Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R.R. Martin himself offers a brand-new A Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire history of Ice and Fire.Follow along with the likes of Gillian Flynn, Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Cherie Priest, Garth Nix, and Connie Willis, as well as other masters of literary sleight-of-hand, in this rogues gallery of stories that will plunder your heart — and yet leave you all the richer for it.Contents:- Tough Times All Over by Joe Abercrombie (a Red Country story)- What Do You Do? (aka The Grownup) by Gillian Flynn- The Inn of the Seven Blessings by Matthew Hughes- Bent Twig by Joe R. Lansdale (a Hap and Leonard story)- Tawny Petticoats by Michael Swanwick- Provenance by David Ball- The Roaring Twenties by Carrie Vaughn- A Year and a Day in Old Theradane by Scott Lynch- Bad Brass by Bradley Denton- Heavy Metal by Cherie Priest- The Meaning of Love by Daniel Abraham- A Better Way to Die by Paul Cornell (a Jonathan Hamilton story)- Ill Seen in Tyre by Steven Saylor- A Cargo of Ivories by Garth Nix (a Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz story)- Diamonds From Tequila by Walter Jon Williams (a Dagmar story)- The Caravan to Nowhere by Phyllis Eisenstein (a Tales of Alaric the Minstrel story)- The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives by Lisa Tuttle- How the Marquis Got His Coat Back by Neil Gaiman (a Neverwhere story)- Now Showing by Connie Willis- The Lightning Tree by Patrick Rothfuss (a Kingkiller Chronicle story)- The Rogue Prince, or, A King’s Brother by George R.R. Martin (a Song of Ice and Fire story)

    Now, with her patria under fire, she has to protect her people from Fury and his werewolf clan. Vowing to bring him to justice, Angelia sets out alone... until the hunter becomes the hunted, and the only way for her to survive is to trust the very wolf she's sworn to kill.NOTE: This story has been re-released in the Dark Bites anthologyThe Story of Son by J.R. WardClaire Stroughton is a beautiful lawyer who would rather spend the night with a legal brief than the man of her dreams. Then a routine client meeting turns dangerous--and deeply sensual--when she is held captive by a gorgeous man with an unworldly hunger...Beyond the Night by Susan SquiresWhen Drew Carlowe returns home to win back a lost love, he is quick to dismiss rumors that his estate is haunted by a stunning young ghost...until one passionate encounter leaves him mystified--and aching for more.Midnight Kiss Goodbye by Dianna LoveTrey McCree possesses an insatiable desire for Sasha Armand--and supernatural powers that could endanger her life as a human. But when they team up to stop an evil warlord, Trey discovers that Sasha can do way more than drive men wild...

    3 Chaotic by Kelley Armstrong - Half-demon Hope is sent to museum gala by mentor Tristan to catch werewolf thief Mateson. 4 Dead Man Dating by Lori Handeland - On their first date, Kit goes too far with Eric, shot by bystander Chávez, then wakes to no blood, no body.

    A female werewolf helps a sheriff track down a killer “In Sheep’s Clothing.” A woman must repay her family’s debt to a shapeshifting magician in “Grace of Small Magics.” Please note: Each of these stories previously appeared in print in The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance. This is a collected e-book edition of Ilona Andrews’, Jeaniene Frost’s, and Meljean Brook’s contributions.

    A poisoned apple and a monkey's paw with the power to change fate; a girl whose extraordinarily long hair causes catastrophe; a man with one human arm and one swan's wing; and a house deep in the forest, constructed of gumdrops and gingerbread, vanilla frosting and boiled sugar. In A Wild Swan and Other Tales, the people and the talismans of lands far, far away, the mythic figures of our childhoods and the source of so much of our wonder are transformed by Michael Cunningham into stories of sublime revelation. Here are the moments that our fairy tales forgot or deliberately concealed: the years after a spell is broken, the rapturous instant of a miracle unexpectedly realized, or the fate of a prince only half cured of a curse. The Beast stands ahead of you in line at the convenience store, buying smokes and a Slim Jim, his devouring smile aimed at the cashier. A malformed little man with a knack for minor acts of wizardry goes to disastrous lengths to procure a child. A loutish and lazy Jack prefers living in his mother's basement to getting a job, until the day he trades a cow for a handful of magic beans. Re-imagined by one of the most gifted storytellers of his generation, and exquisitely illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, rarely have our bedtime stories been this dark, this perverse, or this true.

    And mermaids are on display at the local aquarium.The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night is a collection of twelve haunting stories; modern fairy tales brimming with magic, outsiders and lost souls.

