A medical procedure reveals an object of worship. A carnivorous reptile divides and cauterizes a town. Amelia Gray’s curio cabinet expands in Gutshot, where isolation and coupling are pushed to their dark and outrageous edges. These singular stories live and breathe on their own, pulsating with energy and humanness and a glorious sense of humor. Hers are stories that you will read and reread—raw gems that burrow into your brain, reminders of just how strange and beautiful our world is. These collected stories come to us like a vivisected body, the whole that is all the more elegant and breathtaking for exploring its most grotesque and intimate lightless viscera.

    Lust is a collection of erotica by and for women, a fierce and joyous celebration of female desire — and the triple-X trouble it gets us into. In Kay Jaybee’s “Tied to the Kitchen Sink,” a birthday boy finds his present — nude except for tall, high-heeled boots — happily devoted to domestic duties. Maria Grigoriadis’s “Pleasant Surprise” shows what can happen when you knock on the wrong apartment door — without your panties. And Bonnie Dee’s “Ripe Fruit” teasingly elaborates the sweet, sticky encounter of a soap opera idol and a fruit-stand employee on a stretch of rural roadside. Let the witty and provocative Violet Blue, best-selling writer, sex columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and host of the popular podcast Open Source Sex, lead you down a primrose path to a forest of wicked, lustful surprises.

    . . 6 Ways to Surrender.WARNING: The stories in this collection are hot and sexy, and some are even off-the-charts erotic with mature themes and elements.SURRENDER Box Set is FREE to download and features stories by these best-selling authors: Erika Wilde, Liliana Hart, Juliana Stone, M. Malone, Cherise Sinclair and Jasinda Wilder!BOOK DESCRIPTIONS:The Awakening (The Marriage Diaries, Vol. 1) by Erika WildeAfter nearly twenty years of marriage, Jillian Noble is ready to put some spice back into her sex life with her gorgeous husband, Dean. After seducing him at his office, Jillian reveals what she wants, and her husband is more than happy to oblige. Erotic fantasies are fulfilled, and forbidden passions surface as they open themselves up to a provocative world where boundaries are pushed to the limit and pleasure is the ultimate goal.Dane by Liliana HartBad boy, Dane MacKenzie, is coming home to Surrender, Montana. It’s been ten years since he left the woman he loved behind to make a name for himself, and now he’s bound and determined to claim her once and for all.Offside by Juliana StoneWhen hockey phenom Billie-Jo Barker returns home and decides to play in the local Friday night hockey league, all hell breaks loose. Not because Billie's talent is in question, but because Billie is a woman. And though these are modern times, some of the local guys still have a problem letting a girl into their 'men's club.'Teasing Trent by M. MaloneThe only thing Trent's best friend has ever asked of him is to keep an eye on his twin sister while he's deployed. Keeping her company on her birthday shouldn't be too hard. He just has to remember the promise he made to himself in college to keep his hands off her.Club Shadowlands by Cherise SinclairHer car disabled during a tropical storm, Jessica Randall discovers the isolated house where she's sheltering is a private bondage club. At first shocked, she soon becomes aroused watching the interactions between the Doms and their subs. But she's a professional woman--an accountant--and surely isn't a submissive . . . is she?Delilah's Diary #1: A Sexy Journey by Jasinda WilderI've always been a good girl. I grew up in a small town, dated my high school sweetheart all the way through college, and married him. I even waited until our wedding night for my first time. Finding my husband in bed with the church secretary came as quite a shock. Finding out he'd slept with just about every female in town was an even bigger shock. Discovering those dirty little secrets is what sent me on a journey that I will never forget.

    First published in London in July 1879, The Pearl provided unrestrained erotica for every taste.

