful terror. They will make readers want to write and writers want to stop writing, on the grounds that any idea they might have has demonstrably been done before, and far better." - Gemma Files, Author of Experimental Film

    An intriguing maelstrom of broken minds and broken hearts, from revenge to desire, from new found love to soulmates, herein lies a tale for everyone. Prepare your senses for an emotional and sometimes terrifying ride.

     Creepy houses, murder mysteries, paranormal and much more to haunt and thrill those who dare.

    These stories showcase Aiken's unique talents - the way she mixed magic and myth with humour to create a kind of modern fairytale. Her stories will appeal to readers of all ages for many years to come.

    These characters lose loved ones; they lose their security and self-worth; they lose children; they lose their ability to hide and shield their emotions; they lose their reputations, their careers, their hometowns, and their life savings. Often depicting the awkward moments when characters are torn between decision and outcome, The Loss of All Lost Things focuses on moments of regret and yearning.

    But Nicholas turns the tables, determined to thaw Her Royal Majesty with the heat of a passion she cannot resist. SAVING SOPHIA Suz deMello “It doesn't matter” is cynical Sophie Fortune's motto. Then her best friend is killed and Sophie herself is attacked. Can Detective Inspector Nick Wendell keep her safe and heal her heart? MY WISH COME TRUE Tina Donahue Baby, it’s hot inside… For Laurel, Christmas so sucks. She’s out of a job, money, and luck until her neighbor Scott plays Santa. This tall, dark, and sexy hunk delivers sweet decadence and holiday magic that makes being bad oh-so good. ROYAL BRAT Nicole Austin Loving two men, my stepbrothers, got me exiled to a foreign country. Without them I’m lost and alone, cast adrift on turbulent seas without a compass or rudder. In order to finally be together we’ll have to navigate a course through the landmine infested waters of my traumatic past. DISPUTED BOUNDARIES (Stories From The San Juan Islands) Regina Kammer Garrison life along the disputed Canadian-U.S. border is so uneventful Royal Marine Braxton Thorne mostly just fools around with his fiancée Tilda. But when American adventurer Gideon Roberts provokes unexpected desires, Braxton finds himself in a war over the boundaries of his heart. CHASING FLAVORGASMS Francesca Hawley When food blogger, Taylor Simmons writes a scathing review of his restaurant, John “Doc” Holliday challenges her to return so he can give her the flavorgasm she’s been chasing her entire life. SET ME ON FIRE Berengaria Brown Blair, Alex and Kurt meet in the stairwell of their office building during a fire drill. The building may not be burning, but they are, for each other. HER GARGOYLE GUARDIAN Katherine Kingston Ginny decides to pursue a relationship with Ben despite the risks to her heart. She can cope with his claim that he’s a shape-shifting gargoyle, but his warning that they will have only a short time together gives her pause. THE WYNDVYPER’S PROMISE The final posthumous work of Charlotte Boyett-Compo Audriana Lansing has fled her overbearing family and made a life for herself, until she gets trapped between bounty hunters searching for her and an old flame who doesn’t believe in forgive and forget. BONUS MATERIAL: FIST ME Berengaria Brown Maeve nearly fell off her barstool when sexy Taryn asked her to fist her. But is it the right thing to do? *This is an enlarged and re-edited version of a formerly published story.* PLEASURE QUEST Tina Donahue She’s into virtue. He’s not. On a pleasure asteroid, he’ll show her what paradise really is.

    Journey deeper into its history. Struggles of royalty, immortal love, unruly wizards, lost heroes, blistering vendettas and more, provide gripping insight into the scope of this realm.

    She's never cared for a man before, but surely it can't be hard to learn… HIS SPRINGTIME BRIDE by Kathryn Albright Spring is in the air… Can rancher Gabe Coulter and Riley Rawlins, the boss's daughter, find forgiveness and renew the lovers' vows they made so long ago? WHEN A COWBOY SAYS I DO by Lauri Robinson Dal Roberts must make his sister's wedding a success, which means accompanying seamstress Ellie to Wichita. Could there be a double wedding on the horizon…?

    Nick. Sometimes a hero, sometimes a villain, within these pages, he’s always more than just a sidekick. You’ll meet manifestations of Santa’s dark servant as he goes toe-to-toe with a bratty Cinderella, a guitar-slinging girl hero, a coffee shop-owning hipster, and sometimes even St. Nick himself. Whether you want a dash of horror or a hint of joy and redemption, these 12 new tales of Krampus will help you gear up for the most “wonderful” time of the year. Featuring original stories by Steven Grimm, Lissa Marie Redmond, Beth Mann, Anya J. Davis, E.J. Hagadorn, S.E. Foley, Brad P. Christy, Ross Baxter, Nancy Brewka-Clark, Tamsin Showbrook, E.M. Eastick, and Jude Tulli.

    - A huge phantom dog appears in the Hollywood Cemetery during a thunderstorm.- An experimental Civil War submarine blows up a river boat near Tredegar Ironworks. - The ghosts of two alligators keep watch over the Jefferson Hotel.- At the Richmond Folk Festival, three young performers contend with an alpaca stampede to reach their stage on time. - A basketball-playing rat with mad skills has to shake off her pre-game jitters at the Science Museum of Virginia.- And many more!This collection of stories showcases Richmond's fantastic history, sites, and scenery like never before. Kids and adults alike will experience this rich river city in a unique way.

