On the deadly island of Patji, where predators can sense the thoughts of their prey, a lone trapper discovers that the island is not the only thing out to kill him.Mary Robinette Kowal’s “A Fire in the Heavens” is a powerful tale of a refugee seeking to the near-mythical homeland her oppressed people left centuries ago. When Katin discovers the role the “eternal moon” occupies in the Center Kingdom, and the nature of the society under its constant light, she may find enemies and friends in unexpected places.Dan Wells’s “I.E.Demon” features an Afghanistan field test of a piece of technology that is supposed to handle improvised explosive devices. Or so the engineers have told the EOD team that will be testing it; exactly what it does and how it does it are need-to-know, and the grunts don’t need to know. Until suddenly the need arises.Howard Tayler’s “An Honest Death” stars the security team for the CEO of a biotech firm about to release the cure for old age. When an intruder appears and then vanishes from the CEO’s office, the bodyguards must discover why he is lying to them about his reason for pressing the panic button.For years the hosts of Writing Excuses have been offering tips on brainstorming, drafting, workshopping, and revision, and now they offer an exhaustive look at the entire process. Not only does Shadows Beneath have four beautifully illustrated fantastic works of fiction, but it also includes transcripts of brainstorming and workshopping sessions, early drafts of the stories, essays about the stories’ creation, and details of all the edits made between the first and final drafts.Come for the stories by award-winning authors; stay for the peek behind the creative curtain.

    

    In these previously unpublished gems, Vonnegut’s originality infuses a unique landscape of factories, trailers, and bars—and characters who pit their dreams and fears against a cruel and sometimes comically indifferent world.Here are stories of men and machines, art and artifice, and how ideals of fortune, fame, and love take curious twists in ordinary lives. An ambitious builder of roads, commanding an army of bulldozers, graders, and asphalt spreaders, fritters away his free time with miniature trains—until the women in his life crash his fantasy land. Trapped in a stenography pool, a young dreamer receives a call from a robber on the run, who presents her with a strange proposition. A crusty newspaperman is forced onto a committee to judge Christmas displays—a job that leads him to a suspiciously ostentatious ex-con and then a miracle. A hog farmer’s widow receives cryptic, unsolicited letters from a man in Schenectady about “the indefinable sweet aches of the spirit.” But what will she find when she goes to meet him in the flesh?These beautifully rendered works are a testament to Vonnegut’s unique blend of observation and imagination. Like a present left behind by a departed loved one, While Mortals Sleep bestows upon us a shimmering Kurt Vonnegut gift: a poignant reflection of our world as it is and as it could be.

    But throughout the island's history, its isolation also made it the perfect place to hide things the world was never meant to see.As Laurel finds herself entangled in the island's newest and most bizarre chapter, she must not only solve its mysteries, but also survive long enough to pass them on.This short story (about 7,500 words) mixes science fiction and horror with endearing and enigmatic characters who can only solve the mysteries of Anansi Island by facing their worst fears.

    

    Mysterious lights dot the night skies. A local farmer is found dead at the summit of a hill with no evidence as to how his body got there. Livestock is disappearing, only to be discovered later, dead and mutilated with precision-like wounds. And despite the coming of an enormous winter storm, odd men identifying themselves simply as 'federal agents' have converged on Edgar in government vehicles as if in anticipation of some greater event. Newcomer Lane Boyce, a recently divorced schoolteacher with a questionable past, believes there must be reasonable explanations for what is taking place, yet seems inexplicably tied to the events. Haunted by his own demons and drowning in loneliness and regret, Lane had hoped Edgar might be a quiet refuge and a place to begin again. Instead, there is madness here, an evil that is slowly making itself known. And as the snowstorm hits town, Lane finds himself trapped in his small house in the middle of nowhere, alone with his puppy...and something else. There, just beyond the trees, hidden in shadow, something watches, waits and whispers, ushering in a new age, a time of something else. Something other. Something close. Reality is no longer ours. It belongs to them. It belong to the LORDS OF TWILIGHT.

    Whether fictionalizing his dramatic exploits as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II or concocting the ingeniously plotted fables that were dramatized on television as Tales of the Unexpected, Dahl was brilliant at provoking in his readers the overwhelming desire to know what happens next—and at satisfying that desire in ways that feel both surprising and inevitable.In this collection:-A Fine Son-Death of an Old Man-Parson’s Pleasure-Poison-The Hitch-Hiker-The Wish-Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat-Dip in the Pool-The Landlady-Skin-Lamb to the Slaughter-Man from the South-The Way Up to Heavan-The Umbrella Man-Taste-The Swan-William and MaryFilled with devilish plot twists, his tales display a tantalizing blend of macabre humor and the absurdly grotesque. Dahl’s creations amuse and shock us in equal measure, gleefully reminding us of what might lurk beneath the surface of the ordinary.

