(No previous DEAD CLOWN BARBECUE reading experience required.) This 21,000-word collection contains the first-ever publication of "Gave Up The Ghost," the basis for the horror/comedy short movie directed by Gregory Lamberson, that will appear in the upcoming anthology film CREEPERS. In addition to a report from the movie set, this collection contains... "The Car." A pair of vampires get together for an evening of vicious fun. "The Loneliest Jackalope." Bunnies with antlers! You can't go wrong with bunnies with antlers. "Inside the Boxes." Whatever is in there can't be good... "A Bit of Christmas Mayhem." Andrew Mayhem vs. a trio of axe-wielding Santa Clauses. "Scrumptious Bone Bread." It's not just for giants anymore. "A Flawed Fantasy." Sometimes, two girls at once isn't the best idea. "Tin Cans." What will you hear when you put one to your ear?

    . . Reacher is like a fully detached version of Travis McGee' LEE CHILD Travis McGee isn't your typical knight in shining armour. He only works when his cash runs out, and his rule is simple: He'll help you find whatever was taken from you, as long as he can keep half. Discover Travis McGee with this special collection. Features books four, five and six of John D. MacDonald's classic series. The Quick Red Fox Hollywood's leading lady Lysa Dean isn't in the business of making mistakes. But a night involving a debauched party and some naked photos turns out to be one mistake too many. Travis McGee soon finds himself led on a wild chase across the country, trying to track down everyone associated with the fateful evening. But just when Travis thinks he knows exactly where things are headed, one big twist shakes his very core . . . A Deadly Shade of Gold When Travis McGee picks up the phone and hears a voice from his past, he can't help it, he has to meddle. Especially when he has the chance to reunite Sam, his reckless, restless old friend, with the woman who's been waiting for him. But the case takes a sinister turn when Sam shows up brutally cut and lying in a pool of his own blood. Travis is left to uncover the truth in a violent chase that takes him to dark but beautiful Mexico. But when the truth is as terrifying as this, does he really want answers at all? Bright Orange for the Shroud When an old friend, conned out of his life savings by his ex-wife, unexpectedly turns up at Travis McGee's door, he finds himself pursuing a violently twisted hustler to get it back. What starts out as a simple job soon turns into a dangerous mission when he comes face-to-face with a quick-thinking and quicker-fisted enemy. To beat him, Travis is going to have to play him at his own game . . . Features an introduction by Lee Child JOHN D. MACDONALD: A GRAND MASTER CRIME WRITER 'The great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller' - Stephen King '. . . my favorite novelist of all time' - Dean Koontz 'What a joy that these timeless and treasured novels are available again' - Ed McBain 'There's only one thing as good as reading a John D. MacDonald novel: reading it again . . . He is the all-time master of the American mystery novel' - John Saul

    Her childhood friend Tracie is a computer expert whose personal vendetta backfires. Eva is a jurist but uses men to hide her pain and mask her childhood tragedy, and her cousin Tina wears a sweet exterior but takes risks that threaten to jeopardize her professional career. Kevin and Aaron are sexy twins who go to great lengths to get the women they want; and Angelo, gorgeous and ambitious, lets nothing stand in his way to accomplish his career goals, even at the expense of friends.Pilar is a beautiful but naive orphan who overnight is catapulted to fame; and Denene, a woman scorned, is determined to wreak havoc in the lives of those she feels has wronged her in some way. From the heart of Los Angeles to the South of France, In Laws and Play Cousins tells a story about love and heartbreak, success and envy and the price it ultimately commands.

    However, when unexpected guests attend Akira and Zane's wedding, her life will change forever. But for better or for worse? For fans of the Tassamara series, this short story (16,000 words) takes place at the wedding of the main characters from A Gift of Ghosts, after the events of A Gift of Time. One reviewer calls it, "a super fun, sassy, and supernatural story you don't want to miss!"

