Fans from all over the world gathered in San Diego, California for the annual comic book and media convention, planning to forget about the troubling rumors of new diseases and walking dead by immersing themselves in a familiar environment. Over the course of five grueling days and nights, it became clear that the news was very close to home…and that most of the people who picked up their badges would never make it out alive.

     As in their previous critically acclaimed volumes of reconsidered fairy tales, award-winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have gathered together remarkable stories that illuminate the more sinister, sensual, and sophisticated aspects of the tales we cherished in childhood; the fables of witches and princes and lost children that we once imagined we knew. "Black Heart, Ivory Bones" showcases twenty beguiling tales for the child-that-was and the adult-that-is, penned by twenty of the most creative artists in contemporary American literature. Here dissected are the darker anatomies of the timeless, seemingly simple stories we have long loved. Here wonder and truth have serious bite. A lovelorn prince seeking his father's blessing concocts a fantastic tale of a witch, a tower, and lustrous long hair... A pair of accursed red boots punishes a beautiful dancer for her pride... A troll-killing, princess-rescuing warrior is compelled to consider events from his adversaries' point of view...In a blistering tell-all memoir, Goldilocks reveals the sordid truth about her brutal foster parent, Papa Bear... Rich, surprising, funny, erotic, and unsettling, these twenty new yarns and poems offer exceptional anew treasures--as they brilliantly reveal lusts and jealousies, foibles, hatreds and dangerous obsessions, the things that slyly lurk in the midnight interior of oft-told tales. The "Snow White, Blood Red" Collection #1. Snow White, Blood Red #2. Black Thorn, White Rose #3. Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears #4. Black Swan, White Raven #5. Silver Birch, Blood Moon #6. Black Heart, Ivory Bones

    It contains three novellas, two deleted scenes, mindjack flash fiction, and more. TOP 5 FINALIST for 2012 Best Indie Book, Young Adult Fiction - The Kindle Book ReviewThe Mindjack Origins Collection is comprised of THREE SHORT NOVELLAS which are companion stories to the Mindjack Saga (read after Free Souls), a young adult science fiction series. There are three novels in the original trilogy, five novellas that accompany the series, and plans for another trilogy in the works (see Susan’s latest novella, The Locksmith, for a peek at a new Mindjack character for the coming trilogy – or better yet, subscribe to her newsletter, and get The Locksmith for free!).READING ORDERMindjack Trilogy (novels): Open Minds, Closed Hearts, Free SoulsMindjack Origins (shorts): Mind Games, The Handler, The Scribe, KeeperThe Locksmith is a standalone novella that can be read independently of the trilogy and novellas.

    If you would prefer to read the unedited articles in their old format for free, we have provided a list of the article titles under "chapters" below. Simply go to Wikipedia and use their search form to locate each individual article.)Chapters: The Queen of the Damned, Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, Memnoch the Devil, The Tale of the Body Thief, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, Those Who Must Be Kept, The Vampire Armand, Blood and Gold, Marius de Romanus, Maharet and Mekare, Pandora, Jessica Miriam Reeves, Khayman, Daniel Molloy, Talamasca Caste, Merrick, Blood Canticle, Vittorio the Vampire, Théâtre des Vampires, Merrick Mayfair, Amel, Blackwood Farm, Mona Mayfair, Avicus, Santiago.

    Amid a forest where the shades of the dead linger all around, every homesteader knows to follow the Simple Rules: "Don't kindle flame, don't shed the blood of another, don't run at night. These things draw shades." Silence Montane has broken all three rules on more than one occasion. And to protect her family from a murderous gang with high bounties on their heads, Silence will break every rule again, at the risk of becoming a shade herself.

    Narrated by Derek.Facing Facts (short story set after The Reckoning), Tori discovers who her father is, and Chloe deals with a vengeful ghost. Narrated by Chloe. Appearing in Enthralled

    It's a lonely existence, but, barring the occasional bout of melancholia, he has found the closest thing to peace a man like him deserves. Life is "all right."Or so he believes. Hoping to turn the page, Jespar accepts a mysterious invitation into the beautiful but dangerous archipelago of Kilay-and everything changes.Plagued by explosive social tensions and terrorism, the tropical empire is edging ever closer to civil war. Kilay's merchant king is the only person able to prevent this catastrophe, but he has fallen into a preternatural coma-and it's Jespar's task to figure out what or who caused it. As the investigation takes him across the archipelago and into the king's nightmares, unexpected events not only tie Jespar's own life to the mystery but also unearth inner demons he believed to be long exorcised.Battling old trauma while fighting for his life, his sanity, and the fate of Kilay, the line between dream and reality blurs until only one question remains: If your mind is the enemy, where do you run?

