Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances


Neil Gaiman - 2015
    Trigger Warning includes previously published pieces of short fiction--stories, verse, and a very special Doctor Who story that was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved series in 2013--as well "Black Dog," a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods, exclusive to this collection.Trigger Warning explores the masks we all wear and the people we are beneath them to reveal our vulnerabilities and our truest selves. Here is a rich cornucopia of horror and ghosts stories, science fiction and fairy tales, fabulism and poetry that explore the realm of experience and emotion. In "Adventure Story"--a thematic companion to The Ocean at the End of the Lane--Gaiman ponders death and the way people take their stories with them when they die. His social media experience "A Calendar of Tales" are short takes inspired by replies to fan tweets about the months of the year--stories of pirates and the March winds, an igloo made of books, and a Mother's Day card that portends disturbances in the universe. Gaiman offers his own ingenious spin on Sherlock Holmes in his award-nominated mystery tale "The Case of Death and Honey". And "Click-Clack the Rattlebag" explains the creaks and clatter we hear when we're all alone in the darkness.A sophisticated writer whose creative genius is unparalleled, Gaiman entrances with his literary alchemy, transporting us deep into the realm of imagination, where the fantastical becomes real and the everyday incandescent. Full of wonder and terror, surprises and amusements, Trigger Warning is a treasury of delights that engage the mind, stir the heart, and shake the soul from one of the most unique and popular literary artists of our day.

The Blemished


Sarah Dalton - 2012
    Her genes are worthless and that takes away her rights: her right to an Education, her right to a normal life and her right to have a child.Mina keeps a dangerous secret which she never thought she could share until she meets Angela on her first day at St Jude's School. But their friendship is soon complicated by Angela’s adoptive brother Daniel. Mina finds herself drawn to his mysterious powers and impulsive nature. Then there is the gorgeous clone Sebastian who Mina is forbidden from even speaking to…The Blemished is a frightening take on a fractured future where the Genetic Enhancement Ministry have taken control of Britain. It will take you on a ride filled with adventure, romance and rebellion.

Bound by Duty


Stormy Smith - 2014
    She knows she's an Elder but has no idea what that means. Her father reminds her daily that she must maintain control but he refuses to explain why. Even worse, she's betrothed to the prince of the Immortals and she doesn't even know his name. Finally breaking free to live a few normal years at a community college, the last thing Amelia expects is to find her best friend in a cheeky Southern girl and to fall for a self-assured human who sees her for who she is and not what she'll be.As she learns more about herself, Amelia realizes the line between love and duty is a thin one. As her power continues to increase exponentially and her questions are slowly answered, Amelia must make the ultimate choice. The question is, will her head or her heart win the battle?

Snow White, Blood Red


Ellen DatlowNeil Gaiman - 1993
    But no longer.You hold in your hands a volume of wonders -- magical tales of trolls and ogres, of bewitched princesses and kingdoms accursed, penned by some of the most acclaimed fantasists of our day. But these are not bedtime stories designed to usher an innocent child gently into a realm of dreams. These are stories that bite -- lush and erotic, often dark and disturbing mystical journeys through a phantasmagoric landscape of distinctly adult sensibilities... where there is no such thing as "happily ever after." The "Snow White, Blood Red" Collection #1. Snow White, Blood Red #2. Black Thorn, White Rose #3. Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears #4. Black Swan, White Raven #5. Silver Birch, Blood Moon #6. Black Heart, Ivory Bones

Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love


George R.R. MartinPeter S. Beagle - 2010
    L. N. Hanover“Demon Lover” copyright © 2010 by Cecelia Holland“The Wayfarer’s Advice” copyright © 2010 by Melinda Snodgrass“Blue Boots” copyright © 2010 by Robin Hobb“The Thing About Cassandra” copyright © 2010 by Neil Gaiman“After the Blood” copyright © 2010 by Marjorie M. Liu“You, and You Alone” copyright © 2010 by Jacqueline Carey“His Wolf” copyright © 2010 by Lisa Tuttle“Courting Trouble” copyright © 2010 by Linnea Sinclair“The Demon Dancer” copyright © 2010 by Mary Jo Putney“Under/Above the Water” copyright © 2010 by Tanith Lee“Kaskia” copyright © 2010 by Peter S. Beagle“Man in the Mirror” copyright © 2010 by Yasmine Galenorn“A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows” copyright © 2010 by Diana Gabaldon

A Kiss for Christmas


Melody Grace - 2013
    In Unexpectedly Yours… Sophie has been dreaming of a magical winter holiday in New York City. Can a chance encounter with musician Austin bring her festive dreams to life?In Holiday Kisses… Writer Dash needs peace and quiet to finish his new script, but he wasn’t betting on inn-keeper Ellie and the local Starbright festival to give him a jolt of holiday inspiration.

Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales


Kelly LinkNalo Hopkinson - 2014
    Welcome to a world where humans live side-by-side with monsters, from vampires both nostalgic and bumbling, to an eight-legged alien who makes tea. Here you'll find mercurial forms that burrow into warm fat, spectral boy toys, a Maori force of nature, a landform that claims lives, and an architect of hell on earth. Through these, and a few monsters that defy categorization, some of today's top young-adult authors explore ambition and sacrifice, loneliness and rage, love requited and avenged, and the boundless potential for connection, even across extreme borders.Moriabe's Children / Paolo Bacigalupi --Old souls / Cassandra Clare --Ten rules for being an intergalactic smuggler (the successful kind) / Holly Black --Quick hill / M.T. Anderson --The diabolist / Nathan Ballingrud --This whole demoning thing / Patrick Ness --Wings in the morning / Sarah Rees Brennan --Left foot, right / Nalo Hopkinson --The Mercurials / G. Carl Purcell --Kitty Capulet and the invention of underwater photography / Dylan Horrocks --Son of abyss / Nik Houser --A small wild magic / Kathleen Jennings --The new boyfriend / Kelly Link --The woods hide in plain sight / Joshua Lewis --Mothers, lock up your daughters because they are terrifying / Alice Sola Kim

Wild & Steamy


Meljean Brook - 2011
    But Newberry faces a danger of another kind: to his heart, by the woman forced to marry him. What will it take for this prudish bounder to convince his wife to stay?Vixen by Jill Myles - A shifter novella of 15,000 words: Miko's denied her were-fox nature for far too long and turned her back on her vixen heritage. But when she meets two very sexy cat-shifters, she has to decide if she truly wants to give up on her frisky side, or embrace it. Because the were-fox in her doesn't want to choose between both men...it wants them both. Kitten-tiger & the Monk by Carolyn Crane - A Disillusionists novella of 20,000 words: Sophia Sidway, Midcity's most dangerous memory revisionist, seeks out the mysterious Monk in the wasteland beneath the Tangle turnpike, hoping for redemption...but it turns out that the Monk is not all that pious, and the turnpike is no turnpike at all.

Exiled


M.R. Merrick - 2011
    On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped. Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna — a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.

Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances


Trisha TelepLesley Livingston - 2011
    Young heroes and heroines battle evils with the help of supernatural or super-technological powers, each individual story perfectly balancing historical and fantastical elements. Throw in epic romances that transcend time, and this trendy, engrossing anthology is sure to become another hit for the fast-growing Steampunk genre!This collection features some of the hottest writers in the teen genre, including: Ann Aguirre, Jaclyn Dolamore, Tessa Gratton, Frewin Jones, Caitlin Kittredge, Adrienne Kress, Lesley Livingston, Dru Pagliassotti, Dia Reeves, Michael Scott, Maria V. Snyder, Tiffany Trent, and Kiersten White.

Hearts Aflame Collection I


Melissa F. Hart - 2013
    He hurts no one. He helps no one. But his very refusal to join a clan puts him in danger from the often vicious blood families. When a nearby clan sends a hunting party to convert or kill him, he encounters the deadly and beautiful Tahlia. The sparks immediately fly between the two vampires, leading to a final confrontation that could put them both at risk.- Falling for an Angel (Angel at Large, Book 1)Adrian is a messenger angel. He loves nothing better than zipping through the realms, dodging the enemies who try to keep him from doing his duty. He is fast and swift and as dedicated as they come. But he’s a fun loving individual. Even though he likes being an angel, he is lonely and can’t help wondering what it would be like to have someone that belongs to him, and that he belongs to. So when his best friend, the guardian angel Cassel falls in love with his mortal and he finds out that the only hope is for him to also find love, he embraces the challenge in his usual fun loving way. How hard can it be to find a mortal who will love him? He’s good looking, smart and can show her a good time. Unfortunately, he meets and is instantly attracted to Melissa, the only mortal woman in the world who is not impressed either by his good looks, his wit or his charm. To win her heart, he will have to reach deep into himself to discover what she really wants.- Christmas Choices (When Naughty Becomes so Nice, Book 1)When Andie Nichols breaks up with her controlling boyfriend Evan Harrington just before the big Christmas party, she dreads going and having to see him there. Still, she doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she didn’t go just to avoid him, so she takes up residence at the free bar, just hoping to avoid him That’s when she meets Ryan Miller and kisses him to show off to Evan. Ryan is shocked, but likes it. They leave the party together, and Ryan reveals a shocking secret of his own. He likes a woman who isn’t afraid to demand what she wants and offers to be her sex slave. The choice is all hers, but if she is willing to be a little naughty, he promises to make her feel oh so very nice.- It's Not Enough (The Clover Leaf Café, Book 1)Jeff Masterson is a cynical businessman. He has no time for love and no time for women except in the bedroom. Lisa Smith is vulnerable when her long term boyfriend dumps her for a man. She felt an instant attraction to Jeff but working in The Clover Leaf Café, she had heard of his reputation as a one night stand man and agrees to go off with Jeff but it will only be one night. What she does not count on though is the flood of feelings that night releases in her. She can’t seem to get Jeff out of her mind. She knows she is just another one night stand but the way Jeff keeps coming at her, she is beginning to think he might see her as more. But she’s not sure she is ready to trust again so soon.

