Kiernan's The Ammonite Violin & Others, one of contemporary dark fantasy s most bewitching and distinctive voices is back with another banquet of the weird and unexpected. In his introduction, Jeff VanderMeer (City of Saints and Madmen, Finch) writes, Kiernan creates her own light in this remarkable collection, and shines it on dark places. In doing so, she gives us gritty, lyrical, horrible, beautiful truths. In The Ammonite Violin & Others, the author rises to meet the high expectations she set with such collections as Tales of Pain and Wonder, A is for Alien, and the World Fantasy Award-nominated To Charles Fort, With Love. Within these pages, you ll discover a dazzling suite of stories situated on the borderlands between the unspeakbale and the erotic, the grotesque and the sublime. Here are stories of dream and metamorphosis, strange lands and beings existing beyond the veil of death and beyond this earth. Here is a selkie who's lost her sealskin, a woman with a blackhole in her heart, a fairie girl fallen to the Queen of Decay, the descent of a modern-day Orpheus, and a killer who has fashioned the most exquisite musical instrument from the remains of one of his victims. Here are dreams, nightmares, and worse things yet.The Ammonite Violin & Others is comprised of stories first published in the subscription only Sirenia Digest, run by Caitlin for her most devoted readers. This publication marks the stories' first availability to the general public.

    Omar Tyree writing as The Urban Griot - The Old South falls prey to a handsome young vampire with a real taste for the ladies. Love at first bite never hurt so good. Angela C. Allen - The mafia is no match for the wicked charms of a beautiful young vampire once she's let loose on the New York City streets. Monica Jackson - Can a pair of fangs help a sister burn more calories? A full-figured woman goes on a thirst-quenching search for the perfect low-carb diet. Linda Addison - It's a matter of life and the living dead for a half-vampire whose greatest wish is to save lives... and become human again. Donna Hill - A sensuous vampire thirsts for something more... but can she find it without getting a dagger in her own heart? Kevin S. Brockenbrough - A vengeful vampire pushes one woman to the edge, unaware that her family secret gives her the power to fight back.

    She can't eat, she heals quickly and she dreams of nothing but blood. She also finds that she has a hot cop working her case. Can she find her attackers and discover what has happened to her before her secrets are exposed?

    Before he was a vampire.Larten Crepsley was a boy. As a child laborer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his cousin as an example to the other children. In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldn't survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampire's assistant, Larten takes it.This is his story.

    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

    Things soon become horrifyingly clear: the Whistler is a vampire and Natalie and Sophie are his latest victims. The young women leave their babies with Natalie's mother and hit the road, determined not to give in to their unnatural desires.Hunger and desire make a powerful couple. So do the Whistler and his Mother, who are searching for Sophie and Natalie with the help of Twitter and the musician's many fans. The violent, emotionally moving showdown between two who should be victims and two who should be monsters will leave readers gasping in fear and delight.Originally published in a sold-out, limited edition, Motherless Child is an extraordinary Southern horror novel that Tor Books is proud to bring to a wider audience.

    Totally. But mean fairies? Fairies weren’t supposed to be mean! But they are, and she really thought she was gonna become fairy dust if it hadn’t been for the super hunky vampire that saved her. Had she mentioned hunky? And, hey, giving him a little snack in return was no bigs. He helped, after all. Except she wanted one nibble to turn into two and then…oodles. And she’d tell him so…just as soon as she finished tasting all of those yummy muscles.Big Bad Vamp – Tory has more bug-out bags and escape plans to get out of Atlanta than there are stars in the sky. And it appears she’s gonna need them. With her habit of digitally visiting different servers across the globe, she always figured she’d piss off the wrong people at some point. It looks like that day has arrived. Some crazy glitter throwing, wing-wearing weirdos are on her tail, and screaming “it wasn’t me” at them isn’t making them go away. With the sparkle freaks closing in, Tory has no choice but to call her fang-banging BFF for help. Finally, an über hunky vamp appears to whisk her to safety. Except she dies. Really. Dead-dead. Almost. See, the thing about it is…Want book three for free? Book three–Poking the Vamp–will be released in FREE INSTALLMENTS through my newsletter.

    “The Death of Aiguillon” finds Aliette de Bodard exploring an episode sixty years prior to the start of her latest novel, The House of Shattered Wings, in which the survivors of an ongoing magical conflict in Paris eke out a grim existence, and one woman’s wish for a better life is granted at a terrible price.And in “One Hundred Ablutions,” Jacqueline Carey, author of the much-beloved Kushiel’s Legacy series, tells the tale of Dala—a young woman chosen by her people’s overlords to be an exalted slave among slaves—and of the twining in her life of ritual, rebellion, and redemption.

    

    I know it's not safe, but there's no other option. Not for the amount of money I need. It's either become a blood courtesan or watch my mom die while we lose the only home I've ever known.So I leap before I look and soon I'm sharing a bed with vampire Kristos Anastos. He's hot, rich and his fangs hurt so good. The courtesan thing is better than I thought it would be... until bullets start to fly.Kristos believes he's the target, but it soon becomes clear it's not him they're after. It's me. And if I want to live, I'd better figure out why.I thought I was just a college student, a good kid raised by a single mom down on her luck, but I have secrets even I don't know about.Blood is money and mine may be worth the most of all.Full length novel with NO cliffhanger. Previously published as Blood Struck and revised and expanded in this new edition for an even more fangalicious read.

