That is, until Fox 8 develops a unique skill: He teaches himself to speak "Yuman" by hiding in the bushes outside a house and listening to children's bedtime stories. The power of language fuels his abundant curiosity about people—even after "danjer" arrives in the form of a new shopping mall that cuts off his food supply, sending Fox 8 on a harrowing quest to help save his pack.

    But when Ren fails to show up for their rendezvous at The Wolf’s Den Tavern, Honora, always the investigator, goes searching for him and is pulled into a dangerous adventure where elemental magic rules. She will need all her Mayhem talents—and some help from tavern owner Roslyn Van Harbor and an eccentric gang of magical ax-wielding earth wizards—if she’s going to rescue Ren and set things right in the fabled North Woods. The Ice Witch is a stand-alone, short story that fits perfectly between the second Mayhem Sisters Novel, Fly By Midnight, and Midsummer Night’s Mayhem, the third in the series.

    This gang is so ruthless that it shocks even the hardened London criminal underworld — so efficient and meticulous in its planning that it evades all the traps the police set for it with almost contemptuous ease. And it is plain to Blackstone that this is just a preliminary skirmish — that the gang ultimately intends to play for much larger stakes. But Blackstone's problems are only just beginning. When the son of the visiting Maharajah of Chandrapore - known to all as the Tiger - is taken in a full-on ambush, Blackstone realises that the previous kidnappings were just practice for a plot that impacts not only Britain, but it’s whole Empire. Blackstone finds himself caught up in a game of cat and mouse, frantically trying to pin down the loose threads to find the lost prince before it’s too late. But with the criminals always appearing to be one step ahead of the Inspector, he begins to suspect that the threat is closer to home than he previously thought… Praise for Sally Spencer: “Spencer's finest hour: a tightly plotted puzzler with surprises at every turn” Kirkus Reviews “Spencer is an accomplished craftsman who serves up a good puzzle and deftly solves it with intelligence and insight” Publishers Weekly “Characters are diverse, intriguing, and believable . . . plots never fail to surprise; and the procedural details are grittily realistic” Kirkus Reviews Sally Spencer worked as a teacher both in England and Iran - where she witnessed the fall of the Shah. She now writes full time. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

     Book three contains three short stories: Estrella tells of the events that led to her becoming trapped in the Onderwereld. We learn about what happened to Dolitt's son after his casino burned down. And we discover what happened with the Vestibulum in Brussels.

    Featuring Chief Inspector of Homicide Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec, these extraordinary novels are here together for the first time in a fabulous ebook bundle. Still Life Gamache and his team are called to the scene of a suspicious death in Three Pines. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident, but Gamache smells something foul this Thanksgiving season. A Fatal Grace When CC de Poitiers is found dead the day after Christmas, electrocuted in the middle of a curling match, Gamache digs beneath the surface to find where the real secrets are buried. But it seems he has enemies of his own, and with the coming of the winter winds, something far more chilling is in store. The Cruelest Month A group of Three Pines villagers celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, hoping to rid the town of its evil-until one of their party dies of fright. Was it a natural death, or murder? As Gamache investigates, he will face his own ghosts as well as those residing in this seemingly idyllic town. A Rule Against Murder Gamache and his wife are celebrating their anniversary at the luxurious, isolated Manoir Bellechasse. When a dead body turns up in the midst of a family reunion, Gamache learns that the lodge is a place where visitors come to escape their past, until that past catches up with them. The Brutal Telling A stranger is found murdered in Olivier's Bistro in Three Pines, and Gamache is dismayed to find Olivier's story full of holes. Gamache follows a trail of clues into the woods and across the continent before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling. Bury Your Dead It's Winter Carnival in Quebec City, when Gamache is called to investigate a dead body at the Literary and Historical Society. Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disquieting letters from Three Pines. A Trick of the Light When Three Pines artist Clara Morrow's former friend is found dead in her garden, Gamache finds the art world is one of shading and nuance, shadow and light. Even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they've found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light. The Beautiful Mystery Outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, where the monks are world-famous for their glorious chants. But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Gamache. How the Light Gets In As Christmas approaches, Gamache travels to Three Pines as a favor to the bookshop owner Myrna Landers, whose friend has gone missing. With mounting crises in his own homicide department, Gamache finds himself not only investigating a murder, but also seeking refuge for himself and his still-loyal colleagues--if such a refuge exists. The Long Way Home Happily retired in Three Pines, Gamache has finally found peace. But when Clara Morrow's artist husband, Peter, fails to show up as promised on the first anniversary of their separation, Gamache agrees to join her on a journey far from Three Pines in search of him. The Nature of the Beast When a boy prone to tall tales disappears from Three Pines, the villagers are faced with the possibility that one of his stories might have been true. So begins a frantic search for the boy and the truth, sending Gamache deep in the forest and setting off a sequence of events leading to murder, an old crime, and a betrayal. A monster once visited Three Pines, and put down deep roots. Now it is back. A Great Reckoning When an intricate old map, which was given to Armand Gamache on the first day if his new job, is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity.