     The Incorrigible Lady Catherine ~ Lady Catherine Harcourt, daughter of a duke, tries to escape her cold, repressive family by eloping with a rake. She is exiled to her aunts’ cottage in the Lake District, where she meets Philip Woodmere, a gentleman farmer as kind as he is ruggedly attractive. She is drawn to Philip’s strength and warms to his lively family, but a secret from her past threatens their chance for happiness. The Redwyck Charm ~ Marcus Redwyck, Earl of Amberley, reluctantly agrees to wed an heiress in order to save his estate. But his equally reluctant bride, Juliana Hutton, runs away and masquerades as an opera dancer. When they meet, passion leads them to the edge of scandal. Even when all is revealed, it will take all of Marcus’s resolution and the fabled Redwyck charm to win the spirited Juliana’s heart. Saving Lord Verwood ~ Penelope Talcott distrusts Lord Verwood, a notorious rake who’s meddled in the lives of her friends. But she accidentally saves his life and becomes entangled in his affairs. Someone is trying to kill Verwood. Despite herself, Pen is impelled to help. Scandal forces them to marry and return to his estate in Cornwall, where Pen must solve the mystery of the tortured man she has come to love. Reviews: The Incorrigible Lady Catherine “The story gives fresh new twists to traditional Regency plotlines and introduces a well-drawn cast of characters, three of whom cry out for their own tales to be told—the notorious Lord Verwood and Catherine’s two school friends . . . Elena Greene is a talented writer to watch for when looking for a pleasurable, meaty Regency romance.” – Jane Bowers, in Romance Reviews Today The Redwyck Charm “I consider The Redwyck Charm one of the best Regencies I’ve read in the past few months. Elena Greene is a reliable author who delivers the kind of story Regency readers love.” – Barbara Hume, for Rakehell Saving Lord Verwood “Elena Greene writes an intriguing tale of hope, love and joy. In this clever story of just who rescues whom, the political intrigue and developing passion between the main characters neatly blend together to make a highly pleasurable read.” – Romantic Times (4 and 1/2 stars)

    Become Enchanted, Haunted, and Hunted this Halloween.  12 NYT, USA Today, and International Best Selling Authors, bring you brand-new, paranormal shifter romances that are sure to make this a Shifters Hallows Eve you’ll never forget! Featuring stories by: Audra Hart, Bethany Shaw, Bryce Evans, Candace Blevins, Elle Boon, Julia Mills, KD Jones, Lori King, Melissa Bell, Melissa Snark, R.E. Butler, and Sydney LeaJoker’s Trick or Treat by Audra HartThe Wolf’s Ghost by Bethany ShawThe Haunted Mate by Bryce EvansHallowed Destiny by Candace BlevinsDark Lovers by Elle BoonTears for Her Dragon by Julia MillsOnce Upon A Hallows Eve by KD JonesHaunted By Love by Lori KingThe Valley of Shadows by Melissa BellHunter’s Mark by Melissa SnarkThe Tiger’s Bride by R.E. ButlerMate Hunt by Sydney Lea

    Featuring books from some of the best paranormal romance and urban fantasy writers working in the genre today, Fated Souls has something for nearly every reader and will serve as a gateway to books that have collectively received thousands of 4- and 5-star reviews. Available for a limited time, so grab your copy now! Hunted by Dean Murray Adri is about to develop a unique power that will thrust her into a shadowy world filled by preternatural creatures who want to use her for their own ends or barring that, kill her to keep her out of someone else's hands. At home, at school, even in her own dreams—nobody is who and what they say they are, and her time is running out. The only thing she knows for sure is that if she doesn't trust anyone, then she's as good as dead. Blood Debt by Nancy Straight Cami lost the only person in her life - her mom. Daring to find other family, what she found was. . . a blood debt - owed to a stranger. Can Cami escape her mother's past and find her own future? River's Recruit by Charlotte Abel Jonathan lost everything in Afghanistan… his identical twin, his left hand and his will to survive. He seeks solitude and healing in the Colorado wilderness, but finds a beautiful young woman dressed in buckskin, armed with a primitive bow and stone-tipped arrows. River has two choices… Convince the handsome trespasser to join her secret society of wolf-shifters, or kill him. Cheyenne by Lisa Wiedmeier Murder, romance, secrets and hidden pasts. Deception from every angle—who's telling the truth? Discerning Spirits by Kellie McAllen To fulfill his destiny, he'll have to uncover hers. Zeph is half angel, half human, and a total disappointment. Eve is an intriguing mystery that Zeph can’t resist trying to unravel. Together, can they open each other’s eyes to their incredible destiny? Pisces by Rachel Medhurst Pisces has to achieve her life mission. To unite with her twin flame soulmate. Antony's her bodyguard, not her one true love. Or, is he? Atlantis Riptide by Allie Burton Pearl ran away from the circus tired of her adoptive parents’ abuse of her special skills. Unknown to her, a battle rages under the ocean and each side wants to use her powers for their cause. As Pearl discovers her talents she must choose her destiny – whether to ignore the churning seas or swim into battle. Smoke and Mirrors by Jess Haines A girl who uses her illusions to fool the world into thinking she's just like all the other magi. A dragon who sees through her lies. Together they just might survive a world that wants to control or destroy them both. Chameleon by Kelly Oram Dani's life is turned upside-down the day she discovers that the supernatural world exists, and that she's more deeply connected to it than she ever could have dreamed. With the emergence of new and unique powers, she finds herself up to her neck in ancient prophecies, soul mates, and oh yeah, she's just been tasked with saving the world! Beg for Mercy by Shannon Dermott Everyone dreams of that first kiss.

