The Playboy’s Second Chance This story was formerly titled Kismet. Since the title was confusing to readers, I changed the name and now bring you The Playboy’s Second Chance. I hope you enjoy my sexy, stand-alone novella. Trevor Dane, Wall Street Hot Shot and billionaire, has everything — money, power and any woman he could possibly want yet he isn’t happy. When his latest interviewer turns out to be the one woman he’s never forgotten, Trevor sees a second chance and he won’t let Lissa Gardelli’s wariness or old hurts stop him from getting back into her bed… and her heart. Midnight Angel Hollywood superstar, Dylan North, revisits his home town with the express intent of seeing his first love once more, to see if they can reignite the love he stupidly threw away ten years before. The last thing Dr. Holly Evans needs in her life is her high school sweetheart returning and stirring up old feelings. But Dylan is determined to convince Holly that happily ever doesn't only happen in the movies.

    Terrifying urban myths, malicious ghosts, cursed architecture, malignant city deities, personal demons (in business or relationships) twisted into something worse virtually anything that inspires the contributors to imagine some bit of urban darkness."

    Need a special set up? Just ask, and we'll be sure you have everything you need. If you would like to know more about the owners, check out their stories! Unzoned Garrick has been in Jade's friend-zone high-school. But that's about to change. But moving from friends to lovers is hard enough without the complications of his dominating ways and her need to submit. Getting this wrong could ruin everything. Getting it right could mean the world. Until Daddy No matter how panty-melting the chemistry, Carissa knows relationships don't last. Being with Jamison Croft is no exception. Jamison doesn't give up easily when it comes to getting what he wants. And he WANTS Carissa. Not only is she intelligent, gorgeous, and generous- she feeds every desire the Daddy Dom in him craves. She believed she'd never have anyone in her corner. But that was Until Daddy.PUNISHING HER (an exclusive Club Dark Lace short story)Susan has made a BIG mistake. HUGE- and it nearly cost her her life. Now she must face her husband, if he'll speak to her. This isn't how their marriage thrives. Communication. Rules. Consequences. It makes their world turn. But her actions have thrown them off course. What she needs now is his dominance, and with that will come her PUNISHMENT.

    In THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME a professional hunter finds out what it feels like to be hunted as a wild animal- for he is the prey? In TO BUILD A FIRE a trapper fights desperately against stark fear in the cruel Arctic night... In LEININGEN VERSUS THE ANTS a settler battles for his very life against a teeming horde of millions of deadly ants...These are only a few of the thrilling stories you'll read in this fascinating book.

    Sure, she’s taken a few risks to try to stop the expansion of Skipjack Bay. And yes, okay, the first time she met with Austin to plead her case, she’d technically been trespassing. But this? His bed, his rules, his massive, let’s just say confidence. Not to mention his uncanny ability to make her come... completely undone. It’s all beyond crazy. Still, the chance to help the families in her hometown is something she can’t turn down. So, she agrees to his terms. Total surrender. Hers. To him. A simple business deal where they both get what they want. The absolute last thing Gina expects is for Austin to want her to surrender her heart to him, too. Previously published as Black Gold 1 & 2, (c) 2012 & (c) 2014 revised throughout with newly added content and an extended ending. Story Note: This steamy standalone includes cameos by a few characters from Tempted Beyond Reason (formerly titled Waking Up Her Curves, which has similarly been republished with revisions and new content), but not to worry, both stories are completely independent from each other.

    From Samuel Peralta, creator of the #1 bestselling Future Chronicles anthology series, comes a new speculative anthology series that turns the world you know upside down.In Alt.History 101, thirteen top speculative fiction authors re-imagine the world - as one where the inventor of the smallpox vaccine died before he'd created it, as one where the women's suffragist movement failed to win the right to vote, as one where the death penalty exists but where all forms of capital punishment are ruled inhumane - and ten other compelling stories charting the histories of these worlds.Enter worlds so much like our own, yet so different - where everything you know... is history.