    For the first time since leaving The Realm, Clint has dared to be happy, getting hitched to his bride to be, Mai. But when the town faces a deadly approaching enemy, the gunslinger feels compelled unholster his seven-shooters to face it... and the dark magic it brings with it.From the creators of Yesterday's Gone (Platt) and Fat Vampire (Truant) comes this reinvention of both the western genre and unicorn lore. Written for children and teens -- but complex and awesome enough for adult readers -- Unicorn Western is "Harry Potter without wizards, with gunslingers, with talking unicorns and epic unicorn fights, and with more turkey pie."

    Check it out."—Frank Santoro on Malachi Ward's Ritual Three: Vile Decay, The Comics JournalA collection of hauntingly beautiful science fiction and horror short stories by Prophet and Ritual artist Malachi Ward. Collects stories from Mome, Study Group Magazine, Sundays, Best American Comics 2013, and more.In a dozen stories Malachi explores and blends the classic themes of fantasy and science fiction using a range of illustration techniques and styles. In "Utu" a Shaman arrives at an outpost with prognostications of a terrible war. He claims his visions come from a mysterious god, but can he be trusted? In "Hero for Science" a time-travelling rescue mission turns dour when a team member goes native. In "The Scout" while retrieving information in a remote cave, a scout encounters another version of himself.Malachi Ward is the creator of the Ritual comic book series from Revival House Press, The Expansion series with Matt Sheean, The Scout, Utu, and Top Five, which is included in the 2013 edition of Best American Comics. Malachi has done work for Brandon Graham's Prophet, Mome, Nobrow, and Study Group Comics. He is currently an artist on the Image Comics series Prophet Strikefile.

    Meagher and Susan Smith, all together under the same cover with the aim to satisfy your every literary taste. This incredible combination offers something for everyone — a smorgasbord of fiction unlike anything you’ll find anywhere else.A Native American raised on the Reservation ventures outside the comfort and familiarity of her own world to help a lost soul embrace the gifts that set her apart.A reluctantly wealthy woman uses all of her resources anonymously to help those who cannot help themselves.Three individuals, three aspects of the self, combine to create balance and harmony at last for a popular trio of characters.Two nomadic women from very different walks of life discover common ground — and a lot more — during a blackout in New York City.A traditional, old school butch must confront her community and her own belief system when she falls for a much younger transman.Five authors — five novellas. Outsiders — one remarkable book.

    V. Larson! This 60,000 word book is an Anthology of short stories. Most are Science Fiction mixed with Horror. Others might be called Dark Fantasy... Many have been published previously in various magazines.The Barrier – What does it take to go faster than light?Symptoms of Godhood – How far can you modify a body and still call the results human?Discharged – A long war and an even longer stay in an automated hospital.Teeth at Bedtime – Technology follows us everywhere.The Insect Requirement – Great sacrifices are required for Earth’s early colonists.Blind Eyes – If we can design our own children, how far will we go?TA96 – Do our genes belong to us?Zundra’s Movies – A future where video is created with the mind, and insanity is fun to watch.Pinball – A young man builds his own watchdog.Love Aboard the Kamadeva – A love triangle between two desperate souls and a digital mirage.Starplay – A window into the universe becomes a door.The One-Way Gang – Leaving Earth is easy, but you can never come back.Rusted Metal – What has spent the last century in the basement?Lunar Lotto – Death comes instantly to outlaws in vacuum.The Rollers – Crime has been mostly eliminated by removing all forms of cash... Mostly.