    From video game characters seeking civil rights and a cave dragon loan shark pondering an investment, to Santa Claus's Australian vacation and an enemy of Sam Spade's out for revenge, plus visits to the Nightside and Sookie Stackhouse's hometown, these stories will take readers around the world on a magical mystery tour."Lucky" by Charlaine Harris -- a Sookie Stackhouse short"Bogieman" by Carole Nelson Douglas"Looks are Deceiving" by Micheal A. Stackpole"the House of Seven Spirits" by Sharon Shinn"Glamour" by Mike Doogan"Spellbound" by Donna Andrews"the Duh Vice" by Michael Armstrong"Weight of the World" by John Straley"Illumination" by Laura Anne Gilman"the House" by Laurie R. King"Appetite for Murder" by Simon R. Green -- a Nightside short"A Woman's Work" by Dana Stabenow

    What's the seating plan when rival clans of werewolves and vampires meet under the same roof? How can a couple in the throes of love overcome traps set by feuding relatives---who are experts at voodoo? Will you have a good marriage if your high-seas wedding is held on a cursed ship? How do you deal with a wedding singer who's just a little too good at impersonating Elvis? Shape-shifters, wizards, and magic, oh my!"The Wedding of Wylda Serene" / Esther Friesner"All Shook Up" /P.N. Elrod"Tacky" / Charlaine Harris"A Hard Day's Night-Searcher" / Sherrilyn Kenyon"Something Borrowed" / Jim Butcher"Spellbound" / L.A. Banks"Dead Man's Chest" / Rachel Caine"Charmed by the Moon" / Lori Handeland"...Or Forever Hold Your Peace" / Susan Krinard

    Princess. Thief. After years of running from the Emperor of Russia's assassins, Ekaterina "Kat" Dashkova has finally found an unlikely home in Philadelphia under the tutelage of Benjamin Franklin. When a mid-level government official is found wandering colonial Philadelphia without his clothes—and his last two years of memories—Ben and Kat suspect otherworldly forces at work. Neither of them know that a dark revolution lurks beneath the veneer of civilization, ready to unleash its malevolent magic unless Kat makes a grim sacrifice.

    In Jim Butcher’s ”Curses”, Harry Dresden investigates how to lift a curse laid by the Fair Folk on the Chicago Cubs. In Patricia Briggs’ “Fairy Gifts,”, a vampire is called home by magic to save the Fae who freed him from a dark curse. In Melissa Marr’s “Guns for the Dead”, the newly dead Frankie Lee seeks a job in the afterlife on the wrong side of the law. In Holly Black’s “Noble Rot”, a dying rock star discovers that the young woman who brings him food every day has some strange appetites of her own.Featuring original stories from 20 authors, this dark, captivating, fabulous, and fantastical collection is not to be missed!Contents:Curses / by Jim Butcher --How the pooka came to New York City / by Delia Sherman --On the slide / by Richard Bowes --The Duke of Riverside / by Ellen Kushner --Oblivion by Calvin Klein / by Christopher Fowler --Fairy gifts / by Patricia Briggs --Picking up the pieces / by Pat Cadigan --Underbridge / by Peter S. Beagle --Priced to sell / by Naomi Novik --The bricks of Gelecek / by Matthew Kressel --Weston walks / by Kit Reed --The projected girl/ by Lavie Tidhar --The way station / by Nathan Ballingrud --Guns for the dead / by Melissa Marr --And go like this / by John Crowley --Noble rot / by Holly Black --Daddy longlegs of the evening / by Jeffrey Ford --The skinny girl / by Lucius Shepard --The Colliers' Venus (1893) / by Caitlín R. Kiernan --King pole, gallows pole, bottle tree / by Elizabeth Bear.

