She will deliver wrath and ruin to all of you Unfortunate Souls.One step out of line will earn you a Prick from the Forbidden Queen. Once she orders you to Bite Me, you’re going to Wish that what began as The Deadly Hunt can still end in Bittersweet Beauty.Enjoy being The Toy while you can as your Nights on the Round Table with Wicked Lady T are numbered. Soon we will all fall victim to Cruel Hate.

    Epic battles. Artificial Intelligence's longing for meaning. Life as we know it, ending... Sci-Fi Bridge is thrilled to present its second collection from bestselling authors and newly emerging writers. These stories span the near and far future. They transport you to worlds unknown. They examine today's fears amid tomorrow's technologies. From the far corners of the galaxy to the inner reaches of the human heart, the exciting stories in At the Helm will thrill, inspire, and make you wonder--do humans have what it takes to build a better future? Or are we doomed by our own failings? Foreword by Jay Allan. "Scout" by Will McIntosh. "Gelassenheit" by Chris Pourteau. "Rubbish with Names" by Felix R. Savage. "Galaxy's Edge" by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole “A God Among Us” by Rhett C. Bruno "Just An Old Fashioned Lust Story" by Christopher J. Valin "The Quarium Wars" by E. E. Giorgi "Death-Life on Kepler 452b" by Hall & Beaulieu "The Tunnel" by Andreas Christensen "Caterpillar" by Isaac Hooke "The Null" by Vincent Trigili "The Machine" by Mark R. Healy "Bottled Lightning" by Philip Harris "The Gambit" by Rysa Walker "Control" by Will Swardstrom "The Greatest Serial Killer in the Universe" by Robert Jeschonek "Magnet" by David Adams "Stasis Dream" by Josi Russell

    Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. The guest editor then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected – and most popular – of its kind.This special e-book sampler contains eleven selections from the 2011 editions.From The Best American Short Stories® edited by Geraldine Brooks:Housewifely Arts by Megan Mayhew BergmanPhantoms by Steven MillhauserFrom The Best American Essays® edited by Edwidge Danticat:Chapels by Pico IyerThere Are Things Awry Here by Lia PurpuraFrom The Best American Mystery Stories edited by Harlan Coben:A Crime of Opportunity by Ernest J. FinneyFrom The Best American Science and Nature Writing edited by Mary Roach:The Killer in the Pool by Tim Zimmermann, Jr.The Whole Fracking Enchilada by Sandra SteingraberFrom The Best American Sports Writing edited by Jane Leavy:The Surfing Savant by Paul SolotaroffNew Mike, Old Christine by Nancy HassFrom The Best American Travel Writing edited by Sloane Crosley: My Year at Sea by Christopher BuckleyMiami Party Boom by Emily Witt

    Thomas. But when her secret double life follows her home to Philadelphia, things swing wildly out of control as she tries to walk the line between sexy woman and sex object. Worlds collide when a street-smart beauty scores with a multimillionaire during a summer that climaxes with the New York City blackout. Crystal Lacey Winslow captures the edgy thrills—and the dark side—of carnal pleasures in Sex, Sin & Brooklyn. In Rochelle Alers' Summer Madness, a sexy brother with a mysterious past turns a pretty librarian's play-it-safe Hamptons vacation into a torrent of sensual delights. But can she trust him without knowing his whole story? A jilted bride is on the Rebound in ReShonda Tate Billingsley's tale of passion in unexpected places. A Houston attorney goes solo on the Belize honeymoon she was supposed to share with her husband—and makes a sizzling connection with a handsome stranger in paradise.

    Call My Bluff has a series of stories from Elizabeth Knox, Flora Burgos, Addison Jane, Sam St. James, KE Osborn, Barbara Nolan, Evan Grace, Courtney Lynn Rose, J. Lynn Lombard, Kathryn Kelly, Rae B. Lake, & H.J. Marshall.

