Scott, a modern arts curator at a museum in Chicago, relishes the finer things in life. Julian is a strange photographer whose hair color changes as frequently as his mood. As far as Scott can see, Julian is an erratic know-it-all who lives his life one day to the next. To Julian, Scott is an uptight, too-coiffed perfectionist.As the two men continue to run into each other, their dislike grows, but beneath that animosity, a fire is beginning to spark. Scott is baffled when he realizes he is falling for Julian, a man who burns hotter than a wildfire. Scott will have to decide, for the first time in his life, if he’ll let the flames take over.

    Martin is a giant in the field of fantasy literature and one of the most exciting storytellers of our time. Now he delivers a rare treat for readers: a compendium of his shorter works, collected into two stunning volumes, that offer fascinating insight into his journey from young writer to award-winning master.Gathered here in Volume I are the very best of George R.R. Martin's early works, including never-before-published fan pieces, his Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker Award-winning stories plus the original novella The Ice Dragon, from which Martin's New York Times bestselling children's book of the same title originated. A dazzling array that features extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs, Volume I, is the perfect collection for both Martin devotees and a new generation of fans.Contents:- Introduction by Gardner Dozois One: A Four-Color Fanboy (2003)- Only Kids Are Afraid of the Dark (1967)- The Fortress (2003)- And Death His Legacy (2003)Two: The Filthy Pro (2003)- The Hero (1971)- The Exit to San Breta (1972)- The Second Kind of Loneliness (1972)- With Morning Comes Mistfall (1973)Three: The Light of Distant Stars (2003)- A Song for Lya (1974)- The Stone City (1977)- This Tower of Ashes (1976)- And Seven Times Never Kill Man (1975)- Bitterblooms (1977)- The Way of Cross and Dragon (1979)Four: The Heirs of Turtle Castle (2003)- The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr (1976)- The Ice Dragon (1980)- In the Lost Lands (1982)Five: Hybrids and Horrors (2003)- Meathouse Man (1976)- Remembering Melody (1981)- Sandkings (1979)- Nightflyers (1980)- The Monkey Treatment (1983)- The Pear-Shaped Man (1987)

    Possibly autobiographical, frequently erotic and darkly surreal, their fiction takes place in a variety of eras and places, from Egypt in the 1940s, to England in the grip of the Pre-Raphaelites, to gaslit Paris and to the shadowy landscapes carved by the mind and memory. The themes of youth and age stream through these tales of homosexual love and desire. These stories recall, at times, the work of Lawrence Durrell, Colette, and Angela Carter.

    On an isolated farm in the United Kingdom, a woman is trapped by the monster who kidnapped her seven years ago. When she discovers she is pregnant, she resolves to protect her child no matter the cost, and starts to meticulously plan her escape. But when another woman is brought into the fold on the farm, her plans go awry. Can she save herself, her child, and this innocent woman at the same time? Or is she doomed to spend the remainder of her life captive on this farm? Intense, dark, and utterly gripping The Last Thing to Burn is a breathtaking thriller from an author to watch.

    Lovecraft: a brand new anthology that collects the twelve principal deities of the Lovecraftian Mythos and sets them loose within its pages. Featuring the biggest names in horror and dark fantasy, including many NY Times bestsellers, full of original fiction and artwork, and individual commentary on each of the deities by Donald Tyson.About the book: Lovecraft’s bestiary of gods has had a major influence on the horror scene from the time these sacred names were first evoked. Cthulhu, Azathoth, Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth—this pantheon of the horrific calls to mind the very worst of cosmic nightmares and the very darkest signs of human nature. The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft brings together twelve all-new Mythos tales from:Cthulhu (Adam Nevill) – Yog-Sothoth (Martha Wells) – Azathoth (Laird Barron) – Nyarlathotep (Bentley Little) – Shub-Niggurath (David Liss) – Tsathoggua (Brett Talley) – The Mi-Go (Christopher Golden & James A. Moore) – Night-gaunts (Jonathan Maberry) – Elder Things (Joe Lansdale) – Great Race (Rachel Caine) – Yig (Douglas Wynne) – The Deep Ones (Seanan McGuire)With commentary on each deity by Donald Tyson