    Silva, Graham Masterton, Jay Bonansinga, and many others! Featuring both original dark fiction and rare reprints, SHIVERS is available only as a beautiful perfect-bound trade paperback!Table of Contents:Fodder - Brian Keene & Tim LebbonIce Box - Jay BonansingaThe Hand of Glory - Simon ClarkHermanoes De El Noche - Bentley LittleWalking With the Ghosts of Pier 13 - Brian Freeman265 and Heaven - Douglas CleggThe Sailor Home from the Sea - John PelanThis Is the End; My Only Friend, The End - David B. SilvaWhite-Out - Peter Crowther & Simon ConwayThe Holding Cell - Jack KetchumThe Wager - Thomas F. MonteleoneAlways Traveling, Never Arriving - Robert MorrishThat Extra Mile - David Niall Wilson & Brian A. HopkinsBleed With Me: A Brackard's Point Story - Geoff CooperThe Green Face - Al SarrantonioTender Tigers - Nancy A. CollinsSpin Cycle - David G. BarnettThrowing Caution to the Wind... - Kelly LaymonPortrait of a Sociopath - Edward LeeThe Sympathy Society - Graham Masterton

    MORE TOMORROW & OTHER STORIES features 30 of the author's best stories, plus an introduction by award-winning editor Stephen Jones and an afterword by Michael Marshall Smith.More TomorrowBeing Right*Hell Hath Enlarged HerselfSave As...The HandoverWhat You Make It*Maybe Next TimeThe Book of Irrational NumbersWhen God Lived in Kentish TownThe Man Who Drew CatsA Place To StayThe Dark LandTo See The SeaTwo ShotLast Glance Back They Also ServeDear AlisonTo Receive Is BetterThe Munchies*AlwaysNot WavingEverybody GoesDyingCharmsOpen Doors*LaterMore Bitter Than DeathA Long Walk, For The Last TimeThe VaccinatorEnough Pizza

    

    

    The stories traverse the magical and the mundane, where supernatural beings are indistinguishable from their mortal counterparts in their complexity and complicity.

     See how they each conquered and held the rich, fertile kingdoms of the Stormlands, Dorne, and the Reach, and just why it is that the families of Game of Thrones are eager to avenge themselves on one another. Here is the story of how Orys Baratheon founded House Baratheon through fury and the fire of dragons and how that house eventually produced the Kings Robert and Stannis of the beloved series. Why is it that House Martell hates the Lannisters and all of the other Houses fear dealing with them? How did House Tyrell come to command the richest and greatest armies of all Westeros from their lowly origins as stewards? Game of Thrones: A Family History Volume II has all of these answers and more!

     Links to free, full-length audio recordings of the novels and stories in this collection. An individual, active Table of Contents for each book accessible from the Kindle "go to" feature. Perfect formatting in rich text compatible with Kindle's Text-to-Speech features. A low, can't-say-no price! Sixteen Complete WorksEight novels and eight shorts ranging in length, style, and subject. Works included:Novels: Dracula Frankenstein The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The Invisible Man The Phantom of the Opera The Canterville Ghost The Turn of the Screw The Island of Doctor Moreau Short Stories: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow The Monkey's Paw The Yellow Wallpaper Edgar Allen Poe: The Raven The Pit and the Pendulum The Black Cat The Tell-Tale Heart The Fall of the House of Usher Additional Fan ResourcesAlso included are special features for any horror enthusiast, including: A comprehensive list of the many film and television adaptations of the works included in this collection. A Halloween Viewing Guide: a recommended viewing list of movies to get you in the mood for Halloween, including family favorites, classic movie monsters, and modern horror films. The History of Halloween: a fascinating look into the origins of the holiday, the varieties of modern traditions, and a look into how Halloween is celebrated around the world. Links to free, full-length audio recordings of the books in this collection.

    It's the one thing Walter will never be. But what if he could play white, the way so many others seem to do? Would it bring him privilege or simply deny the pain? The title story in this collection asks those questions, and then moves on to challenge notions of race, privilege, personal choice, and even life and death with equal vigor. From the spectrum spanning despair and hope in "What She Saw When They Flew Away" to the stark weave of personal struggles in "Chocolate Park," Let's Play White speaks with the voices of the overlooked and unheard. "I Make People Do Bad Things" shines a metaphysical light on Harlem's most notorious historical madame, and then, with a deft twist into melancholic humor, "Cue: Change" brings a zombie-esque apocalypse, possibly for the betterment of all mankind.