    It offers a collection spanning 35 centuries, featuring poets from around the world including Sappho, Ovid, Rumi, Shakespeare, Whitman and Neruda.

    . .Young and rich, Kurt Nielsen is New York's most eligible bachelor. Except now he can't even bring himself to talk to a woman. How could he, after his last girlfriend took him to court? Kurt is still smarting from the injustice of it all. Sick of his anger, his friends have bought Kurt a call girl. What could be better than a high-class hooker to cheer him up? The working girl will arrive dressed as a hotel maid, with an entire scene arranged.Kurt has never paid for sex before and is uncomfortable with the idea, yet he agrees to meet her at the Hilton. But things don't go as planned when he arrives at the hotel two hours early.Unknown to Kurt, when the maid walks into his suite, she isn’t his call girl. Carmen is an actual hotel maid, with a host of secrets and problems of her own. Sex-starved, Carmen simply cannot resist the carnal magnetic allure of Kurt. Although they are complete strangers, sexual need and animal chemistry overwhelms them both. They quickly discover ecstasy together, again and again and again.But what will happen when they discover their mistake?

    He'll Leave You Breathless... By: The best-selling and award-winning authors…. Kathleen Ball, Krista Ames, Cheryl Gorman, Melissa Keir, Lyssa Layne, and D’Ann Lindun Texas Haven Kathleen Ball Can love shine through the clouds of treachery and misunderstanding? Advertising for a wife seems like the answer to all of Burke Dawson's problems. He wants a wife and kids without emotional attachments, but he has no idea how much havoc one woman can cause. Annie Douglas has her heart set on her hunky cowboy's love and she isn't about to stop until she gets it. Take Me Home, Cowboy by Krista Ames When tragedy strikes, will building tension and pride destroy a growing attraction or show them the way home? Ally Kincaid returns to Rock Creek, Wyoming, to see her father after a two year absence. Anticipating a quiet family reunion, she finds herself butting heads with Matt Gentry—her father’s foreman—instead. The man’s arrogance and sexy drawl push all her buttons, making her wonder what he’s hiding beneath his cowboy swagger. When tragedy strikes, will building tension and pride destroy their growing attraction or show them the way home? Honeymoon Ranch by Cheryl Gorman Can two reluctant partners ride off into their own blissful sunset on Honeymoon Ranch? When wedding planner, Summer Conroy, discovers she has inherited half of Silver Creek Ranch, she is stunned to learn the other half is owned by sexy cowboy, Bryce Jericho. Her idea of turning the ranch into an exclusive wedding and honeymoon destination is met with a wall of resistance from Bryce who doesn’t want his ranch ruined with a bunch of wedding nonsense. He is determined to conceal his vulnerable heart that beats in fear of being betrayed again. Will this woman with dreams of happily-ever-after in her eyes transform his fear into love everlasting? Chalkboard Romance by Melissa Keir Will a One Night Stand prove to be their disaster or their salvation? Lauren Walsh, a divorcee and elementary teacher, wants to feel sexy again after her ex tosses her aside for a younger woman. Her best friend encourages her to sign up for The Playhouse--a renowned dating agency. Forced to stay away from his young son, Mac Thomas lost the ability to trust. After the death of his wife, he returned to care for his son but his sister wants more for him. She sets him up with The Playhouse. Passion ignites but Mac’s a parent of one of Lauren’s students. A teacher and a parent dating could cost Lauren her job and her chance at happiness. Will Mac be able to convince the school and Lauren, that love is the most important thing? Until You Fall in Love by Lyssa Layne Can a longtime friendship suddenly blossom into love? Single mom Jordan Glastetter doesn't know how she'd survive without her best friend, Abram Tomko. He's the father her son never knew and he's the rock she's always leaned on. When Abram's father suffers a heart attack, it's Abram's turn to depend on Jordan, finally seeing her as the woman she's become and not the little girl he grew up with. Will they risk their friendship for a chance at love? The Cowboy’s Baby by D’Ann Lindun Cat wanted to keep her baby: Tanner insisted she give it up...can they find common ground seventeen years later? Cat O’Brien left her heart in Granite, Colorado, seventeen years ago—her first love, Tanner Burke, and the baby girl she gave birth to at sixteen. Suddenly, both Tanner’s high school sweetheart and the teenage daughter they gave up for adoption are back in his life.