    The darkest day, the longest night.Every year the solstice heralds the return of the masquerade ball. Fae and human dance and drink and make merry, so long as they remain masked. But there's a darker side to this night. Should a guest lose their mask, their life is forfeit, cursed to dance forever for the entertainment of the masquerade's cold and cruel fae host.Ever since he was a boy, Brice LeChoix's mother had warned him of the terrible fae. But it wasn't the fae who took his parents from him. Madness did that. Years later, now Lord of the crumbling LeChoix estate and buckled by debt, he has more important things to think about than fairytales. Until the masquerade comes to town. Every year on the solstice it appears, and every year the townsfolk frolic with the fae. Some never return. Brice warned his brother not to go. And when the masquerade vanishes like mist at dawn, it takes Charon with it.Now Brice must return to the masquerade, the very place he vowed never to set foot in again. The fae know his desires, they know his weaknesses. Forbidden lust will lure Brice from his world, into theirs. To save his brother, he must survive the masquerade's beautiful lies and avoid the host's wicked ways.But the fae have other ideas. One in particular has his eye on Brice... The trickster, Raoul, will stop at nothing to seduce Brice because he knows, more than anyone, that the masquerade is a trap from which no soul truly ever escapes.The longest night is upon us. Can you hear their call? Take my hand, come with me, to the masquerade ball... A stunning adult MM dark fairytale standalone novel of 115,000 words. Coming Autumn/Winter 2021.Warning: this book contains devious fae, dubious consent, coercive rape, sex with multiple partners, suicide, and violent punishment, and is advised for readers aged 18+

    Her skin a canvas, decorated with the scars of her evil captor’s twisted abuse. But her tormentor, Angelo, is about to lose control. Zachary Schiavelli is an art thief and forger. His handsome face is merely the mask that hides a cold, calculating man whose own childhood of abuse has honed him into a remorseless killing machine. Zachary is about to take an intense disliking to Angelo.Sometimes you need to fight fire with fire. In a violent tale of mob rule where violence begets violence, an unlikely alliance between two forces of nature is about to change the face of organized crime. When Serenity and Zachary collide, it’s an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, and everyone around them is about to get caught in the crossfire.A complete novel with no cliffhangers.A violent tale of mob rule and dark romance. Warning contains explicit scenes of dubious consent, graphic violence and sex. Adults only

    Be it Walter Mosley’s great detective Easy Rawlins, or the mean streets of Harlem at the hands of Chester Himes, the stories and characters in this anthology have shaped the mystery genre with their own unique viewpoints and styles. Contributors to the collection include Robert Greer, Chester Himes, Walter Mosley, Cary Phillips, Frankie Bailey, and Richard Wright.

    Pixie and her brothers have always been bigger and stronger than their neighbors, as if they had been birthed from the island itself. Together, they serve as an unofficial search-and-rescue team, saving tourists and locals alike from the sometimes brutal forces of wind and sea. But when a young boy goes missing, Pixie instead finds the dead body of someone else in Useless Bay—and realizes that something sinister is rising from the water.

    She holds out hope even as the hours pass and the station grows dark. When a strange old woman with a large umbrella approaches and inquiries about her situation, Saffron doesn’t immediately trust the imposing do-gooder, but with the chances of her father returning growing ever slimmer, she agrees to rest at the old woman’s house.Her stay was supposed to be for a few minutes, hours at most, but soon, Saffron soon realizes she has been confined to a house of dark secrets and is now at the mercy of the enigmatic Umbrella Lady. One minute grandmotherly and the next wickedly cruel, she shears Saffron’s hair, burns all the clothes she had in her suitcase, and pretends that the photo of a young girl hanging on her bedroom wall is no one in particular. When strange letters arrive from Saffron’s father, claiming that he will send for her shortly, hope returns to her young heart. But Saffron soon discovers that those who claim to love you will often hurt you the most....