    As all large cities, it attracts a substantial amount of crime largely ignored by the city's civil watch. But when the sorcerers of six races come together, sometimes the friction is bound to make things a bit hot. Enter: The Sorcerous Crimes Division. The S.C.D. is an organization of mage-adept constables dedicated to investigating and policing magical crime in the city of Kaharas. They spend their nights chasing rogue wizards, locking away dangerous artifacts, and just making sure citizens don’t wake up with their feet melted off.In Devilbone, Commander Vulfort struggles with a growing problem of sorcerous contraband within the city that reaches a breaking point when an ancient necromantic reagent called Devilbone Dust, one of 14 forbidden substances, is discovered just outside the city. Meanwhile, Private Tanner has just arrived at the Division and faces the difficulty of adjusting to the dangerous life of a raider and tension within his squad. Together they must find the source of the Devilbone before the dark powers at work use it to destroy the city they are sworn to protect.

    The Source Isle of Magic. It is the Age of Autumn, the island locked in slow, beautiful death. Nine hundred years have passed since Jerrod II, last of the Goblin Kings, was assassinated by a child. After centuries of tyranny, the bloody days of human rule still haunt the long memories of the Fae. Their resplendent bastions have dwindled despite the peace, all but replaced by the superstitious squalor of mortal Man. The human peasantry cowers in remote villages, defending themselves with weapons of iron. The Red Caps, a fanatical army of goblins, have marshaled once more, intent on returning Jerrod’s tyrannical bloodline to power. Padric, a human farmhand and friend to the Fae, finds himself in the midst of the growing war. Rosheen, an alluring piskie and Padric’s lifelong friend, struggles to help him survive. They ally themselves with Deglan Loamtoes, a bigoted gnome herbalist, and Pocket, a changeling orphan fostered by the avian Knights of the Valiant Spur. Beset from all sides by vengeful skin-changers, bloodthirsty marauders and fire-crazed fanatics, these four wayfarers must discover the true identity of Jerrod’s long lost progeny before the goblins reawaken the genocidal soldiers of living iron known as the Forge Born. Can they lay aside their individual prejudices, reveal their long-held secrets, and work with those they distrust to prevent Airlann’s annihilation? Can they stand together to find and destroy the last scion of the Goblin Kings?

    Cassidy, the best-selling author of Spilt Milk: A Collection of Stories, continues the story of some of the characters that first appeared in Spilt Milk. Everyone believes in their own version of reality. Will the past deeds of Caleb, Joy, and George come back to haunt them? Discover realities on the spectrum between normal and fantasy. Earlier experiences shape the present and future. Choices change lives. • Can a murderer decide to stop killing? • Can a woman regain the confidence she had in her twenties? • Can a lonely man find the perfect companion? Welcome to the world of Curious Reality. Are any of your realities curious?

    Now, the lost things are returning and the Onryo have gathered. Five legendary spirits with mysterious powers, bent on freeing an ancient evil that would wreak havoc on humanity.Haruto swore his soul to the God of Death for the chance to hunt down the vengeful ghost of his wife. Now an onmyoji, he’s tasked by the Imperial Throne to hunt down monsters and malicious spirits. But he knows not all spirits are evil and not all deserve the peace of the sword.Kira is a student at Heiwa, an academy for children with dangerous techniques. But she has a secret, she’s not like the other students. When the school is attacked, she flees with one of the tutors, determined to hide both from those who would kill her, and those who would use her.As a plague of spirits sweeps across the land, the Onryo leave a bloody trail for Haruto to follow. But who’s hunting who?The Mortal Techniques novels are a series of stand-alone stories that can be read entirely independently, set in the award-winning Mortal Techniques universe.

    However, characters do reoccur, off center stage as it were, and their stories do follow a sequence."

    What's worse strange things are happening to the remains of the dead the and by the time she befriends Ben Archer she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems....

    But his reason for choosing this career was even less common, perhaps even unique. This story was first published in BEDLAM'S EDGE, Aug 2005.

    Scornful. Full of pride. Darnuir, Prince of Dragons, cares nothing for the damage he's doing to the faltering alliance against the demonic forces of the Shadow. He thinks himself invincible - right up till a mortal wound forces him to undergo a dangerous rebirthing spell, leaving him a helpless babe in human hands.Twenty years pass and demonic forces are once again poised to sweep across the land. With the alliance between humanity, dragons, and fairies fracturing, Darnuir will have to uncover the secrets of his past, seek redemption for his sins, and rally the disparate races if they are to survive.Only Darnuir can do this. For he’s the last member of the royal bloodline and only he can wield the Dragon’s Blade...