Tricked by his cunning ... Treated to his savagery ... Annie, Linda and Laurie ... fresh, pretty, ready to be taken ... stalked by a sadistic power who has returned to claim new victims, on this ... the most frightening night of the year.

    The story of filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's life and work, including his impact on Japan and the world A thirtieth‑century toxic jungle, a bathhouse for tired gods, a red‑haired fish girl, and a furry woodland spirit—what do these have in common? They all spring from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki, one of the greatest living animators, known worldwide for films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises.

    Literally. In another lifetime, six vampires lost their mates—and their mortality—to an unimaginable evil power. Despite the veil of death separating them, the strength of love draws them together across the ages. But now, if they can’t reunite with the reincarnations of their lost soulmates soon, it may just mean the end of the world. From the Big Easy to the ritual-steeped nation of Haiti and the ancient ruins of Saqqara in Egypt, follow the nightwalkers who are all that stand between humanity and chaos as they try to gather together the prophesied Council of Thirteen. Six vampires. Six reincarnated mates. And... the mysterious Other. Without the Council, the world will fall to darkness and become a wasteland haunted by the undead. But the demon who covets dominion over humanity will stop at nothing to thwart the vampires on their quest.In the eternal battle between Light and Darkness, love may be the greatest weapon... or the greatest weakness. * * * From USA Today bestselling author R. A. Steffan and fresh new voice Jaelynn Woolf comes a steamy paranormal romance series perfect for adult fans of vampire fiction. Get the complete Circle of Blood series today and dive into a heart-stopping, six-book journey that explores the power of love in a world gone mad with hate.

    

    These are just some of the stories included in Bernard Schaffer's first collection, Women and Other Monsters. ***Vampires are assholes. They're not sparkly, reticent killers yearning for true love. They aren't gothic romantics who read poetry. They aren't even mysterious Romanians who turn into bats and terrorize the countryside. Really, they're just douche bags. - Room ServiceThus begins "Room Service," a dark comedy about a loser named Robbie who lives with his mom and dates a stripper. One night his girlfriend does a "private" with a suspiciously pasty customer and is never heard from again. As soon as Robbie figures out his girl was served up as a vampire Slurpee, he's out to exact revenge. Not that he has any clue how do it. But when you have nothing to lose and a bloodsucking freak to get even with, you don't mind improvising. ***Women and Other Monsters is the first collection of short stories by best-selling author Bernard Schaffer. Readers will have plenty more to feast on (nearly as much as Blake the vampire did in the story mentioned above), whether it's a Civil War Era woman too beloved by Death to die, or Ancient Astronauts who are only supposed to observe Earth, but instead tamper with humanity and trigger a history-altering event. Prepare to be seduced, surprised and sometimes horrified at the twists and turns that await as you venture into the darkness with Bernard Schaffer.***Women and Other Monsters is a short story collection recommended for fans of scary short stories, sexy short stories, superhero stories, secret agent short stories, horror stories and more.

    But his plans to combine the life of an English squire with that of a top-flight jockey look like coming to a sticky end when he falls victim to a series of accidents that begin to seem all too deliberate. Aided and abetted by typical English rose Camilla Fielding, Jake discovers that he's been targeted by a ruthless and professional killer. And now he urgently needs to find out why...

    Hailed by critics worldwide, part one of the movie trilogy was a box-office smash, one of the most successful films of the decade. Peter Jackson's "fierce, imaginative movie takes high-flying risks and inspires with its power and scale," wrote Newsweek. "In every way this is moviemaking on a grand scale," wrote the San Francisco Chronicle, while Time proclaimed the "grandeur, moral heft and emotional depth" of the film, which received thirteen Academy Award(R) nominations. Including more than 300 photographs from all three films, most unique to this book, and exclusive interviews with all the cast and crew, Brian Sibley's fascinating book takes every fan inside the process of adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork for the screen. For the first time in history, three major movies were made at the same time, a triumphant and monumental undertaking that took the world by storm. Here can be found details about the hundreds of dedicated artists, craftspeople and cast and crew members who labored for years -- adding authenticity at every stage -- to bring one of the greatest stories ever told to an eager film audience. Sibley takes us inside the process of filmmaking to show us how the magic is made -- from the director, writers and actors to wardrobe, makeup, miniatures, music and digital special effects, it's all here."It was tiring, physically and mentally, but never dull. Three movies, one big story, and so much variety: one day shooting scenes of intimate heart-wrenching drama, the next, vast battle scenes involving hundreds of extras. Every day brought an opportunity to create something new on this enormous canvas that is The Lord of the Rings." -- Peter Jackson

    For the special edition slipcase please go here.You know the drill by now. The 2020 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individually bound short stories from some of the best writers in North America. This year's slipcase is a thing of beauty, too, with electric-yellow lining and spot-glossed lettering. It also comes wrapped in two rubber bands to keep those booklets snug in their beds.