    In addition to their story, each author elaborates on her feelings about the “chick-lit” label and recommends literary fiction writers that have inspired them.

    

    Some rend the veil of sleep with heart-stopping madness. Others defy sanity to leave a helpless corner of your mind twitching for release. Sometimes, hours after waking, a nightmare drifts across your memory, tainting your day with wisps of discomfort. NIGHTMARES UNHINGED reveals horror in all its mutable forms—abject to absurd—through twenty tales of terror.Contributors include Mario Acevedo, Edward Bryant, Dustin Carpenter, Sean Eads, Keith Ferrell, Warren Hammond, Jason Heller, Gary Jonas, Stephen Graham Jones, J.V. Kyle, Aaron Michael Ritchey, Jeanne C. Stein, Steve Rasnic Tem, and Dean Wyant. Foreword by New York Times bestseller Steve Alten. Edited by Joshua Viola. Illustrations by Aaron Lovett.A portion of the book's proceeds will be donated to Rocky Mountain Cancer Assistance in honor of Melanie Tem.Contents:Foreword “Terrors In The Night” by Steve AltenIntroduction “Reclaim Your Fears” by Joshua Viola“The Brollachan” by Steve Rasnic Tem“Fangs” by J.V. Kyle“Be Seated” by Keith Ferrell“The Man Who Killed Texas” by Stephen Graham Jones “Scarecrows” by Joshua Viola “Zou Gou” by Mario Acevedo “Needles” by Joshua Viola and Dean Wyant “The Projectionist” by Jason Heller “The Wolf’s Paw” by Jeanne C. Stein “Danniker’s Coffin” by Keith Ferrell “Deep Woods” by Aaron Michael Ritchey “Diamond Widow” by Dustin Carpenter “The Camera” by Joshua Viola “Lost Balls” by Sean Eads “Bathroom Break” by J.V. Kyle “Marginal Ha’nts” by Edward Bryant “Delicioso” by Warren Hammond “The Librarian” by Joshua Viola “Gurgle. Gurgle.” by Mario Acevedo “Taking The Dare” by Gary Jonas Afterword “Melanie Tem: Hubble’s Child” by Edward Bryant

    Jodorowsky and Bess pull no punches in this tale of a modern-day gunslinger's path through the darkest places in the human soul Juan's ascension from an orphan in the slums to the governor's number one bodyguard will cost him his soul - and finding redemption may cost him his life From master storyteller Alexandro Jodorowsky (The Incal, The Metabarons), with art by Georges Bess (The White Lama, Anibal 5).

    From Delusions of Universal Grandeur to Twentieth Century Chronoshock, this amusing pocket guide to concocted diseases - designed and illustrated by John Coulthart - features an anthology of slightly morbid, darkly humorous ailments and prognosis srved up by such renowned luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Michael Moorcock, Gahan Wilson, Brian Stableford, and Michael Bishop.

    Androids. Artificial Intelligence. Scientists predict that the "singularity" -- the moment when mankind designs the first greater-than-human intelligence -- is nearly within our grasp. Believe it or not, truly sentient machines may be a reality within as little as 20 years. Will these "post-human" intelligences be our friends? Our servants? Our rivals? What will we learn from them? What will they learn from us? Will we allow them to lead their own lives? Will they have basic human rights? Will we? Science and society will be forced to address these questions sooner than you think. But science fiction is addressing these questions today. In THE ROBOT CHRONICLES, thirteen of today's top sci-fi writers explore the approaching collision of humanity and technology.

