Sometimes sad, often humorous and always creative, these tales touch on a wide range of life experiences from romance and family to death and sex. Nana rocked in her old wooden rocking chair. “Timmy, you have always been my favorite,” she said. He looked at her. “Nana, I’m Bobby.” Read your diary, discovered your secret. I thought I loved you, but now I’m not sure. Don’t know what to do, you look so human. Clowning was Daryl’s profession, cooking was his passion. Stella thought he was perfect. She liked to laugh and never learned to cook. Alex bought Sharon a ring for Valentine’s Day, which she sold to buy the gun that stopped him from loving her. In 2009, Sean Hill combined his love of writing and technology by creating @VeryShortStory, a Twitter feed where he interacts with his readers and shares his 140-character stories.

    And now, due to circumstances beyond their control, the family has come together to do the one thing that none of them has ever wanted to do.They have come together to bury Daniel.Shattered by the death of their little boy, Jonathan and Frances set out to find the Campbell Family Carnival, where Fran's old friend Juniper's talent for talking to ghosts may allow her to believe that her child is truly at rest. Jonathan has no such hopes; he just wants to there's a chance his wife will survive the labyrinth of her grief.This is not a happy story, and it does not chronicle a happy time in the annals of the Price family. But this is what happened, and when it happened, and it shaped so very much of what came after.Rest well, Daniel Healy. You never had a chance.

    He has five close friends, all in well-paid jobs. Having bought their lovely houses cheaply in the early 1990s, they are free to spend money on their own pleasures - particularly clothes, meals and cars. Most of all, their life revolves around going to see things - art exhibitions, comedians, live music, plays...When we first meet the six friends they are on their way to see a new kind of circus. Once there Kelvin does something unforgivable to a clown, has a strange snack and meets the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. It's the beginning of the end of the good life.

    Pursued by the demons left by her ex-boyfriend, she takes refuge in quiet Crickleford, a sleepy town in Dartmoor, where she can lay low.Life in Crickleford is quiet and peaceful, but it won’t be for long if people discover the truth about Emma’s past. Not wanting to make too much of a fuss, she ends up lying about why she's there - she's looking after some cats, she says - then suddenly the town’s new ‘pet-sitter’ is in high demand!While looking after an Alsatian, Emma finds all attention is on her, and the handsome young reporter from the local paper takes an interest in her story...Note: this is part one of a four-part serialised novel. The full length paperback will be available in April 2018

    Once you've met Jim Fosse you'll never feel quite the same about opening your e-mails ...A darkly humorous short story of obsession from John Dolan, author of 'Everyone Burns'.WARNING: Contains sexual references and some really terrible grammar.

    A mysterious lump on her throat is making it hard. Handsome Dr. Jeremy Nelson is making it harder.

     Hit the road with this anthology of trucking horror fiction!

    Sheridan LeFanu (1814-73) gave expression to the fears and dread that often haunt sensitive individuals. This collection contains four of his finest ghost stories, each crafted with remarkable ingenuity and storytelling skill. The title story offers a petrifying account of an English cleric's bouts with a malignant spectral presence; "Squire Toby's Will" recounts a sibling rivalry and disputed inheritance; "The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh" concerns a country gentleman's mysterious relationship with a sinister valet; and "Sir Dominick's Bargain" presents LeFanu's masterly variation on the theme of a pact with the devil.All four tales embody not only the suspense and terror expected of a ghost story but also a subtlety, awareness, and psychological depth that elevate them far above most efforts in the genre. This inexpensive edition provides gripping entertainment as well as an excellent introduction to the intelligence and imagination that characterize LeFanu's work.

    She’s fell for veterinarian Cameron McKenzie’s good looks, caring nature and especially his devotion to his young daughter. For months Cameron’s pushed away all thoughts of taking Rina in his arms and kissing her, unwilling to risk their friendship. But when a kiss under the mistletoe unlocks the simmering passion between them, Rina and Cameron may just find love for the holidays after all...YOURS FOR CHRISTMASFamous former NFL stars don’t date single working moms like Bailey Voss. She’ll allow herself to daydream about Kenny Scott’s muscles and killer smile, but wanting more would lead to post-holiday regret. Then Kenny volunteers to run a toy drive with Bailey, and she learns that he’s not just hot…he’s also generous, funny, nice. And as festive spirit spreads, Kenny gets wrapped up in Bailey’s kisses — and decides to make this the first of many Christmases together…Previously published.

