Lola is summoned by a woman from her past and becomes part of her own Christmas story as she leads Margo Callaghan to safety.

    The stories originally appeared in magazines between 1940 and 1960. The book includes the following stories:Ring Around the Sun, Future Fiction, March 1940Darwinian Pool Room, Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1950Day of The Hunters, Future combined with Science Fiction Stories, November 1950Misbegotten Missionary, Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1950Everest, Universe Science Fiction, December 1953The Fun They Had, Boys' and Girls' Page, December 1951Youth, Space Science Fiction, May 1952Living Space, The Original Science Fiction Stories, May 1956Someday, Infinity Science Fiction August 1956The Jokester, Infinity Science Fiction, December 1956Lets Get Together, Infinity Science Fiction, February 1957Tale of The Pioneer (poem),Future Science Fiction, Summer 1957Oh That Lost Sense of Wonder (poem),The Original Science Fiction Stories, January 1958Silly Asses, Future Science Fiction, February 1958The Covenant, (with Poul Anderson, Robert Sheckley, Murray Leinster, and Robert Bloch), Fantastic Science Fiction Stories, July 1960Technical mistakes mentioned in a comment below is fixed.

    In 1911 as a youth, striving to keep hold of his sanity while those he loves turn away. In 1996 as a teenage girl surrounded by conspiracy. And, in an unspecified future, as a consciousness trapped inside a weaponised machine. FOUR LIVES LIVED IN PARALLEL Four lives to choose who to love and who to fear. Four lives to choose who to trust and who to kill. Four lives to lose and die in obscurity. …Or four lives to use to change the course of history. And therein lies the paradox. This is my story. ** All New Revised Edition Includes 5 new chapters and an extensive professional edit **

    But the dream soon becomes something darker when the Leyra'an prove to be more than just humanoid. They are like us to a degree that cannot be explained by chance alone. The search for the answer to this mystery will reveal a universe stranger and more dangerous than the crew of the probeship William Bartram could have imagined, and expose both Humanity and the Leyra'an to the threat of extinction.For better or worse, that search has begun.

    Dressed in her finest Parisian low-waisted gown, feather-topped tiara, and T-strapped Italian leather shoes, Ginger is ready to host the delectable event.It's a jolly good time, until someone chokes on the pudding.Is it an accident or is it murder? And can Ginger unravel the mystery before the church bells ring and New Year's Day dawns?Karen MacInerney - SLAY BELLS RINGIt's Christmastime on Dewberry Farm, and homesteader Lucy Resnick is busy bundling mistletoe bunches and cedar swags for the Buttercup Christmas Market when a neighbor's houseguest keels over right next to her peach orchard. Was it a stray bullet from a hunter that took him out? Or did a guest at the fancy ranch next door decide to scratch somebody off his or her Christmas list? It's up to Lucy to unwrap the mystery… before the holiday killer strikes again.CeeCee James - CHRISTMAS AT BAKER STREETIn this Baker Street spin-off, Oscar and Cecelia find themselves and the guests snowed in this Christmas holiday. What should be all sugar cookies and hot cocoa takes a drastic turn when one of the guests turns up cold—as in stone cold dead. With no help in sight, the two hope to find the killer before anyone else gets iced out, including them.Nancy Warren - CAT'S PAWS AND CURSESIn this classic closed room mystery, someone is murdered during a knitting class. But how was it possible? Lucy Swift and her band of undead knitters must catch the culprit before there's a second Christmas catastrophe!Molly Fitz - MEOWY CHRISTMAS MAYHEMIt's Angie's first Christmas as a pet owner, and she can't wait to celebrate with Octo-Cat, Paisley, and Nan. All it takes is a little finely-crafted trickery to get her crabby tabby into the local pet supply store for a special photo opportunity with Santa. Unfortunately, the jolly old soul is found dead in the stock room before he ever gets the chance to say "cheese." Angie and her motley crew of sidekicks need to work fast to find the culprit and prevent any further suspicious holiday slaying... Otherwise, the most wonderful time of the year could end up becoming the most murderous season Blueberry Bay has ever seen.Addison Moore - CHRISTMAS FUDGE FATALITYMy name is Lottie Lemon, and I see dead people. Okay, so I rarely see dead people, mostly I see furry creatures of the dearly departed variety, aka dead pets, who have come back from the other side to warn me of their previous owner's impending doom.The holidays have arrived and the Jolly Holly Tree Lot is hosting a special event that has the entire town bustling to get a picture with the jolly old elf himself. And I'm just as anxious as anyone to get to the front of the line, but that body I stumble upon threatens to take the joy right out of the season.

    But the laws of our charter prevent me and I am bound by oath to obey those laws; laws made, not by our own Guild-mothers, but by men who fear what we might have to say to their women!

    She's got a sparkling tree to taste, a lot of presents under the three, oh, and because she's a Longknife, uninvited guests for the Christmas goose. This is a short story of 6,800 words and says a lot about Longknife holiday family dynamics, including grumpy old Grampa Al. A must read for those of you who enjoy Kris's world.

    And jokes.At 19 years old, Denver is the youngest wrecker in the verse. His only companion, other than his one-eyed cat Pirate, is an AI navigator named Gary based on classic 21st century sitcom personalities.That all changes when Denver meets Batista, a mechanic who claims to know what happened to Denver’s missing father and brother.Following her information, Denver is drawn into trouble with the various forces in the galaxy — bandits, feds and rival wreckers. As complications mount and he’s forced into helping different sides chase the hottest technology in the verse, Denver, once a lone wolf, collects the small crew he never knew he needed. But can he keep them alive?