    Will Oakley, landlord and host, with his two daughters, beautiful Myrtle, and the repellent Harriet, waited to receive his guests. Along with the usual farmers, merchants and the "quality", there were others who fitted into none of these categories. Like the handsome foreigner with the scarred face, and the fat man who appeared to be gloating over some malicious secret of his own...

    Original.

    Anderson as "a mix of The Lord of the Rings and Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the Noble Dead Saga has become one of the premiere dark fantasy sagas. Now a new chapter begins as a young woman discovers her true potential for heroics against the shadows of evil....After escaping the castle of ancient vampires with Magiere and Leesil, Wynn Hygeorht has returned to Calm Seatt, home of the Guild of Sagecraft, bearing texts supposedly penned by vampires from the time of the Forgotten History and the Great War. Her superiors seize both the ancient texts and her personal journals, dismissing her tales of the undead as delusional fancies.But the guild's scholars have not dismissed the texts. Without Wynn's consent, they begin sending the texts out to scriptoriums for copying. Then one night several pages disappear — and the two sages charged with conveying these pages are murdered. Suspicious of the Guild, separated from the only friends she fully trusts, and convinced the Noble Dead are responsible for the killings, Wynn embarks on a quest to uncover the secrets of the texts, unaware of her allies from unexpected quarters...

    And there's a similar tension in the heart of Lilly Clark. With the war in Europe raging, Lilly lives for letters from her beloved Reggie. But then a stranger enters her life and changes everything. Heinrick Zook has become the focus of controversy in Lilly's small South Dakota town. His ancestry stirs up hateful prejudices as American boys are losing their lives fighting the Germans. But even with this barrier between them, Lilly feels compelled to befriend this gentle German. Can their love overcome the prejudice and conflict that has set the world at war? Or will letters from the enemy forever condemn Lilly in the eyes of those she loves?

    You don't just kill vampires for the money, you do it for the satisfaction. You do it because somebody has to. You do it no matter what it does to you. And you drink'a lot. Some jobs just suck. This one bites.But nobody does it better than Jack Crow, the leader of VAMPIRE$ Inc. His crack team of hunters takes down the blood suckers with a lethal combination of cojones and crossbows.After members of Jack's team are ambushed and slaughtered; however, the survivors need to rethink their strategy. With a new recruit from the Vatican? A priest who's not afraid to wield a stake'and a sharpshooter loaded up with silver bullets, it's payback time. The only problem is that the vampires have no intention of going down easy. They have their own hit list, and Jack Crow's name is scrawled in blood right at the top.

    Extraterrestrial alliances. Unpredictable enemies.Colton Beck has six months to live. He works for the Angor near Los Angeles, aware that any day could be his last.The Angor arrived 20 years ago, resolved to help mankind survive, but not everyone believes their motives are honorable.When the Angor offer humanity a colony world, Colton is determined to see another planet before his final breath. He’s been diagnosed with Xeno, a rare disorder that surfaced with the Angor’s arrival, but he won’t let this stop him.With the help of his old friend Indie Hart, now the single most powerful human on Earth, he joins the Expedition to Dicore. They access the River, an alien technology that allows nearly instantaneous travel between worlds, and their universe is quickly expanded. What they find on Dicore is far from idyllic, and Colton struggles to navigate their new existence while coping with his impending death.First Life is a gripping science fiction adventure tale from the best-selling author of The Event, Lost Contact, and Final Days.

    When she returns to the community just days before Christmas, her father turns her away. After running her car off the road in a blizzard, Grace ends up at the mercy of Ethan Bontrager, the man whose proposal she'd refused before leaving the community. Will the two of them be able to put the past behind them while trapped together in a blizzard? THE CHRISTMAS PRAYER: The day before school lets out for the holiday season, students are asked to submit a confidential and unselfish prayer to their teacher as an end-of-the-year assignment. When two of the students realize they share a common prayer, they join forces to make certain those prayers are answered. Will their shenanigans bring two broken families together, or will their efforts be in vain?