    You will never be the same.”—Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother and HomelandIn a topsy-turvy world where clowns are killers and crooks, Little Bigtop is a three-ring circus of crime, and no syndicate is more dangerous than the Bozo family. From the wildly original mind of Carlton Mellick III comes the short-story collection ClownFellas—an epic mob saga where life is cheap and the gags will slay you.For years, the hard-boiled capos of the Bozo family have run all of the funny business in Little Bigtop, from the clown brothels to the illegal comedy trade. But hard times have befallen the Bozos now that Le Mystère, the French clown Mafia, has started moving in and trying to take over the city. If that weren’t enough, they’ve got to deal with the cops, the Feds, the snitches, the carnies, the mysterious hit man Mr. Pogo, and the mutant clowns over in the Sideshow district. With the odds stacked against them, the Bozos must fight to survive . . . or die laughing.Praise for ClownFellas“Mario Puzo meets Barnum & Bailey . . . You just can’t look away as the ridiculousness escalates.”—Publishers Weekly“The most original novelist working today? The most outrageous? The most unpredictable? These aren’t easy superlatives to make; however, Carlton Mellick may well be all of those things, behind a canon of books that all irreverently depart from the form and concepts of traditional novels, and adventure the reader into a howling, dark fantasyland of the most bizarre, over-the-top, and mind-warping inventiveness. In my opinion, ClownFellas is his best work to date.”—Edward Lee, author of City Infernal and Header“I rarely enjoy clowns—which is ironic since I’ve been one for over four decades—but ClownFellas is great on so many levels, irony being one of them. What can I say besides I love it! Great read, and funny as hell . . . I have been accused of being unfunny before, and after the trial I had to enter the Witless Protection Program. This is funny!”—Barry Lubin, aka Grandma, longtime Big Apple Circus clown“If Martin Scorsese and Ronald McDonald had a baby, this would be it. . . . Each story is clever, multi-layered, and filled with witty dialogue. . . . A must-read.”—This Is Horror   “Mellick’s writing is wonderfully descriptive and wildly imaginative. . . . I was utterly delighted, amused, and engrossed. . . . ClownFellas is a gem!”—The Qwillery   “A rollercoaster ride through a strange world that borders on our own reality . . . a story that is just as difficult to define as it is to put down.”—Examiner.com   “Mellick has created another amazing read. . . . Highly recommended.”—Kitty Horror

    Judith had neither. Her father had been a friend to Balthazar’s father. She was now an orphan, though she was no trembling waif-child. At twenty-two she was too old for such a designation. Nevertheless, the loss of her father and the subsequent funeral and the settling of his accounts had depleted their already meager purse. Judith’s father had gifted his only daughter fine frocks and hair combs, but that was years ago, before his luck turned, and the vast majority of such gifts had been sold.Judith found herself with a terribly small inheritance and no way to supplement this dismal income. That is, until she was summoned by Balthazar’s mother.

    The stories recounts the life of times of the hero Domrudhar in colonial India. The protagonist Domrudhar is portrayed as a dishonest man who rises from a lowly shop-assistant to a land owner.

    There's a brand new Hulk in town, and his name is Amadeus Cho! Get ready for the craziest Hulk story of the millennium as a kid genius decides he's gonna be the best Hulk ever- and just possibly brings the entire Marvel Universe crashing down into chaos!

    5,000 words (16 pages).For Bafion, there is no farther to fall. Once a banneret, officer, and gentleman, he is none of those things now. He is a swordsman who has slipped through the cracks of society and is eking out an existence as a thug for hire.Bafion is presented with the opportunity to reclaim some of what was lost to him, but to do so will mean facing part of his past that he would rather forget.The Swordsman of Tanosa is a swashbuckling fantasy short story set in the same world as the Society of the Sword trilogy.

    The weather had been extreme that month: days of drenching rain, sudden showers of hail, temperatures passing record highs. Local children whispered that an angel had fallen to earth in a thunderstorm. There were roving groups who swore they had found signs. Footprints in the grass, black feathers, a campfire in the woods behind the high school where there were sparks of shimmering ash. One neighborhood boy vowed that he had seen a man in a black cloak rise above the earth and walk on air, and although no one believed his account, mothers began to keep their children home. They locked the doors, called in the dogs, kept the lights on after dusk..."Alice Hoffman is the New York Times bestselling author of Practical Magic, The Dovekeepers, and The Marriage of Opposites. Hoffman’s work has been published in more than twenty translations and more than one hundred foreign editions. Her novels have received mention as notable books of the year by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Library Journal, and People Magazine. She has also worked as a screenwriter and is the author of the original screenplay “Independence Day,” a film starring Kathleen Quinlan and Diane Wiest. Her teen novel Aquamarine was made into a film starring Emma Roberts. Her short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Kenyon Review, The Los Angeles Times, Architectural Digest, Harvard Review, Ploughshares and other magazines.Flyleaf Journal Issue #15December 2014Illustrated by Timothy TangHand Lettering by Heidi Unkefer