    A sleepwalker is stalked by a sinister spirit in the shadow world between dreams and reality. And in a town ravaged by a savage beast, a desperate man will do anything to protect his loved one.Scare Street is proud to present the best in bone-chilling supernatural horror. This volume contains three spine-tingling tales for your reading pleasure. But first, lock the doors, close the windows, and be sure to turn on the lights.Safe and sound, you begin to read. But wait… something scratches on your bedroom door. And you realize all the locks in the world can’t protect you. Because the thing you fear most is already inside.The lights go out, the door creaks open. And the real nightmare begins…

    Lightspeed publishes all types of science fiction, from near-future, sociological soft sf, to far-future, star-spanning hard sf, and anything and everything in between. Each month, Lightspeed features a mix of originals and reprints, from a variety of authors - from the bestsellers and award-winners you already know to the best new voices you haven''t heard of yet. Now, in Lightspeed: Year One, you will find all of the fiction published in Lightspeed''s first year, from new stories such as Nebula Award finalists, Vylar Kaftan''s "I''m Alive, I Love You, I''ll See You in Reno" and "Arvies" by Adam-Troy Castro, and Carrie Vaughn''s Hugo Award-nominee "Amaryllis," to classic reprints by Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and more.Contents:"I'm Alive, I Love You, I'll See You in Reno" by Vylar Kaftan"The Cassandra Project" by Jack McDevitt"Cats in Victory" by David Barr Kirtley"Amaryllis" by Carrie Vaughn"No Time Like the Present" by Carol Emshwiller"Manumission" by Tobias S. Buckell"The Zeppelin Conductors' Society Annual Gentlemen's Ball" by Genevieve Valentine"...For a Single Yesterday" by George R. R. Martin"How to Become a Mars Overlord" by Catherynne M. Valente"Patient Zero" by Tananarive Due"Arvies" by Adam-Troy Castro"More Than the Sum of His Parts" by Joe Haldeman"Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" by Yoon Ha Lee"The Long Chase" by Geoffrey A. Landis"Amid the Words of War" by Cat Rambo"Travelers" by Robert Silverberg"Hindsight" by Sarah Langan"Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back" by Joe R. Lansdale"The Taste of Starlight" by John R. Fultz"Beachworld" by Stephen King"Standard Loneliness Package" by Charles Yu"Faces in Revolving Souls" by Caitlin R. Kiernan"Hwang's Billion Brilliant Daughters" by Alice Sola Kim"Ej-Es" by Nancy Kress"In-Fall" by Ted Kosmatka"The Observer" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch"Jenny's Sick" by David Tallerman"The Silence of the Asonu" by Ursula K. Le Guin"Postings from an Amorous Tomorrow" by Corey Mariani"Cucumber Gravy" by Susan Palwick"Black Fire" by Tanith Lee"The Elephants of Poznan" by Orson Scott Card"Long Enough And Just So Long" by Cat Rambo"The Passenger" by Julie E. Czerneda"Simulacrum" by Ken Liu"Breakaway, Backdown" by James Patrick Kelly"Saying the Names" by Maggie Clark"Gossamer" by Stephen Baxter"Spider the Artist" by Nnedi Okorafor"Woman Leaves Room" by Robert Reed"All That Touches the Air" by An Owomoyela"Maneki Neko" by Bruce Sterling"Mama, We are Zhenya, Your Son" by Tom Crosshill"Velvet Fields" by Anne McCaffrey"The Harrowers" by Eric Gregory"Bibi From Jupiter" by Tessa Mellas"Eliot Wrote" by Nancy Kress"Scales" by Alastair Reynolds

    And sometimes, the presence of dogs and cats in our lives can do even more. In these delightful books, Callie Smith Grant collects stories that celebrate the dogs and cats in our lives--stories that touch our hearts, renew our spirit, and show us how God created these creatures for unique purposes.Well-known authors, as well as new voices, share their inspirational true stories of these otherwise ordinary cats and dogs whose presence in the lives of humans make them remarkable. Each book also includes interesting sidebars, memorable quotes, and helpful hints for living with dogs and cats. The stories are warm, captivating, and ideal for a good curl-up-and-read or for a gift to any pet lover.