    From the painted faces of a child's nightmare to discovering what we really put in our bodies in the name of health. Here are 10 tales to read with the light on.TALE #1 - "Roll up, Roll up"TALE #2 - "Late Shift"TALE #3 - "You call that music?"TALE #4 - "Whose face is this anyway?"TALE #5 - "Pink Bow"TALE #6 - "Careful what you wish for"TALE #7 - "Recycling can be hazardous to your health"TALE #8 - "Mommy's little soldier"TALE #9 - "Trick or Treat"TALE #10 - "You are what you eat"

    Notes from the Northern Lights is a sparkling short story available exclusively in ebook.Wardrobe mistress Ruby Knightly has been sent to Iceland on a very special mission that could save her opera company's opening night. And she's determined that her fear of the dark - and the incoming weather - won't stand in her way.But as Ruby follows her nose across Iceland's wild, volcanic landscape to the warmth of the smokehouses, she will soon discover that there is shelter to be found from even the most turbulent of storms. Particularly if there's romance around the corner...An irresistible winter tale that will melt the coldest of hearts.

    She was not supposed to slide down drainpipes, play baseball in Central Park, or, worst of all, want to teach. Teaching was for impoverished young relatives, not for the heiress of the Brightingham fortune. When her father suddenly dies, leaving her wicked Uncle Edward as her trustee, she must resist his attempt to force her into a marriage that would bring her misery, no matter what the cost. She decides to leave the world behind. Julietta trades her fashionable dresses and dainty dancing shoes for serviceable travel clothes and sturdy boots. Dying her blond hair brown and donning her glasses, she travels incognito across the country to Grey Eagle, Montana, as Julie Bright, planning to take the position of school teacher, to begin a new life. But the handsome and dedicated young Sheriff, Jack White, takes one look at her and wants to send her packing. She is not what he expected as a teacher for his fledgling town. He knows trouble when he sees it. But for some reason, no matter what his instincts, he cannot make her leave. When the past finally catches up with her, he knows he'd move heaven and earth to keep her safe, and make her stay.

    There’s no sign of a break in, and no evidence. It’s as though the killer has vanished overnight.DI Edina Ogborne is determined to uncover the truth, and when a brutal new case comes to light, she’s convinced the two incidents are connected. But the new victim, Gina, has her own ideas of how to bring her attacker to justice.As Ed investigates, she soon realises not everything is quite what it seems – and that someone close to the case is lying. But will she find out who before it’s too late?

    Historian Grace Cole steps back and reviews the long history of barbarian invaders who pushed into Europe from the steppes of Asia, beginning 3,000 years ago with the nomadic Scythians, and then traces the tribes from Scandinavia, who migrated south to plague the empire until it finally crumbled. She examines the successes and failures of the principal barbarian tribes over the six centuries of their dominance and explores the surprising role of the Church as the era progressed. She covers the rise of France and the Holy Roman Empire and shows how the last great wave of barbarians - the Vikings -colonized a new world in Greenland and North America. Finally, she explains feudalism, the strange structure that held society together into the early Renaissance, outlining how it foreshadowed and laid the foundations for the civilization that became Europe. This rich heritage - the flowering of learning, the bold exploration and colonization of the globe, new political and economic structures, the idea of personal freedom - all were, in large part, the fruit of barbarism. And finally, the belief that barbarians and medieval Europe belonged to a dark age is conclusively put to rest.

    For years, she has navigated the suffocating constraints of boarding school and chaperoned dances, and she is ready to detour from the perfect path her parents set her on. Luke Carrington is the swoon-worthy stranger who arrives to spice up the party, convincing Lexi that it's okay to ditch her uniform and spread her wings. Despite Luke's charm and intelligence, Lexi's family shrugs him off and refuses to tell her why. In her mind, the man has more to offer than any gel-headed boy she's met. Not only does he share her interest in Greek mythology, but he has devoted his life to helping people cope with death. What could be more admirable than that? When Lexi learns that her life has been a big fat lie, and the people claiming to be her family aren't who they say they are, she turns to Luke for solace. He is the only one who has not betrayed her, and he helps Lexi prove she isn't a little girl anymore. Once Luke's earns her trust and her heart, Lexi is willing to follow him anywhere to keep him close-even into the underworld.

