But what of its opposite -- the moment when it becomes clear that things are indisputably over? Dumped is a survey of every type of romantic crack-up, a group of stories full of the hilarity, wisdom, insight, and sometimes, yes, fierce revenges of some of the most memorable broken hearts in recent literature. Dumped sheds light on what can be the toughest part of human relations -- whether newly elucidating the misery we've all endured, or merely reminding us that others have had it far worse -- from the mother in Elizabeth Berg's Open House absurdly attempting to tell her son his father has left, to the betrayed wife in Roald Dahl's "Lamb to Slaughter," who beats her husband to death with a leg of lamb, then cooks it for the police. With contributions from such notable authors as Will Self, Saul Bellow, Alice Munro, Raymond Carver, Lorrie Moore, Dorothy Parker, Andre Dubus, and Tobias Wolff, as well as rising stars like Lucinda Rosenfeld and Steve Almond, Dumped spans every variety of romantic catastrophe and every possible response to it; from the wise to the hilarious, the bitter to the bittersweet. This book is the panacea for problems of the heart.

    A place hidden from view, nestled in the darkest recesses of your mind, awaiting the perfect moment to reveal itself—only to scare you blind. In this collection of unforgettable horror stories, discover the terrifying truth as told by today’s greatest masters of the macabre—classic twisted tales that will reach out from the past and draw you into the depths of their darkness. Prepare to enter a nightmarish reality in which seeing is disbelieving, your eyes can deceive you…and DARK MASQUES conceal the ultimate in terror….

    HochThe Bargain by A.M. BurrageThe Sins of the Father by Carole BuggeThe Moving Finger Types by Henry SlesarThe Story of Obbok by Darrell SchweitzerRevised Expectations by Kathleen C. SzajThe Pandora Heart by Tanith LeeDon't Open That Book! by Patricia MullenGenesis for Dummies by Patrick LobruttoTurn the Page by Zenna HendersonBecome So Shining That We Cease to Be by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro The Resurrection by Christine JacobsenThe Confession of Brother Blaise by Jane YolenNever Again the Same by L. Jagi LamplighterThe Temple by H.P. LovecraftThe Green Thumb by John Gregory BetancourtFamous First Words by Harry HarrisonThe Super Alkaloid by Jack Snow"I Am a Fine Musician..." by Roberta RogowObituary by Isaac AsimovOne-Shot Beamish and His Wonderful Feminals by Jack Sheckley Patent Pending by Arthur C. ClarkeThe Monster-Maker by William C. MorrowThe Maladjusted Classroom by H. Nearing, Jr.Black Bargain by Robert BlochThe Devil in Manuscript by Nathaniel HawthorneFeeling Lucky by Laura J. CatanzaritiMendoza by Andrew WarrenSatan's Home Page by Ron GoulartProfessor Lubermayer's Final Lecture by Marvin KayeCinnabar by Jean PaivaMessage from Hell by Robert SheckleyA Child of Earth and Hell by Jessica Amanda SalmonsonThe Master's Thesis by David MaddenDP! by Jack VanceRepeating Echo by J. Timothy HuntThe Shadowy Street by Jean RayThe Bear Garden by Aline Myette-VolskyThe Testament of Magdalen Blair by Aleister Crowley

    Join four favourite paranormal authors, including bestseller P. C. Cast, on a deadly journey where love and survival are intertwined. In Divine Beginnings, Healer Aine must chose between treating an enigmatic enemy or letting him die, whilst The Amazon’s Curse could kill the passion that Nola and vampire warrior Zane share. Toying with New Orleans Voodoo, leaves Tessa haunted by a sinfully sexy man. , whilst last scion of the dragon clan Rhys is tormented by his desire for Alia as he struggles to fight the Edge of Craving.

    Feel the sparks fly off the hot romance and action-driven pages of these EXCLUSIVE TITLES—unavailable separately in ebook format anywhere else!From sweet to sensual, they’ll satisfy your most indulgent fantasies as you fall in love with an array of billionaire beaus in this contemporary romance collection by some of today’s hottest New York Times, USA Today, and International bestselling authors.Quench your book-boyfriend addiction with page-turning stories overflowing with decadent luxury, heart-warming love, heated adventure, steamy scenes, and happily-ever-afters.Featuring billionaires from bad boys to Marines and CEOs to cowboys, this set will take you around the country and jet-setting around the globe with intense, passionate men who always get what they want and fulfill the desires of the women they crave.Relish each journey in this LIMITED-TIME collection PACKED with novels and novellas that will provide over one hundred hours of reading. Grab your copy today before these hot billionaires fly off into the sunset!

    The anthology contains 45 illustrations by Glenn Chadbourne, over 20 stories by the likes of Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Ramsey Campbell, Gary A. Braunbeck, Mort Castle, Josh Malerman, Scott Edelman, Richard Thomas, Richard Chizmar and Gene O’Neill, and with 20 intertwined poems by the likes of Elizabeth Massie, Marge Simon, Bruce Boston, Erik T. Johnson, Stephanie M. Wytovich, and also includes an introduction by the extraordinary Chuck Palahniuk.

    Editors Carl Brookins, Ellen Hart and William Kent Krueger (known as the Minnesota Crime Wave) have solicited 13 riveting stories of murder, mystery and mayhem, in this follow-up to the best-selling short story anthology The Silence of the Loons.

