But what the best of these stories do is the same across the genres—they illuminate the whole gamut of the human experience, interrogating our hopes and our fears. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Charles Yu, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 continues to explore the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today, with Yu bringing his unique view—literary, meta, and adventurous—to the series’ third edition.

    She and her two young children must now face a holiday season filled with so many reminders of what they've lost. But when a coworker who’s raising his young nephew moves next door, Rae discovers that the support of a good friend, and the gift of a child, can bring back some of the joy of the season.

    Nothing stolen, and no apparent suspects. It seems like an open and shut case, but is it? In this heartwarming short story by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Christopher Greyson, join Finn and Annie as they work together to solve The Case of the Attic Door! Finnian Church is trying to piece his life back together. After losing his leg while in the Army, he is starting a new career as an insurance investigator. Joining him is newly hired videographer, Annie Summers— a woman who lost her hearing but is trying to make it as a single mother of two. The world might see them as broken and battered souls, but as they come together to solve mysteries, they discover that they make a great team. Join this unlikely duo as they investigate their way through murder, arson, theft, embezzlement, and maybe even love, seeking to distinguish between truth and lies, scammers and victims.

    She was used to devoting her time to the animals on her family’s ranch. Then widower Ben Caldwell and his two adorable children arrived in Pine Gulch, and suddenly, Caidy wanted more than a life in the shadows….As the town’s new vet, Ben needed a place to stay for the holidays—and for his family to heal from their own loss. He absolutely wasn’t looking for love again! But Caidy Bowman’s sparkling green eyes and sweet smile touched Ben’s broken heart, giving him hope for a new future. Their future—if he could convince the beautiful cowgirl that Christmas was a time for new beginnings….Originally published in 2012 FREE BONUS STORY INCLUDED IN THIS VOLUME!A Very Crimson Christmas It’s that time of year! For years there’d been only one woman in Liam Donovan’s life—his beloved nanny, who’d raised him as her own. But someone is clearly taking advantage of Ruth, which brings the studly CEO back to Crimson, the place he was all too happy to have left behind. And there Liam finds Ruth has live-in help—in the form of his high school love, Natalie Holt, and her adorable son… He better not fall for Nat a second time—because what if she is the cause of his nanny’s missing money?Originally published in 2015

    Yet the passing of another year means nothing to the stunning immortals who lurk in the shadows of the new-fallen snow.And they don't care if you've been naughty or nice.Let four fanged lovers open your eyes to a passion you never dared to imagine. After all, there's no place like home for the holidays—and these dazzling vampires can't wait for an invitation.

    An old friend shows up in town to stay and they have decisions to make about some big plans for their future. Spend a little more time in Bellingwood during the holidays and see what everyone is up to. Rebecca and Andrew have a party to attend, Polly has yet another rescue. It's just one more week in that little world we all love.

    P. Lovecraft's "Pickman's model" - was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, while "Proboscis" was nominated for an International Horror Guild award and reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 19. In addition to his previously published work, this collection contains an original story.

    

    It is voiced in first-person by an anonymous narrator often using jargon, broken grammar and punctuation with a poetry-like structure. The narration shifts quickly from random idea to idea with little to no connectivity between them, typically giving vivid descriptions of abstract situations. The narrative styles in the book vary significantly as well, with no apparent solid identity to the narrator itself. Some characters and ideas emerge suddenly and disappear without explanation.Within this form incorporate elements of science fiction, cyberpunk, tabloid journalism, and advertising slogans. Due to its use of pop-culture references (e.g. to kung-fu films) and literary allusions it requires knowledge of (then) current affairs. Leyner resorts to irony and humor as a means of interplay with traditional realism.-Wikipedia

    But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. A love story can never be about full possession. Love stories depend on disappointment, on unequal births and feuding families, on matrimonial boredom and at least one cold heart. Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name.... It is perhaps only in reading a love story (or in writing one) that we can simultaneously partake of the ecstasy and agony of being in love without paying a crippling emotional price. I offer this book, then, as a cure for lovesickness and an antidote to adultery. Read these love stories in the safety of your single bed. Let everybody else suffer." --Jeffrey Eugenides, from the introduction to My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead All proceeds from My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead will go directly to fund the free youth writing programs offered by 826 Chicago. 826 Chicago is part of the network of seven writing centers across the United States affiliated with 826 National, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

    Yet it seems like only yesterday when I had my first book, Let's Meet on Platform 8, published. I'm so lucky to have an enthusiastic and devoted following of readers - some who've stayed with me from the very beginning and some who are recent converts. Without you reading and enjoying my books, I would never have had the fabulous career I've been blessed with. We make a great team!I thought it would be nice for you all to join the celebration with me and to offer a small token of my thanks and appreciation for all your support over the years. I love writing short stories and that's what helped to get me started on this road so I've put together a collection of a few of my favourites that have interspersed the last twenty-five books. Each one is very special to me for a different reason and has lovely memories. I hope you enjoy them too. Find half an hour to curl up on the sofa with them and raise a glass to toast twenty-five books and us!*Includes an exclusive extract from The Cake Shop in the Garden*

