When she was young Chloe’s mother vanished. Wracked by feelings of abandonment and anger she lost herself traveling with her father's magic act, where illusions were part of her everyday life. Yet everything changes when they are pursued by a mysterious man in black out to kill her father. Touching a doorknob activates abilities she never knew she had and she finds herself thrust into a world of ancient societies and secrets.When her father disappears it is a race against time to find answers before she loses what is left of her family. Now Chloe must choose who to trust, the man who will do anything for her or the one she can’t stop thinking about.

    In seven hours and twenty minutes Grace Jordan will be dead. Will she have abandoned her family in vain, or is this the start of a new journey and her chance to save us all?Transmit is a short story about an epic odyssey into the unknown.This book can be downloaded by signing up to the authors mailing list:http://freestory.craigleagordon.com/t..."A thought-provoking, original and thoroughly absorbing concept... fantastic.""It’s a page-turner. I was hooked right away when I read the first line and just breezed through. The plot unraveled at an enticing pace, I was very excited to find out what was going on. The writing is top notch, a real pleasure to read.""For such a short story you did a great job establishing an emotional connection to the main character."

    Dick wrote more than one hundred short stories, each as mind-bending and genre-defining as his longer works. Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams collects ten of the best from across his career. In “Autofac,” Dick shows us one of the earliest examples (and warnings) in science fiction of self-replicating machines. “Exhibit Piece” and “The Commuter” feature Dick exploring one of his favorite themes: the shifting nature of reality, and whether it is even possible to really perceive the world as it is. And “The Hanging Stranger” provides a thrilling, dark political allegory as relevant today as it was when it was written at the height of the Cold War.   Strange, funny, and powerful, the stories in this collection highlight a master at work, drawing on his boundless imagination and deep understanding of the human condition.

    Among its pages are a couple who becomes obsessed with their friend hearing them have sex, then seeing them have sex…until they can’t have sex without him; a ten-year-old whose birthday party takes a sinister turn when she wishes for “something mean”; a woman who finds a book of spells half hidden at the library and summons her heart’s desire: a nameless, naked man; and a self-proclaimed “biter” who dreams of sneaking up behind and sinking her teeth into a green-eyed, long-haired, pink-cheeked coworker.Spanning a range of genres and topics—from the mundane to the murderous and supernatural—these are stories about sex and punishment, guilt and anger, the pleasure and terror of inflicting and experiencing pain. These stories fascinate and repel, revolt and arouse, scare and delight in equal measure. And, as a collection, they point a finger at you, daring you to feel uncomfortable—or worse, understood—as if to say, “You want this, right? You know you want this.”Bad boy --Look at your game, girl --Sardines --The night runner --The mirror, the bucket, and the old thigh bone --Cat person --The good guy --The boy in the pool --Scarred --The matchbox sign --Death wish --Biter --Acknowledgments

    - The Great Automatic Grammatizator- Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat- The Butler- Man from the South- The Landlady- Parson’s Pleasure- The Umbrella Man- Katina- The Way Up to Heaven- Royal Jelly- Vengeance Is Mine Inc.- Taste- Neck

    With razor wit and compassionate insight, Egerton has a crafted a work that brilliantly explores the pain and wonder of life, knowing that with the turn of any corner death could be panhandling for your soul.

    The novella “A Necessary Being” showcases Octavia E. Butler’s ability to create alien yet fully believable “others.” Tahneh’s father was a Hao, one of a dwindling race whose leadership abilities render them so valuable that their members are captured and forced to govern. When her father dies, Tahneh steps into his place, both chief and prisoner, and for twenty years has ruled without ever meeting another of her kind. She bears her loneliness privately until the day that a Hao youth is spotted wandering into her territory. As her warriors sharpen their weapons, Tahneh must choose between imprisoning the newcomer—and living the rest of her life alone. The second story in this volume, “Childfinder,” was commissioned by Harlan Ellison for his legendary (and never-published) anthology The Last Dangerous Visions™. A disaffected telepath connects with a young girl in a desperate attempt to help her harness her growing powers. But in the richly evocative fiction of Octavia E. Butler, mentorship is a rocky path, and every lesson comes at a price. The award-winning author of science fiction classics Parable of the Sower and Kindred bestows these compelling, long lost gems “like the miraculous discovery that the beloved book you’ve read a dozen times has an extra chapter” (Los Angeles Review of Books). Harlan Ellison and Dangerous Visions are registered trademarks of the Kilimanjaro Corporation. All rights reserved.