    Supernaturally thrilling and engaging, this boxed set has it all: ghosts, vampires, mind-readers, shape-shifters, demons, faeries, werewolves, and more. For a limited time, you can enjoy books from today's New York Times, USA Today, Amazon and Barnes & Noble bestselling authors and many more. We have everything from titles that are slated for the big screen to stories from Pulitzer Prize and Bram Stoker Award Nominees! When purchased separately, these books cost over $50! But they are yours today for less than $1. Professionally formatted, no cliffhangers, and no short stories. Every selection in this rare, limited edition paranormal boxed set are full-length novels and novellas! A few are "First in Series," but we carefully selected only those which can still be enjoyed as a standalone! With: Riley J Ford, NY Times & USA Today Bestseller: INTO YOU Winter knows exactly what her friends are thinking, but there's a catch... Rebecca Hamilton, Amazon Bestselling & Film-Optioned Novelist: HER SWEETEST DOWNFALL Ophelia's initiation won't be complete until she kills the man she loves. Apryl Baker, Amazon Bestselling & Film-Optioned Novelist: THE AWAKENING Bones breaking and muscles tearing haunt Alexandria Reed. Carole Lanham, Amazon Bestselling Author & Bram Stoker Award Nominee: CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE "There are monsters in this world. Sometimes I have fallen victim to them and sometimes I have been one." Thomas Sullivan, Pulitzer Prize Nominee: THE WATER WOLF An adventurer searching for links in a colossal subterranean network finds a dangerous churchyard where he encounters strange magic. Rainy Kaye, Amazon Bestselling Author: SUMMONED A reluctant genie criminal unravels the mystery of the paranormal bond controlling him. Conner Kressley, Amazon Bestselling Author: THE BREAKER'S CODE Cresta thinks everything is the end of the world. She might be right. Laura Howard: THE FORGOTTEN ONES Noree Cosper: A PRESCRIPTION FOR DELIRIUM Madness spreading like a virus and a revenge that's waited for over 500 years. Louise Caiola: WHAT TRULY KNOWS Some said Truly was born with a gift. Others, a curse. But it was the very thing meant to save her life. If it didn’t kill her first. Susan Stec: DEAD GIRLS NEVER SHUT UP Toni's grandmother is a psychopath. Her sister is a ghost. Her boyfriend is possessed. And she has no idea who she is. Kelly Anne Blount: SHADE The traumatic kidnapping of Abriana Vega, a Hispanic college student. Christi Goddard: FOUR IN THE MORNING When a smart-ass magical creature invades Kathleen’s life, a boy she hates turns up dead and her mother goes missing. Steven Katriel: THE PORTRAIT OF ALATIEL SALAZAR When Helena vanishes from his life, Gabriel journeys to the man responsible for her disappearance. DelSheree Gladden: INVISIBLE Being invisible won't hide Mason for long.

    Monsters, real and imagined, external and internal, are the subject. They are us and we are them and Ballingrud's intense focus makes these stories incredibly intense and irresistible.These are love stories. And also monster stories. Sometimes these are monsters in their traditional guises, sometimes they wear the faces of parents, lovers, or ourselves. The often working-class people in these stories are driven to extremes by love. Sometimes, they are ruined; sometimes redeemed. All are faced with the loneliest corners of themselves and strive to find an escape.Nathan Ballingrud was born in Massachusetts but has spent most of his life in the South. He worked as a bartender in New Orleans and New York City and a cook on offshore oil rigs. His story "The Monsters of Heaven" won the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his daughter.

    over one million words of divinely (and diabolically) inspired fantasy, adventure, and romance.Join the freshest voices in urban fantasy and paranormal, New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling authors, on unique journeys to heaven, hell, and worlds beyond.

    It is a place of contradictions—the bright lights mask the peeling paint; a carnie in greasy overalls slinks away from the direction of the Barker’s seductive call. It is a place of illusion—is that woman’s beard real? How can she live locked in that watery box?And while many are tricked by sleight of hand, there are hints of something truly magical going on. One must remain alert and learn quickly the unwritten rules of this dark show. To beat the carnival, one had better have either a whole lot of luck or a whole lot of guns—or maybe some magic of one’s own.Featuring stories grotesque and comical, outrageous and action-packed, Carniepunk is the first anthology to channel the energy and attitude of urban fantasy into the bizarre world of creaking machinery, twisted myths, and vivid new magic.RACHEL CAINE’s vampires aren’t child’s play, as a naïve teen discovers when her heart leads her far, far astray in “The Cold Girl.” With “Parlor Tricks,” JENNIFER ESTEP pits Gin Blanco, the Elemental Assassin, against the Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns. SEANAN McGUIRE narrates a poignant, ethereal tale of a mysterious carnival that returns to a dangerous town after twenty years in “Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea.” KEVIN HEARNE’s Iron Druid and his wisecracking Irish wolfhound discover in “The Demon Barker of Wheat Street” that the impossibly wholesome sounding Kansas Wheat Festival is actually not a healthy place to hang out. With an eerie, unpredictable twist, ROB THURMAN reveals the fate of a psychopath stalking two young carnies in “Painted Love.”

    Eavesdropping and exploring; savaging our bodies, saving our souls. They are monsters, saviours, victims, childhood friends. Some have called them genies: these are the Djinn. And they are everywhere. On street corners, behind the wheel of a taxi, in the chorus, between the pages of books. Every language has a word for them. Every culture knows their traditions. Every religion, every history has them hiding in their dark places. There is no part of the world that does not know them.They are the Djinn. They are among us.With stories from: Nnedi Okorafor, Neil Gaiman, Helene Wecker, Amal El-Mohtar, Catherine King, Claire North,  E.J. Swift, Hermes (trans. Robin Moger), Jamal Mahjoub, James Smythe, J.Y. Yang, Kamila Shamsie, Kirsty Logan, K.J. Parker, Kuzhali Manickavel, Maria Dahvana Headley, Monica Byrne, Saad Hossein, Sami Shah, Sophia Al-Maria and Usman Malik.