    After all, he was not the heir or the spare, but a lowly third son. Miss Diana Grambling is painfully aware her blood isn’t blue enough for an earl to consider her as a match. When the childhood friends stumble across a smuggling ring operating along their coast, they are in need a Christmastide miracle. If they can survive, will they be strong enough to follow their hearts?Warning: Contains a hero battling his gentlemanly impulses, a heroine who falls for her brothers’ best friend, and a wicked night in front of a fire that changes everything.Previously published in the Once Upon a Christmas Wedding anthology

    Well… It’s ours, too. A mixture of authors from Collected Christmas Horror Shorts and Collected Easter Horror Shorts have come back together, and invited a few friends, to make this Halloween an extra special one. Lock your door, dim your lights, add some pumpkin spice to whatever you are drinking and light your jack-o’-lanterns. This will be a Halloween you will never forget. Table of Contents John R. Little - The Halloween Phantoms Lisa Morton - Pumpkin Rex Richard Chizmar - Mister Parker Christopher Motz - The Halloween Playground Kevin J. Kennedy - Halloweenland Mark Cassell - A Story of Amber Peter Oliver Wonder - Dressed For Success Christina Bergling - Black Widow Stuart Keane - Hollowed Be Thy Andrew Lennon - Girlfriend Briana Robertson - Trick Turned Treat James Matthew Byers - Jenny Greenteeth J.C. Michael - The First Shot Mark Lukens - The Coffin Man Suzanne Fox - The Devils Fruit Steven Stacy - Don't Fear the Reaper.

    Having moved to the American Frontier to escape his life as a political pawn for his family, he is content. Everything changes when he receives a letter from his father explaining that he is to marry one Elizabeth “Piper” Renwick. During their trip from Boston to Detroit, Jack learns what it means to be in love while dealing with bankers, a heist, and ultimately Piper- a woman capable of outwitting him at every turn. Will their adventure together on the frontier draw the two of them together or force them apart?

    A time machine's lesson comes too late. Christmas trees save a lost soul's life. Ten million people live in one man's breath. ...Or Midnight: Murder returns to an infamous moor. Asylum workers find what is worse than insanity. A shunned grave's secrets gain fatal exposure. Nighttime terrors turn all too real. These and other stories comprise a compilation of bittersweet warmth and creeping horror, subtle illumination and dark vistas. Gregory Miller's Scaring the Crows is a genre-spanning collection of short fiction at its finest. Read it at noon...or midnight.

    His is a voice combining humor and pathos with an edginess creating fresh new stories that are being published in great literary journals regularly.A boy acts out at the death of his father and abandonment by his brother through a savage playground beating; a young man confronts his own troubled history when asked to hire on his girlfriend's strung-out brother in an attempt to keep him out of prison; a teenage babysitter works through a scorching-hot summer afternoon that will prove to alter her life forever; a grieving widower finds comfort in the unlikeliest of places, a recently-built casino; an itinerant farm worker visits the same former lover in South Dakota year after year while following the Harvest north; two friends search for excuses and fail to claim responsibility for their own decisions after one loses his father, and the other's house burns to the ground; and a taxidermist falls in love with the ex-wife of his high school bully and tries to convince her to marry him despite her son who seems to share his father's bullying mentality."A brilliant, sometimes heartbreaking debut by this gifted young writer and Columbia writing teacher. Cross captures the angst and tenderness of the young men and women growing up in the rust belt with little hope and less luck. The moments of grace and redemption shine through. I loved every story." —Linda Bubon, Women & Children First Bookstore"There are countless moments like this in Fires of Our Choosing, lines that appear true from the moment they’ve been written and hang in the back of the mind for days afterwards... With Fires of Our Choosing, Cross climbs boldly into the ring with the greats, if only to deliver a decisive knockout punch." —Urban Waite, Fiction Writers Review"Cross offers no apologies for his characters: their poor choices, their lack of moral fortitude, their betrayals of each other and the poverty of their surroundings and, often, themselves; he leaves these things alone. They are who they are, and if dignity has been denied them by the rest of us, including us story-tellers, it is restored by this collection. That he has undertaken to serve as their raconteur should place Cross on the radar of all the big prizes that gift those blessed with talent, compassion and fearlessness, particularly during this present moment in our history." —Ru Freeman, Huffington PostEugene Cross was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania and received an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh. His stories have appeared in Narrative Magazine (which named him one of "20 Best New Writers" and his story "Harvester's" a "Top Five Story of 2009-2010"), American Short Fiction, Story Quarterly, TriQuarterly, and Callalloo among other publications. His work was also listed among the 2010 Best American Short Stories' 100 Distinguished Stories. He is the recipient of scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the Chautauqua Writers' Festival, and the winner of the 2009 Dzanc Prize for Excellence in Literary Fiction and Community Service. He currently lives in Chicago where he teaches in the Fiction Department at Columbia College Chicago.