    Friends:One moment.One wrong choice.That was all it took to destroy a friendship.*takes place before Sempre*Forever:Halloween.With a three year old.'Nuff said.*takes place after Sempre: Redemption*

    But now, ten years later, he’s offering her a sexy “do-over” of that less-than-satisfying night, and Renee finds his offer hard to refuse. Jake might have blundered their first time together, but he’s all about second chances, and this time he’s playing for keeps.Meet Me at MidnightFrom Friends . . . To Lovers . . . To Soulmates.Shane Witmer and Alyssa Harte have been best friends all their lives, but it’s been years since he’s felt more than brotherly affection for her. When Alyssa decides it’s time to actively seek a committed relationship with a man, Shane is determined to convince her that’s he’s the only man for the job, and show her that best friends make even better lovers. Seducing SantaALL SHE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS . . . All Faith Roberts wants for Christmas is one sexy night with Matthew Carlton, the hot, gorgeous pediatric surgeon posing as Santa for a visit to the children’s ward where she volunteers. Matthew has been interested in Faith for months and is more than willing to fulfill her naughty wishes, and more. As Faith seduces her Santa, It’s Matthew who steals her heart. She might have only asked for one night, but Matthew is determined to show her that he’s the kind of gift that keeps on giving. Originally part of JINGLE BELL ROCK anthology

    When Brina Kingston is hired by Luke’s competitor as a corporate spy, Brina successfully works her way into a position as Luke Maxwell’s new executive assistant. What Brina doesn’t expect is to find herself in a compromising position in his bed.Brina thinks she has the savvy to see past Luke’s cunning intellect and extract the trade secrets she was hired to acquire. But she soon finds herself falling for his charms and risking the most important assignment of her career and, possibly, the greatest relationship of her life.This is the first installment in the LUKE Series.

    Tara shows him a raw passion and honesty he’s never encountered. For the first time, Rick wants more than one night, but he needs to catch her first... Tara Denton escaped a brutal past and needs one night with a stranger to get beyond her sexual and emotional limitations. On the brink of recovering her strength and independence, she wants nothing to do with a relationship. But Rick Steele does more than rock her body…he rocks her heart. Tara has to make a choice, but is she ready to get caught? What’s your secret desire for one perfect night? Welcome to the mysterious FANTA-C agency where everything, and anything goes…

    It’s how so many of our most beloved stories start.Fairy tales have dominated our cultural imagination for centuries. From the Brothers Grimm to the Countess d’Aulnoy, from Charles Perrault to Hans Christian Anderson, storytellers have crafted all sorts of tales that have always found a place in our hearts.Now a new generation of storytellers have taken up the mantle that the masters created and shaped their stories into something startling and electrifying.Packed with award-winning authors, this anthology explores an array of fairy tales in startling and innovative ways, in genres and settings both traditional and unusual, including science fiction, western, and post-apocalyptic as well as traditional fantasy and contemporary horror.From the woods to the stars, The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales takes readers on a journey at once unexpected and familiar, as a diverse group of writers explore some of our most beloved tales in new ways across genres and styles.

    A party girl’s addiction gives birth to a monster within. Man’s best friend must fend off a woman’s greatest nightmare…Scare Street is proud to present eleven chilling tales of the supernatural, in one monstrous volume. Horror authors Ron Ripley, David Longhorn, Sara Clancy, and many more unite to bring you a terrifying collection of short stories, each one guaranteed to haunt your dreams. And each one more chilling than the last.Once you start reading you won’t be able to stop. Because when these authors sink their teeth into you, it’s already too late.The only way to escape from these nightmares… is to wake up screaming.