    Featured writers include Wendy Hornsby, Dorothy Cannell, Joan Hess, and Nancy Pickard herself.Contents: * The Dying Light by Taylor McCafferty * Cast Your Fate to the Wind by Deborah Adams * Fannie’s Back Fence Caper by Susan & Bill Albert * His Tears by Marilyn Wallace * Sign of the Times by Nancy Pickard * The Family Jewels by Dorothy Cannell * The Trouble with the Shoot by Camilla T. Crespi * Double Delight by L.B. Greenwood * High Heels in the Headliner by Wendy Hornsby * Make Yourselves at Home by Joan Hess * Cara’s Turn by Marlys Millhiser * Highwater by D.R. Meredith * Gentle Reader by Sharyn McCrumb Edited by Jane Chelius and Martin H. Greenberg.

    . . that doctor could sit by my bedside if I ever got sick. And Ned Blydon in Splendid by Julia Quinn . . . he makes me want to learn to waltz! I never thought living in a drafty castle would be much fun until Simon of Ravenswood in Master of Desire by Kinley MacGregor came along.Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that these are my men—when do they get their stories?Sincerely,A Romance Fan___________________________________ Against All Odds by Lisa KleypasWhen eminently sensible Lydia Craven decides to marry for security rather than love, she doesn't calculate on the determination of devil-may-care doctor Jake Linley to rewrite the romantic formula. A Tale of Two Sisters by Julia QuinnDashing Ned Blydon is in a most unenviable predicament—he's engaged to one Thornton sister, while being secretly in love with the other. Midsummer's Knight by Kinley MacGregorWhen Simon of Ravenswood secretly answered Lady Kenna's letters in the name of a powerful earl, he was only being polite. Little did he know the lady would fall in love with the author and come between him, his best friend, and a solemn vow made long ago.

    For over two decades, the late Marion Zimmer Bradley, best-selling and beloved author, discovered and nurtured a new generation of authors. The roster of contributors over the years includes Mercedes Lackey, Laurell K. Hamilton, Charles de Lint, Diana L. Paxson, Emma Bull, Jennifer Roberson, and countless others. The original stories featured here include such stellar authors as Esther M. Friesner, Deborah J. Ross, Dave Smeds, and exciting newcomers whose voices are sure to be heard again. Enter a wondrous universe...Volume 22 includes stories by Esther M. Friesner, Patricia B. Cirone, Catherine Soto, Margaret L. Carter, Deborah J. Ross, Kimberly L. Maughan, Dave Smeds, Jonathan Moeller, Catherine Mintz, Alanna Morland, Marian Allen, Heather Rose Jones, Michael Spence, Elisabeth Waters, T. Borregaard, Robert E. Vardeman, and Sarah Dozier.

    For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden-as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What's worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems.... Thistle & Thorne by Ann AguirreAfter a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside-in the Red Zone-is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they'll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside...for good. Sun Storm by Karen DuvallSarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms-in the cosmos and beyond. And she's not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She'll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.

    The two dozen stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully maps this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer.Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

    You do not know me (although you have seen me, smiled at me). I know you (although not so well as I would like. I want to be there when your eyes flutter open in the morning, and you see me, and you smile. Surely this would be paradise enough?). So I do declare myself to you now, with pen set to paper. I declare it again: I love you." Is there any communication more potent than the love letter? Is there any charge greater than seeing those words on paper? The editors of this collection decided to ask some of the most important writers of our time to compose a fictional love letter - breathing new life into a forgotten custom, and affording words themselves the power of seduction that they richly deserve. The result is an iridescent picture of what love looks like in the twenty-first century: a collage of methods and moods. Each letter is radically different from the others, and all but one are published for the first time. A perfect gift, this book is also an ingenious showcase for many of our most beloved writers. Love: a vague word for an emotion so ethereal it's not always possible to demonstrate. But there still exists an assumption that experiences - and, by extension, the emotions that experiences evoke - are more resonant when you write them down. And it's that faith, that belief that writing down these naked, shocking, inadvisable and probably destructive feelings make them worthwhile, that powers this collection, each piece of which is a testimony to the creative powers of our leading writers today, and every piece of which will move you.

    Spawned from the bloodline of his enemy, the beautiful but deadly Harpy is determined to lead the untouched Lysander into temptation. He may try to evade her attempts, but even the most iron-willed demon assassin can resist for only so long....And from debut author Kait BallengerShadow HunterVampire hunter Damon Brock's first assignment with the Execution Underground is Rochester, New York, a city crawling with the undead. But he isn't the only hunter in town gunning for vamp blood. Tiffany Solow is fierce and ruthless when it comes to slaying the monsters that destroyed her family-and she works solo. But being alone is no longer so desirable when she meets the mysterious hunter who wants more than just her turf. As they work to massacre the local covens, the line between good and evil blurs when they are forced to decide between their lifelong beliefs... and their newfound hearts.

    If only my ovaries didn't flutter when he was near—yeah, that'd be super helpful. When our long hours lead to a dare—and an X-rated encounter—I never expected it to be the hottest night of my life. It'd also be super helpful if Liam didn't know it and taunt me about it every chance he got. Unable to deny our attraction any longer, our work relationship brings a whole new meaning to the term inbox. But being with him comes with some baggage—like an ex-wife and three kids kind of baggage. And a lawyer who wants half of his company. Unsure that I'm cut out for this new level of complicated, my traitorous ovaries beg me to try. Heaven help us all.