    Through the lens of Link's vivid imagination, nothing is what it seems, and everything deserves a second look. From the multiple award-winning The Faery Handbag, in which a teenager's grandmother carries an entire village (or is it a man-eating dog?) in her handbag, to the near-future of The Surfer, whose narrator (a soccer-playing skeptic) waits with a planeload of refugees for the aliens to arrive, Link's stories are funny and full of unexpected insights and skewed perspectives on the world. Her fans range from Michael Chabon to Peter Buck of R.E.M. to Holly Black of Spiderwick Chronicles fame. Now teens can have their world rocked, too!

     THE SWEETNESS OF HER LOVE—KIMBERLY RAE JORDAN James Dawson may have looked like the hero of one of the romances Erin Kirkland loves to read, but she quickly discovers that he is not the hero for her. After all, how can she have a happily-ever-after with a man who doesn’t believe in love or marriage? Who would have thought that a visit to his grandmother’s favorite bakery to order a cake for her ninetieth birthday would end up causing James to re-evaluate his whole life? Certainly not James Dawson. But following their rather disastrous first meeting, James is determined to show Erin that he is a better man than she’s first judged him to be. Erin doesn’t want to friend-zone James, but she’s not sure she can trust that the changes he’s making will be permanent. Can someone really go from totally dismissing love and marriage to embracing it so quickly? SUGAR AND SPICE—CECELIA DOWDY Sheila Parks is stunned when Mason Smith, the identical twin brother of her ex-boyfriend Reese, moves to Blue Spring and opens a bakery. Reese’s cruel breakup still bothers her and seeing somebody who looks just like him is a painful reminder of her predicament. Unemployed, Sheila needs financial help and it appears that Mason can assist her with her problem. Can she learn to trust a man who looks just like her ex? Mason is stunned when Sheila storms into his bakery, mistakenly thinking that he’s Reese. Mason is used to comforting his womanizing brother’s ex-girlfriends. A stutterer, Mason has always had a hard time socializing with others. However, he finds himself smitten with beautiful Sheila. Can he control his stutter so that he can ask Sheila to be his date to his grandmother’s Christmas birthday party? Both Sheila and Mason deal with past pains as they work together during the Christmas season. MOOSTLETOE —JAN ELDER Rev. Samantha Evans lands in Moose Creek, Maine, where parishioners chew up new ministers for breakfast. Happily, she also reunites with forest ranger Eric Palmer, her best friend from her teenage years. With Samantha’s career on the line, Eric must save her job and rescue his own shattered heart in the process. But how does Matilda the moose factor into the mix? THE HECTOR CLAUSE—CLARE REVELL The last thing Brie Dalgleish expected her boss to do was ask her to play an elf in the toy store grotto. She's even less enthusiastic when she discovers Santa is the same bloke who drove his car through a puddle the previous evening, completely soaking her. Hector Clause is playing Santa in the family owned toy store under sufferance as a favor to his grandfather. He'd rather be in a nice safe office, using his law degree, than playing Santa in a shop full of squealing kids. Even if the chief elf is on the cute side. With the store's centenary fast approaching, the anniversary party is abruptly cancelled. Hector resolves to celebrate anyway, but isn't prepared for the curveball he finds headed his way. GINGER & BRAD’S HOUSE—MARION UECKERMANN When Brad O’Sullivan is unfaithful to Ginger Murphy, she escapes to Australia for five long years. During this time, Brad’s shotgun marriage fails. Besides his little boy, Jamie, one other thing in his life has turned out sweet and successful—his pastry business. Ginger returns to Ireland, when her mother’s diagnosed with heart failure. She loves being a wedding flautist but fears bumping into the wedding cake chef she tries to avoid.

    She plans to start the new year off as a full-time career woman.What she doesn’t expect is for her brother’s friend, Kyle, to show up and steal her heart. But, after a bad breakup, can she ever trust another man with her heart?Kyle is charming, mature and well-mannered, too good to be true. Will her shattered heart find healing or does she risk having it shattered again?

    But it is in her short stories that her extraordinary talents—as a fabulist, feminist, social critic, and weaver of tales—are most penetratingly evident. This volume presents Carter's considerable legacy of short fiction gathered from published books, and includes early and previously unpublished stories. From reflections on jazz and Japan, through vigorous refashionings of classic folklore and fairy tales, to stunning snapshots of modern life in all its tawdry glory, we are able to chart the evolution of Carter's marvelous, magical vision.