    Now he’s coming after her. Liz Wharton has one goal—to kill the man who raped her mother. Had she known Harvey Couch was a werewolf, she never would have tried to take him on by herself. Determined to put an end to the pest bent on revenge, Harvey sends his goons after her. When two wolves attack her, Liz is sure she’s hallucinating. Good thing Trax Field is there to stop them. Trax and Dante Field, members of the Pack, have devoted their lives to stopping bad shifters like Harvey Couch. Saving Liz would have been just an ordinary day, but when Trax finds her huddled in an alley, bruised and shaken, he’s convinced she’s his mate. To keep her safe, Trax and Dante hold her captive in their loft apartment. When they aren’t searching for Couch, Trax and his brother spend the night training their future mate in the art of bondage and sensual pleasures. How will they be able to convert her into embracing not only their lifestyle but also their animalistic side? Claiming Their Mate, #2 She saw the killer. Now he wants her dead. Realtor Chelsea Wilson enters a vacant home she wants to show and comes face-to-face with a dead man--and a killer. Freaked out, she runs, but the killer nabs her. Ricardo Mendez, a werewolf who runs a drug operation, doesn’t need a witness to the murder. He viciously attacks her, but the dead man’s brother, werewolf Kurt Wendlick and his Pack partner, Drake Stanton stop the final assault. When Kurt and Drake save Chelsea, they’re certain she’s their mate and will do anything to keep her safe. Her loving ways puts Kurt in a tailspin. He wants to claim her, but first he needs to avenge his brother’s murder. What can Chelsea do to help the tormented man? Will the three ever explore the world of BSDM together? Rescuing Their Virgin Mate, #3She’s sold into slavery. Now she’s on the run. All Elena Sanchez wanted was to get on the plane to Costa Rica and visit her parents. When the authorities tell her they need to search her, she finds herself drugged and caged by a sadistic bastard who plans to sell her virginity to the highest bidder. Two Pack members, Clay Demmers and Dirk Tilton, learn that Elena, Harvey Couch’s former secretary, is a victim of a human trafficking scheme. They go undercover and bid for her. As soon as they see her, they realize she’s their mate. More determined than ever to save her, they buy her, but at what cost? Elena doesn’t know who to trust. They inform her they’re werewolves, but is that any better than being sold into slavery to humans? With care, Clay and Dirk teach her how to embrace her submissive ways. The problem is this good Catholic girl likes it. Will the guilt from her upbringing prevent her from having the best ménage relationship possible or can she find a way to have both? PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This adult contemporary romance contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable (double penetration, ménage, violence). Not intended for those under the age of 18.

    But there are things about him that mystify her, filling her with apprehension.Who is Michael Tyler? Why does he live alone in such a secluded spot and guard his private life so carefully? What secret--or secrets--is he hiding?Nicole has secrets of her own and a past she is running from--but Michael understands her better than anyone she has ever known. Soon, she is falling as deeply in love with him as he is with her--a profoundly meaningful experience that is destined to change their lives forever.As the sexual tension between them builds, however, the clues mount up. When Nicole learns her host's terrifying secret, there is nowhere for her to run but into the blizzard raging outside, and Michael may be the only one who can save her life.

    Keri Arthur Collection 11 Books Set Pack Moon Sworn, Kiss the Night Goodbye, Hearts in Darkness, Dancing with the Devil, Full Moon Rising, Kissing Sin, Circle of Death, Circle of Fire, Beneath a Darkening Moon,Beneath A Rising Moon, Generation 18

    Readers only familiar with such masterpieces as The Dragonbone Chair and Talchaser’s Song will be delighted to discover that in his short fiction, Williams has been able to explore myriad new possibilities and adventures.Previously collected in multiauthor anthologies and limited hardcover editions, these superlative talks of dragons, super-soldiers, wizards, cyberpunks, heroes, and fools are now available together for the first time in an affordable trade paperback edition. These stories showcase the exhilarating breadth of Williams’ imagination, in stories hearkening to the tales of such classic fantasists as J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, Ray Bradbury, and Peter S. Beagle. Included is an original tale written specifically for this volume.The Very Best of Tad Williams is a true delight to those who have imagined themselves in fantastic worlds beyond the everyday and mundane.TABLE OF CONTENTSThe Old Scale GameThe Storm DoorThe Stranger’s HandsChild of an AncientCityThe Boy Detective of Oz: An Otherland StoryThree Duets for Virgin and NosehornDiary of a DragonNot with a Whimper, EitherSome Thoughts Re: Dark DestroyerZ is for...Monsieur Vergalant’s CanardThe Stuff that Dreams are Made OfFish Between FriendsEvery Fuzzy Beast of the Earth, Every Pink Fowl of the AirA Stark and Wormy KnightBlack SunshineAnd Ministers of Grace

    It is a dark time for the world. Humanity is just crawling out from under three hundred years of domination by the race of vampires known as the Nobility. The war against the vampires has taken its toll; cities lie in ruin, the countryside is fragmented into small villages and fiefdoms that still struggle against nightly raids by the fallen vampires-and the remnants of their genetically manufactured demons and werewolves.Every village wants a Hunter-one of the warriors who have pledged their laser guns and their swords to the eradication of the Nobility. But some Hunters are better than others, and some bring their own kind of danger with them...From creator Hideyuki Kikuchi, one of Japan's leading horror authors with illustrations by renowned Japanese artist, Yoshitaka Amano, best known for his illustrations in Neil Gaiman's Sandman: The Dream Hunters and the Final Fantasy games.