    A fun, satisfying read." Gail Cleare, USA Today Bestselling Author After suffering a mental breakdown that nearly destroyed her marriage, Nina Taylor works hard to maintain her tenuous hold on sanity and be a good mother to her two young daughters. Despite her best efforts, she questions the possibility of a full recovery. Single mom Deja Johnson struggles to overcome her troubled past and raise her young son. But her friendship with Nina brings more complications. What Deja is hiding could not only destroy relationships, but endanger lives. One traumatic night threatens to shatter Nina’s mind. With Deja’s help, she strives to maintain her mental balance. But as events spiral out of control, the women must find out if Nina is losing her sanity or if someone is plotting against her.

    Vamar Thilduri would never again be able to possess such great and unearthly power.Or so it was thought... After years of preparation, Vamar has returned and his plans are progressing as expected. His tool of choice? A girl who will be the most powerful being in the world. Sabrina Mansfield has no idea who or what she is. She only knows her life-long dream is to become a professional ballerina. Attending a summer dance camp in Boston is the first of many steps along that path. But everything changes the moment she meets the gaze of a handsome soldier across the stage.Christopher “Chase” Ralston, a recent graduate of West Point Military Academy, expected to spend his short summer leave visiting with family and friends. Love is the last thing on his mind, but a glimpse of a young woman has him questioning his desire to remain single.The bond between them is unexpected and becoming more seems inevitable—until Sabrina returns home to find her world torn apart. Monsters are real. Nightmares come true. And love is nothing more than a dream. ⚠ ⚠ ⚠  Expect the unexpected. As soon as you think you know, you have no idea. Triggers are possible. Evil is among us, and there's no telling how far it will take you to get what it wants.

    It'll keep you guessing until the last chapter.' JANE FALLON)'Head and shoulders above the rest. Gripping' DAILY MAIL

    Dane McKendrick is tired of his twenty-four-year-old receptionist, Amity Derrington, failing to take her job seriously. Amity is beautiful and smart, but the rich, spoiled girl clearly needs a firm hand, and when she shows up late for work and hung over yet again, Dane lets her know that from now on her behavior will have consequences. It isn’t long before Amity puts Dane’s warning to the test, and she soon ends up over his knee for a long, hard, bare-bottom spanking. But she’s completely unprepared for the strong emotions that overwhelm her as she dangles over the stern doctor’s lap, and though the painful chastisement brings her to tears, Dane’s attentions turn her on more than she ever imagined possible. More embarrassing still, when Dane learns the extent to which she has neglected her annual check-ups, Amity quickly finds herself receiving the most intimate, thorough exam of her life. But when Amity learns the full truth about Dane, will she be able to give him everything he demands? And if Amity’s father—who happens to be the most prominent man on the hospital board—finds out about their new relationship, will it cost Dane his job? Publisher’s Note: The Doctor and the Naughty Girl is an erotic romance novel that includes spankings, sexual scenes, medical play, elements of BDSM, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book. This book is also available as part of a five-book collection entitled What the Doctor Ordered.

    They don’t hide in your nightmares. They steal you away from the good life and prevent you from living your dreams. That’s where 17-year-old Gwendolyn Fitzpatrick found herself; surrounded by wicked fiends after everything she thought she had was gone in the blink of an eye. She was shuffled away with one bag of memories miles away to a pair of foster parents that hardly had her best interests at hand. Forced to obey and listen to her caregiver’s commands, Gwendolyn buries her old self and focuses on the pain to become one of them. A monster herself to seek vengeance.While yearning for her teeming point to come, Gwendolyn starts to connect with another 17-year-old foster boy living with her who calls himself Welch. Just when Gwendolyn starts to feel faith splice its way through the venom of pain, the connection she has with Welch is put in jeopardy as the harshness gets worse with each passing day.Will the two tattered spirits make it out alive?