    Unearthing a den of corruption, Spinoza learns what it means to fight alongside the Emperor’s Angels, and vows to prove herself worthy of this honour or die in the attempt. Read it because It's not often we get to see Space Marines through the eyes of a servant of the Inquisition, and seeing the contrast between their different methods of serving the Emperor is quite fascinating.

    For the black-clad Leiters were on the prowl ... and the grim red planet was not far behind. First published in 1954.

    That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story Shawn could sell toward alleviating those bills—and suggested Shawn ask the same of his other friends.Unfettered is the result, an anthology built to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.Every story in this volume is new and, like the title suggests, the writers were free to write whatever they wished. Authors contributing are -Walker and the Shade of Allanon by Terry Brooks (a Shannara tale)-Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks (a precursor to the Word/Void trilogy)-How Old Holly Came To Be by Patrick Rothfuss (a Four Corners tale)-River of Souls by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (a Wheel of Time tale)-The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams-Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Carey (a precursor to the Kushiel series)-Dogs by Daniel Abraham-Mudboy by Peter V. Brett (a Demon Cycle tale)-Nocturne by Robert V. S. Redick-The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian (a Vault of Heaven tale)-The Coach with Big Teeth by R.A. Salvatore-Keeper of Memory by Todd Lockwood (a Summer Dragon tale)-Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn-The Lasting Doubts of Joaquin Lopez by Blake Charlton-The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne (an Iron Druid tale)-Select Mode by Mark Lawrence (a Broken Empire tale)-All the Girls Love Michael Stein by David Anthony Durham-Strange Rain by Jennifer Bosworth (a Struck epilogue tale)-Unbowed by Eldon Thompson (a Legend of Asahiel tale)-In Favour with Their Stars by Naomi Novik (a Temeraire tale)-The Jester by Michael J. Sullivan (a Riyria Chronicles tale)-The Duel by Lev Grossman (a Magicians tale)-The Unfettered Knight by Shawn Speakman (an Annwn Cycle tale)and artist Todd Lockwood, who donated artwork as well as a story.With the help of stalwart friends and these wonderful short stories, Shawn has taken the gravest of life hardships and created something magical. Unfettered is not only a fantastic anthology in its own right but it’s a testament to the generosity found in the science fiction and fantasy community—proof that humanity can give beyond itself when the need arises.After all, isn’t that the driving narrative in fantasy literature?

    A 1930s Soviet censor painstakingly corrects offending photographs, deep underneath Leningrad, bewitched by the image of a disgraced prima ballerina. A chorus of women recount their stories and those of their grandmothers, former gulag prisoners who settled their Siberian mining town. Two pairs of brothers share a fierce, protective love. Young men across the former USSR face violence at home and in the military. And great sacrifices are made in the name of an oil landscape unremarkable except for the almost incomprehensibly peaceful past it depicts. In stunning prose, with rich character portraits and a sense of history reverberating into the present, The Tsar of Love and Techno is a captivating work from one of our greatest new talents.The leopard --Granddaughters --The Grozny Tourist Bureau --A prisoner of the Caucasus --The tsar of love and techno --Wolf of White Forest --Palace of the people --A temporary exhibition --The end

    Ordered by profession, these short-short stories range from the hilarious to the somber, the absurd to the revelatory. Using real people as the springboard, VanderMeer has created a rich blend of the factual and the imaginary in which everyone gets the secret life they deserve. A luminous little book meant for dipping into one secret life at a time.

    in this off-kilter, coming-of-age romantic comedy.Abbie, a twenty-something free spirit who is dreading her looming parent-mandated enrollment in graduate school, makes a semi-annual pilgrimage to visit her perfectly well meaning and perfectly boring grandfather, Henry. But Abbie is roused out of her quarter-life crisis when she meets her grandfather's persnickety, oddball friend, Johnson. With his cane and elderly clothing, he is the very picture of a bitter old man. The problem is, Johnson is 23 years old, and apparently completely delusional. Also a problem: Abbie is falling in love with him. The first novel from screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, OLD MAN JOHNSON is for the old (and young) at heart.Cover design by Kristen Radtke.Cover painting by Mark Allison.