    The nation breathes a sigh of relief, and looks forward to the resumption of elections.Across the solar system, the leading industrialist in the USAN’s small colony on Mars is thinking about independence. When the Martian population votes in favour, Mars secedes from the union.It seems to be a fait accompli until it’s suggested that a massive dropship carrying spacecraft, Ephialtes, built to patrol the Earth, could be refitted for interplanetary spaceflight. Maybe the USAN could use its military might to persuade the colonists to reconsider.With an enormous instrument war of heading toward them, the Martians resolve to defend their independence. Limited resources force them to rely on wit and ingenuity as they prepare their defences. Can they prevail against the mighty Ephialtes?Political intrigue, heart-pounding action and page-turning drama abound in this gripping opening to the Ephialtes Trilogy.

    The last thing Leo Solomon wants to do after returning to his hometown is arrest the woman he loves or her cousin, but all the evidence keeps pointing to it being an inside job. Why would anyone commit a crime and then phone 911? Why is everyone so interested in the missing black book last seen in the victim's possession? Rumors swirl as everyone in town decides to weigh in on who they think killed Elizabeth and why. Penelope refuses to sit by and let the people she loves or her family business be put through the mud to protect a killer. Can Penelope and Leo get to the bottom of the crime before anyone else gets hurt?

     Now, with the aid of a time capsule, the human race is once more populating the Earth, resurrecting technologies lost centuries earlier. With those innovations, though, come civilization's need to fight for control. Just as humanity seemed poised for a return to stability, they'll learn that some among them seek a return to extinction. They need only find the right time, and the right person, to put their plans in motion.

    Eleven exploratory ships carrying humans escaping a degenerating Earth are discovered by a more advanced space-faring civilization, the Ildaran Empire. The empire helps the refugees - by now the several-generations-later offspring of the original voyagers - settle suitable planets and sends diplomats with a few of them to Earth to establish trade and diplomatic relations.Meanwhile, both Terran and Ildaran authorities bring hidden agendas to their first-contact discussions, and asEarth attempts to become a player in this new arena, its ambassadors are thrust into a foreign world of alien life forms, backstabbing politics, bitter feuds, and a deadly struggle to become the supreme force in the universe.

    Now Anders must decide quickly—stay and fight or cut cables and run.Either way, it’s too late. Someone has other plans for them. The trap has been set, they’ve rescued the woman and taken the bait, and before long Anders and what’s left of his dwindling crew must navigate with caution through the grips of the military and an especially vile outlaw.But Anders doesn’t captain just another team flying the black. With a genius mechanic who uses his ragtag high-tech machine shop to aid them in getting in and out of trouble, they’ve earned a reputation as the best of the best. With Anders’s careful planning, this motley crew must band together and flip the military to use them on a monster heist and dig themselves out from the heat pressing in from both sides of the law.Fly with them. They are clever, they are fierce, they are Lockheed Elite.

    His only out is to undergo a complete physical makeover, get a rank and name change, and agree to take over a new platoon in the Segnal Space Marine Corps (SSMC). Mission 2: Angry Robots A group of antiquated robots have decided that they've had enough of being treated like second-class citizens. Working together, they take over the sewage plant on Segnal Prime and start pumping the sludge back up into the buildings. Mission 3: The SSMC Voyeur A space probe that was sent out 500 years ago has returned...sort of. It's actually a copy of the original model of The SSMC Voyeur, which begs the question: What happened to the original craft? The crew of The SSMC Reluctant is dispatched to learn about the originating planet that sent this cloned vehicle. And, if Rear Admiral Conster gets his way, they're also to blow the entire planet that it came from to smithereens. Mission 4: Earthlings After their last mission, the Segnal Space Marine Corps (SSMC) saw the value of the GONE Drive. The ability to move through space in a blink of an eye would be highly appealing to any military body, but specifically to Rear Admiral Parfait who has a bit of a thing for military bodies. Parfait sets a mission in place where The SSMC Reluctant must go to one of the planets that they briefly landed on during their last mission: Earth. Parfait sees the opportunity to...probe another society of human-like creatures and possibly build relations with them. Furthermore, and much to Captain Don Harr's chagrin, Parfait has put in for a title change to Senior Diplomat so that he can join the crew! Mission 5: Synthetic DNA After a close call in the year 2440 at the planet called "Earth," the crew of The SSMC Reluctant makes a quick escape back to their home of Segnal. However, Geezer didn't have time to set the clock on the GONE Drive to return them back to their own era, and things have changed greatly in the Segnal System over the past 500 years. The system is ruled by Synthetic Lifeforms now, and they find humans and standard robots an affront to their intellectual capacity. From their perspective, only Synthetic Lifeforms should be allowed to live.

    Their objective is classified, marked only by coordinates leading them into a deserted city at the heart of the fighting. From the beginning, everything possible goes wrong. A missile strike rocks the carrier mid-launch, and only a fraction of the unit reaches the surface alive.Outmanned, outgunned, and scattered, with a hard deadline to orbital bombardment looming, it is up to Drop Commander Tyco Hale to rally his troops and reach their objective. But what they find, hidden deep in the tunneled passages under the city, will change everything about what he fights for and what he believes in. With the unit in tatters and loyalties divided, the choice he makes in the dark will seal all of their fates - and much more besides.