44


Jools Sinclair - 2010
    She can't see colors, memories have been erased, and her friends all hate her. And then there's Jesse, who she loves, but who refuses to forgive her the one mistake she made long ago.Just when she thinks it can't get any worse, the visions begin. In them, she sees a faceless serial killer roaming the streets. While the police believe that there have been a lot of accidents in town lately, Abby knows differently. And she soon realizes that it's up to her to find him. But to stop him, she'll have to confront more than just the killer. She'll have to face something else that was lost in those dark waters: the truth.

Dying for a Living


Kory M. Shrum - 2014
    Jesse dies for a living, literally. As a Necronite, she is one of the population’s rare 2% who can serve as a death replacement agent, dying so others don’t have to. Although each death is different, the result is the same: a life is saved, and Jesse resurrects days later with sore muscles, new scars, and another hole in her memory. But when Jesse is murdered and becomes the sole suspect in a federal investigation, more than her freedom and sanity are at stake. She must catch the killer herself—or die trying.

Sizzling Hot Alpha Male Paranormal Romance Box Set


Mandy M. Roth - 2014
    RothM/F Erotic Paranormal RomanceReform isn't in every bad boy's future...or past...Ava Fenaly knows a thing or two about magik, and she knows exactly what she's doing when she summons a demon in her bedroom. Well, almost. Ava is convinced the exhilarating night of passion that follows is all a dream. It has to be, because she's dead set against revisiting her past--and the horrors she left behind long ago.For the last three hundred plus years, Donatus Manlian has been living a peaceful life. Lonely, but peaceful. When the demon he has kept carefully locked within for centuries finally breaks free and responds to Ava's call, the peace--and the loneliness--are gone. Now Donatus is forced to revisit tragedies long buried as he protects Ava from the evil that pursues her. But another evil lies within him--and now that it's been awakened, the demon wants free.Trading Teon by Reagan HawkM/F/M Erotic Sci-Fi/ParanormalGaron and Lorne, shapeshifting males of the Ralenium race, are fierce guns for hire in the universe. When a cargo ship transporting women charged with crimes by the Galactic Star Union arrives on their planet, the men make the traders an offer they can't refuse. Planet Ralen is sorely lacking in women, and the males have an inborn desire to dominate, to tame females and to reproduce. When their inner beasts' clocks start ticking and the burning need to spread their seed consumes them, they go on the hunt for the perfect female. Too bad both men want the same woman.Teon, a lady with a place in high society, thought life as she knew it was over when she was wrongfully charged with a crime by her stepmother. A prisoner en route to a barren planet to serve her sentence, she's presented with an opportunity to start over again on the planet Ralen. The catch is she has to be willing to be claimed by two males. Not just any males mind you, two burning hunks who are ready to fight to the death if need be to share her bed.Their Virgin Slayer by Darby LondonM/F/M Erotic Paranormal RomanceTwo brothers, one demon slayer... one hell of a good time!Keane has lived for centuries--taking what he wants, doing as he pleases. When a beautiful young woman catches his attention, he finds himself drawn to her like a moth to a flame. He knows better than to expect more than pleasures of the flesh from her yet he can't seem to stop himself. Seducing her will prove to be a dangerous challenge. Keeping her will prove near impossible.Hannah's new secret admirer is more than she bargained for. As a slayer sworn to police the demons who dare to roam the earth she has enough to worry about. She doesn't need some mysterious guy trying to seduce her--especially one who puts her at odds with what she was born to do. She's no match for Keane's seductive powers and when his brother joins in the fun she knows she's in over her head.This box set contains adult content and is intended for mature audiences only. Must be 18 years or older to read.

The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies


John Langan - 2013
    Gifted with a supple and mellifluous prose style, an imagination that can conjure up clutching terrors with seeming effortlessness, and a thorough knowledge of the rich heritage of weird fiction, Langan has already garnered his share of accolades. This new collection of nine substantial stories includes such masterworks as “Technicolor,” an ingenious riff on Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death”; “How the Day Runs Down,” a gripping tale of the undead; and “The Shallows,” a powerful tale of the Cthulhu Mythos. The capstone to the collection is a previously unpublished novella of supernatural terror, “Mother of Stone.” With an introduction by Jeffrey Ford and an afterword by Laird Barron.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Reading Langan, by Jeffrey FordKidsHow the Day Runs DownTechnicolor The Wide, Carnivorous SkyCity of the DogThe ShallowsThe Revel June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris. Mother of Stone Story Notes Afterword: Note Found in a Glenfiddich Bottle, by Laird BarronAcknowledgments