    This one tells you exactly what you need to know to prepare for and complete a long-distance hike on the A.T. From determining a budget, preparing an itinerary, and packing gear to resupplying, using bounce boxes, and staying on schedule, this book will help any hiker make certain their long-distance trek is a success.You can hear an interview with Michelle Ray on how to prepare for your thru-hike if you click here.

    

    This book also contains two short stories, "the door" and "brief love". All of the works deal with lost love or almost loves.

    She finds comfort and safety in the arms of a prestigious doctor, James Elliott, but his love for her turns into a wicked obsession.When the doctor's nephew, Sinclair, visits town, he opens her eyes to the darkness surrounding her. A forbidden attraction builds between them, until decisions have to be made. Does she stay with the older man and marry him? Or does his nephew help her flee(NO CHEATING,)

    All proceeds go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.Romance on the Rig by Kara Liane: Finding love on and off the ambulance proves difficult for Air Force veteran Murf—until he meets Lana, a game-changer. Murf may be an EMT hero, but he’s only human. Mistakes happen in love, and a misunderstanding keeps them apart. It’s time to make things right and answer the call from the heart.Reconstructed Heart by K.L. Montgomery: Trey Prince never expected to make a gruesome discovery at an accident scene only a few months into his new job with the Collision Reconstruction Unit, and he never expected Trooper Jenna Labato to be the one who helped him pick up the pieces. No matter how badly Jenna wants to help him heal, Trey isn’t sure his heart or faith can ever be restored—not without something close to a miracle.Walk the Line: Gage by Harlow Layne: Gage Walker never thought a call to a scene would change his life forever until he met Claire Blake. Sparks fly, but when his fellow Brothers in Blue’s girlfriends are targeted, Gage wants nothing more than to protect her—even if that means he has to give her up.Always Kind of Love by Amanda Siegrist: The last thing Ethan McCord wants to deal with is his old high school flame, even though his desire for her hasn’t diminished. Battling the burning blazes and an arsonist bent on destruction is nothing compared to fighting the temptation to rekindle the love he always wanted.Beautiful Persuasion by A.K. MacBride: Raelyn wasn't supposed to fall for the rebound guy, but the moment Griffin opened his mouth, he drew her in with his sexy Irish accent and dark gaze. As one night of sizzling passion develops into something more, she's forced to choose between the man who sets her heart ablaze and the only family she has left.Going Down by Jody Kaye: Devastated by her parents’ divorce, Kat’s looking to regain the stability she took for granted. Dash Newhouse is a drifter, paying his bills by skiing at a new mountain each season. Paired together on ski patrol, Dash reminds Kat that she can’t live life to the fullest while playing it safe. But when the snow melts, will he ride off with her heart?Rescuing Ryan by Syd Ryan: Ryan is out of the frying pan and into the fire, working the oldest profession of all time to finish her last year of nursing school. On the first day, she meets Chris, the sexy firefighter, as he is licking his wounds of rejection. For Chris, rescuing Ryan will be the hardest rescue of his life.Perfect For Me by Alyne Hart: Firefighter Luke O'Conner and ex-model Grace Adams shared all their firsts in a tiny cabin just outside Sugar Creek. Nine years later, Grace is back in town, and they find themselves waiting out a storm in that very same cabin. Fire burns between them as neither seems able to keep their lips or their hands to themselves.Call of Fate by Kelsey Cheyenne: After surviving a school shooting, Aubrey Winters became a dispatcher, dedicating her life to helping people. One fateful call and a meet-cute at a coffee shop leads Aubrey into the arms of English teacher Noah Burgess. Can their trauma be overcome when true love calls?Loving Lindsey by Larissa Gail: Firefighter Gavin Thomas has no desire to settle down anytime soon. He’s having too much fun playing the field. That is until he meets Officer Lindsey Allen, who’s moved to Oaktown to start over after a devastating loss. Can the blue-eyed beauty convince him to change his ways?