With a psychopath from his own time rising in the vile ranks of the Cable Street Unmentionables complicating things, Vimes has to ensure that history takes its course so that he will have the right future to go back to, and to keep his younger self alive."One of the funniest English authors alive" (Independent)

    But his reason for choosing this career was even less common, perhaps even unique. This story was first published in BEDLAM'S EDGE, Aug 2005.

    “Stone Mattress,” from her collection of the same name is witty, grotesque, and utterly hilarious—an exemplar of Atwood’s tremendous capacity for capturing our darkest impulses on the page.Verna, aging widow, boards a cruise ship bound for the Arctic in search of her next husband. The last four had suffered regrettable tragedies and left Verna wickedly wealthy in their wake. But, instead of finding another wealthy suitor, Verna finds unwitting Bob, the first man to have ever wronged her. Single, reasonably near his grave, ordinary, and attracted to her like all the others—Bob is all-too-easy prey for Verna’s merciless revenge. An ebook short.

    

    

    His work bears special resonance for writers and readers, and yet his paintings never tell a story so much as they invite viewers to find for themselves the untold stories within."So says Lawrence Block, who has invited seventeen outstanding writers to join him in an unprecedented anthology of brand-new stories: In Sunlight or In Shadow. The results are remarkable and range across all genres, wedding literary excellence to storytelling savvy.Contributors include Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Olen Butler, Michael Connelly, Megan Abbott, Craig Ferguson, Nicholas Christopher, Jill D. Block, Joe R. Lansdale, Justin Scott, Kris Nelscott, Warren Moore, Jonathan Santlofer, Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, and Lawrence Block himself. Even Gail Levin, Hopper’s biographer and compiler of his catalogue raisonée, appears with her own first work of fiction, providing a true account of art theft on a grand scale and told in the voice of the country preacher who perpetrated the crime.In a beautifully produced anthology as befits such a collection of acclaimed authors, each story is illustrated with a quality full-color reproduction of the painting that inspired it.

    As they travel, they discover how cruel the world can be, but also how wondrous.

    Who is to decide what is for the good of humanity?Changing the world. One person at a time…That is the mission statement of Tethys Hospital, run by Dr. Bill Gilchrist and his deformed sister, Abra. VG723, their revolutionary stem-cell-based therapy, appears to be capable of doing just that for the cancer patients who come to Tethys. VG723 is often their last hope. But if they match the protocol, they're virtually guaranteed a cure.Dr. Sheila Takamura, a young, dedicated oncologist, is proud to be involved in the clinical trials. Once the FDA approves it for widespread use, VG723 will revolutionize cancer therapy. That is why she's alarmed when former patients return with bizarre syndromes. Yes, they're cancer free, but they're experiencing dramatic changes in their hair and skin and general appearance. When she investigates a possible link to the protocol, those patients start dying. As the body count grows, Sheila finds her own life in danger. She comes to suspect there might be a literal meaning behind the Tethys motto – but can she learn the truth in time to save herself and millions of others?

    And what the young gunslinger sees brings him the darkest of nightmares.

    He never saw them again. Their bodies were never found, and Adam himself was discovered with his back pressed against an oak tree and his shoes filled with blood. The Likeness: Still traumatised by her brush with a psychopath, Detective Cassie Maddox transfers out of the Murder squad and starts a relationship with fellow detective Sam O'Neill. When he calls her to the scene of his new case, she is shocked to find that the murdered girl is her double. Faithful Place: The course of Frank Mackey's life was set by one defining moment when he was nineteen. The moment his girlfriend, Rosie Daly, failed to turn up for their rendezvous in Faithful Place, failed to run away with him to London as they had planned. Broken Harbour: In Broken Harbour, a ghost estate outside Dublin - half-built, half-inhabited, half-abandoned - two children and their father are dead. The mother is on her way to intensive care. Scorcher Kennedy is given the case because he is the Murder squad's star detective. The Secret Place: Even in her exclusive boarding school, in the graceful golden world that Stephen has always longed for, bad things happen and people have secrets. The previous year, Christopher Harper, from the neighbouring boys' school, was found murdered on the grounds. The Trespasser: Being on the Dublin Murder squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed. Her working life is a stream of thankless cases and harassment. Antoinette is tough, but she's getting close to the breaking point.

    So while it might be a love story, it's also about killing people and disposing of their bodies in the most efficient manner possible.DEAD PIG COLLECTOR introduces readers to Mister Sun, a very proficient businessman whose trade is the murder and spotless removal of human beings. Like any businessman, he knows each transaction is only as good as his client - and today's client, in Los Angeles, has turned out to be so dangerously stupid that Mister Sun's work and life are now in jeopardy...

    Ben's secret to his success: A muse, Hestia, who helps him, cares for him and in many ways is the love of his life, as muses so often are for those they inspire.Hestia is Ben's secret -- but Hestia has secrets of her own. As the two of them race toward the completion of their work, Ben discovers the price of having a muse, and learns that the world can change, in ways he does not expect.

    The first volume in an exciting series of original fantasy short novels, as the genre's favorite writers spin new tales in their most beloved series.The famous and fantastic worlds conjured up by the world's most celebrated authors are now revisited, as the best of the best tell all-new, original tales set in their wildly popular series with Legends -- the greatest collection of original fantasy short novels ever published This essential anthology will be the most talked-about fantasy book of the season, and fans everywhere will want to experience it to the fullest on HarperAudio.In this first audio volume, Stephen King presents an untold story set during Roland the Gunslinger's epic, worlds-spanning quest for the mysterious Dark Tower...while Robert Silverberg returns to the world of Majipoor and Lord Valentine's astonishing life.

    Tudor. Included at the end of their novel The Other People in the audiobook published by Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group (ISBN: 9780593148129).

    In the dim light the effect was distinctly pleasing. The camel's face was a study in pessimism, decorated with numerous abrasions, and it must be admitted that his coat was in that state of general negligence peculiar to camels--in fact, he needed to be cleaned and pressed--but distinctive he certainly was. He was majestic. He would have attracted attention in any gathering, if only by his melancholy cast of feature and the look of hunger lurking round his shadowy eyes.