    I'm a witch working for a division of the government you've never heard about. The world's not what everyone thinks it is--unless you think that our world's a pawn in a game of chess between Heaven and Hell, and riddled with as much magic and wonder as it is with evil. In that case, the world is exactly what you think. My place of employment--the Office of Preternatural Affairs--takes a modern approach to an ages-old problem. It used to be that inquisitors would burn demons and the people in league with them. Now we get warrants, perform arrests, put the suspects on trial, and send guilty parties back to the Hell from whence they came with the travel forms filled out in triplicate.  This stuff I do with the OPA, it saves lives on most days.  Most days, I said. ABOUT WITCH HUNTThere are scratches on Cèsar Hawke's arms, a discharged Glock on his coffee table, and a dead woman in his bathtub. Yeah, maybe he brought the waitress home for some fun--he was too drunk to remember it--but he knows for a fact that he didn't kill her. He's an agent with the Office of Preternatural Affairs. He doesn't hurt people. He saves them.  The cops disagree. Now Cèsar is running. Isobel Stonecrow speaks with the dead. She brings closure to the bereaved and heals broken hearts. But when she talks to the wrong spirit, the OPA puts a bounty on her head. Tracking down Isobel is the last case assigned to Cèsar before he bolts. If he finds her, he can prove that he didn't kill that waitress. He can clear his name, get his job back, and bring justice to all those wronged families. She's just one witch. He's bagged a dozen witches before. How hard can one more be? ABOUT SILVER BULLETFormer private investigator Cèsar Hawke has one rule: He doesn't deal with dead bodies. That's why he enlisted with the Magical Violations Department in the Office of Preternatural Affairs. He's happy tracking down witches that commit petty crimes, but he leaves the homicides to other agents.  Except that he's been assigned to a new team--a team that handles special investigations--and the job has suddenly changed. Now Cèsar has to deal with dead bodies. He also has to deal with necromancers, murderous cults, and demons that can stop a man's heart with fear.  This isn't the job he signed up for, but it's the job he needs to do.  If he survives the first week.  ABOUT HOTTER THAN HELLTOWNA killer is mutilating bodies in Los Angeles. Agent Cèsar Hawke is on the case, but the murderer is ahead of him--way ahead of him.  Wiping the memories of the dead so that the team's necrocognitive can't talk to them? Done. Preventing magical reconstruction of the crime scenes? Oh yeah. And the murders keep getting more brutal while Cèsar struggles to catch up. The best way to heat up a cold case is to go to Helltown, where Los Angeles's most powerful evil hides out, but even those demons are afraid of the murderer. Their fear adds one more question to the growing pile of unknowns:  What kind of bad guy is too hot for Helltown?

    It's a compilation of my daily ramblings as a first time novelist encouraging myself and others to bite the bullet and do it despite the fear of the blank paper, the insecurities, and the angst every writer faces when trying to bleed the story out. My Twitter followers asked me to make this book. They said they want to carry it around in their pockets and take it out each time they feel stuck, scared, or simply need to smile. They tell me my tweets are encouraging and funny. You be the judge.

     The second tale, "The Candle in the Cloud", is a novella of dark fantasy which follows three children who discover a magical candle that transports them to a world where a plague-cloud is destroying everything in its wake. These two tales, the first ever written by Clive, are offered here for the very first time. Their production has been lovingly supervised by Clive himself to ensure that these are not mere books, but works of art to be cherished. Complete with original illustrations and appendices on select editions, First Tales is sure to delight everyone from longtime fans to new readers. In his own words: "These two stories represent the two essential structures of fantastique literature. ’The Wood on the Hill’ is about an incursion of unearthly elements into an approximation of our world. ’The Candle in the Cloud’ is about a journey taken by people from our world into another reality. Yin and Yang, if you like. Forces pulling in opposing directions but to achieve the same end: Revelation." Clive Barker (2013)

    

    Men and women didn't make love, they collided. Tough brutes used their fists to drive home a message. Tougher broads used guile. And no one's morals were loftier than the gutter. No apologies. Little redemption. They rendered critics powerless, shocked intellectuals, inspired a new wave of pulp mayhem, and left the public hungry for more.Given their hot, fever-pitch prose and breathless pacing, Spillane’s Mike Hammer novels quickly became one of the most successful series in publishing history—an innovative, no-holds-barred, ultravisceral explosion of sex and violence that made Hammer a literary legend, and Spillane, one of the bestselling authors of all time. After fifty years, neither has lost their power to sucker punch the reader.Find out for yourself in this first-time ever omnibus featuring the first three Mike Hammer novels by the living master of the hard-boiled mystery…