    They are about lonely people for whom the world has shifted a little on its axis. A wry sense of humour often illuminates the dark edges of these tales.Each story catches the moment of implosion - a lame girl’s friends disappear on a bleak mountain, a schoolboy nurses a doll during a lesson, a babysitter is caught in her own web of lies, a mother watches her pram sink in the river, and a child discovers the truth about birth and death in the space of a day.

    For those who call Finley home, dreams come true, love is found, broken hearts are mended, and second chances are unearthed. Is it all mere coincidence? Or is the century-old legend of Amos Hargrove, the town founder, more than superstition? Does Amos still live in Finley, and is his generous spirit even now manipulating events?Forever Finley is a collection of short stories that released once a month throughout 2016, creating a three-dimensional portrait of the town. Rather than serving as a backdrop for the stories, Finley emerges as the main character of the collection. Individual monthly tales explore the many facets of love—whether that love takes the form of friendship, romance, or passion for one’s life calling. These warm, uplifting stories detail loss and perseverance, the strength of the human spirit, and the ability of love to endure…forever.

     DREAD: A Head Full of Bad Dreams is a terrifying volume of the darkest hallucinatory revelations from the minds of the most accomplished award- winning authors of our time. Travel dark passageways and experience the alarming visions of twenty masters from the horror, fantasy, science fiction, thriller, transgressive and speculative fiction genres as they bare their souls and fill your head with a lifetime of bad dreams.

    Chills. Shadows and superstitions. Things that go bump in the night. Macabre Sanctuary boasts suspenseful fiction designed to elicit goosebumps and raise heart rates. Learn the lore of a haunted island.Grapple with the undead while robbing graves Halloween night.Endure a hazing ritual unlike any other.Deal with a demon at an All Soul’s Day celebration.See what happens when you court death in the wild.Battle zombies and cannibals in a quest to stay alive.Travel back in time to witness the birth of true evil.Fear prophetic nightmares made manifest.Come to terms with new ethereal realities. Befriend a feline to extend earthly life.This collection from ten talented authors offers ghosts and demons, spirits and zombies, cannibals and killers… even a ferocious animal. Historical and contemporary tales of violence and fright keep readers on the edges of their seats. There’s something for everyone who loves spine-tingling, bone-chilling, blood-curdling stories.

    Hopefully that effect is one that makes us a better person. This book is a collection of three short stories of people who have changed other people perceptions and helped to break down prejudices and hatreds. Every person can make a difference, hopefully it is a difference that will make our world a better place.

    Essays on race, religion and identity by people of colour including a foreword by Gary Younge.Published by Media Diversified and Out-Spoken PressFrom the Lines of Dissent is a compilation of select articles, comment pieces and academic analysis originally commissioned for Media Diversified's online platform, covering politics, literature, sexuality, education, religion, media and more.This set of viscerally enchanting essays by fourteen writers of colour looks to elucidate and debunk many of the common falsehoods surrounding what it means to be a person of colour living in the 21st century.

    Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn.Bestselling author Patricia A. McKillip (The Riddle-Master of Hed) is one of the most lyrical writers gracing the fantasy genre. With the debut of her newest work, Dreams of Distant Shores is a true ode to her many talents. Within these pages you will find a youthful artist possessed by both his painting and his muse and seductive travelers from the sea enrapturing distant lovers. The statue of a mermaid comes suddenly to life, and two friends are transfixed by a haunted estate.Fans of McKillip’s ethereal fiction will find much to delight them; those lucky enough to be discovering her work will find much to enchant them.

    Best-selling author Bridget Essex offers a trio of heart-stopping tales of women transformed by love. Wolf Pack includes these three previously published novellas: Wolf Queen : When high school sweethearts Amber and Stevie are reunited, sparks fly. But Amber still hasn't forgiven Stevie for disappearing seven years ago. Once the shocking truth is finally revealed, will the women be able to give love a second chance? Wolf Heart : Abby Reynolds needs some R&R, so she's camping alone at her family's cabin. But her quiet getaway takes a strange turn when she finds Shannon, a gorgeous stranger, lying naked in the park bathroom. Little by little, Abby comes to realize that there is more to Shannon than meets the eye... A Wolf for Valentine's Day : Lonely veterinarian Trish Dalton has reluctantly signed on to attend a singles retreat in the Rocky Mountains. There, she finds herself attracted to yoga instructor Kennedy, a woman with a secret. Can Trish overcome her own reserved nature to risk a relationship with wild, free-spirited Kennedy?

    Ordinary characters facing extraordinary situations, dry humor, philosophical musing dressed as whimsical, offhand commentary, and a fairy-tale like writing; those are the key elements of the style of this incredible authorial debut, which has already been compared to writers like Fante, Bukowski, Vonnegut, Gaiman.The collection comprehends three previously published stories (The Galway Review, Two Thousand Words, Trigger Warning Short Fiction, and Chantwood Magazine); five new unpublished pieces; and for the first time in English, the best-selling story Impurità, which was Selected Work in iBooks Italy 2012.