    The corporate coalition party Heritage has won the last two elections. With another election on the horizon, the Supermajority is in tight contention, and everything's on the line.With power comes corruption. For Ken, this is his chance to do right by the idealistic Policy1st party and get a steady job in the big leagues. For Domaine, the election represents another staging ground in his ongoing struggle against the pax democratica. For Mishima, a dangerous Information operative, the whole situation is a puzzle: how do you keep the wheels running on the biggest political experiment of all time, when so many have so much to gain?Infomocracy is Malka Older's debut novel.

    The test is severe—sexual in method, psychological in substance… The artistic interest here has precisely to do with the use not only of erotic materials but also erotic methods, the deliberate stimulation of the reader as a part of and means to a total, authentic literary experience.—Eliot Fremont-Smith, The New York Times

    Davis (Girl's Poker Night) offers darkly humorous take on starting over in New York and working with "the Elizabeths" and Alisa Valdes-Rodriquez (The Dirty Girls Social Club) muses on how different the words lady and woman are when paired with cat.Girl's Night In features stories about growing up, growing out of, moving out, moving on, falling apart and getting it all together. So turn off your cell phone and curl up on the couch: this is one Girl's Night In you won't want to miss.

    Disch- The Little Black Box (1964)- The War With the Fnools (1964)- A Game of Unchance (1964)- Precious Artifact (1964)- Retreat Syndrome (1965)- A Terran Odyssey (1987)- Your Appointment Will Be Yesterday (1966)- Holy Quarrel (1966)- We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (1966)- Not by Its Cover (1968)- Return Match (1967)- Faith of Our Fathers (1967)- The Story to End All Stories (1968)- The Electric Ant (1969)- Cadbury, the Beaver Who Lacked (1987)- A Little Something for Us Tempunauts (1974)- The Pre-Persons (1974)- The Eye of the Sibyl (1987)- The Day Mr. Computer Fell Out of Its Tree (1987)- The Exit Door Leads In (1979)- Chains of Air, Web of Aether (1980)- Strange Memories of Death (1984)- I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon (1980, variant of Frozen Journey)- Rautavaara's Case (1980)- The Alien Mind (1981)- NotesFront cover illustration by Chris Moore

    Inspired by her own reflections on more than fifty years of life as a young girl, a woman, a wife, and a mother, She Walks in Beauty draws on poetry's eloquent wisdom to ponder the many joys and challenges of being a woman. Kennedy has divided the collection into sections that signify to her the most notable milestones, passages, and universal experiences in a woman's life, and she begins each of these sections with an introduction in which she explores and celebrates the most important elements of life's journey.The collection includes works by Elizabeth Bishop, Sharon Olds, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda, W. H. Auden, Adrienne Rich, Sandra Cisneros, Anne Sexton, W. S. Merwin, Dorothy Parker, Queen Elizabeth I, Lucille Clifton, Naomi Shahib Nye, and W.B. Yeats. Whether it's falling in love, breaking up, friendship, marriage, motherhood, or growing old, She Walks in Beauty is a priceless resource for anyone, male or female, who wants a deeper understanding and appreciation of what it means to be a woman.She walks in beautyGeorge Gordon, Lord ByronI She walks in beauty, like the nightOf cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and brightMeet in her aspect and her eyes:Thus mellow'd to that tender lightWhich heaven to gaudy day denies.II One shade the more, one ray the less,Had half impair'd the nameless graceWhich waves in every raven tress,Or softly lightens o'er her face;Where thoughts serenely sweet expressHow pure, how dear their dwelling-place.III And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,The smiles that win, the tints that glow,But tell of days in goodness spent,A mind at peace with all below,A heart whose love is innocent!