Dr. Nettie Jones is a new agent for The Society for the Exploration of the Unexplainable, a secret organization protecting England from unnamed sources. Being half-vampire is an added complication. The Society doesn't yet appreciate Nettie but fate steps in when invaders from a dying planet begin following her the same day Queen Victoria chooses to be turned into a vampire. Things become dangerously interwoven when Nettie discovers that a supposed accident was in fact an act of betrayal by one of the agents of the Society. The first shot in a larger conspiracy Nettie and her fellow Society agents must pull together to thwart the alien invaders, fight off the vampire infestation, and rescue the Queen from becoming the longest ruling undead monarch, even if that rescue is against her will.

    Jude Altfall’s life, just beginning to coalesce after her divorce, is shattered afresh. Dazed with grief, she’s not sure if the weird things happening around her are hallucinations…or something more. And there’s the mark on her hip—a tattoo she can’t for the life of her remember getting. Preston Marlock left a shadowy government agency two years ago, to hunt a killer. Each time the bastard strikes the trail goes cold, and not even Marlock’s more-than-natural abilities are helping. Now the killer’s taken one of his very few friends, and there’s a surviving witness. The Altfall woman is now that most precious and fragile of targets, newly Marked. All Marlock has to do is dangle her like bait, and the killer will eventually show up. The Skinner knows some people are different. Special. He has a collection of stretched skin and pretty pictures, each harvested with care. The trick is to take them while the victim is still struggling, still alive, otherwise their power is lost. He is careful, methodical, and precise, but chance robs him of a prize. Once he realizes Jude Altfall has what he covets, and has possibly seen his face, her fate is sealed. And just to be cautious, the Skinner might swat at the annoying fly who has buzzed along his trail for two years...

    This collection includes If Vanity Doesn't Kill Me and The Devil Within which have not been previously released or collected with these other stories. Tricknomancy tells the story of Patrick Molloy, a magick-using ex-cop who was busted off the force on trumped up bribery charges. He works as a bouncer in a Gentlemen's Club, Club Flesh, where all the women use magick to conjure dollars out of the patrons' pockets. His only true friend is the coroner; his family hates him with a passion, and the cop who busted him off the force is just itching to find a way to send him to jail. Trick Molloy's world is one in which magick-users are feared and hated. Televangelists make bank on casting them as the devil's tools. Gangsters often use magick more readily than guns. Respectable magickers use their skills for seduction, robbery and murder. No one in power really cares about what befalls the criminal class, which Trick Molloy as the one man smart enough to discover the truth, and tough enough to administer justice.

    Things, not people, not animals. Things. Until he gets in trouble and must work for the alien Gyonnese. They want a person to answer for her crimes, and they want to use Yu to get her. He reluctantly agrees, and sets off events that will change his life and the lives around him forever. A companion piece to Recovery Man, The Recovery Man’s Bargain explores the motivations of one of the stranger characters in the Retrieval Artist universe.

     Rhiannon 'Rain' Finlay sucks at being a druid. Her gift of communicating with animals works just fine, but she doesn't know a Thurisaz rune from a Wunjo, and she can't even cast a circle of protection without a cheat sheet. That's why she decided to leave her tiny village on the Isle of Parthas, North Sea, for a normal non-magical life halfway around the world. But when her beloved grandfather disappears along with a handful of villagers, she's forced to return home and use her gift -- and her crappy druid magic -- to help them. Unfortunately, she's not exactly prepared to face the very real monsters that are popping up all over, from mutant spiders to banshees, black dogs ... and worse. That's when she learns all the crazy stories her father told her growing up, about the old deserted castle on the island having belonged to King Arthur, might not be so crazy after all. The legends are real. They're returning to Parthas. And they have unfinished business with Rain Finlay.

    For Adam Hale, the thrill of plunging his tiny ship into the unimaginable maelstroms on the king of planets helps him forget the blood-soaked tragedy that ended his military career. Rachel Price came to Jove Station to find her missing partner, Zane Hale, who is also an intelligence operative for the Republic. To do that, she must convince Zane’s brother—the man responsible for slaughtering dozens of her friends on Mars—to help her. Amid the crowds of the first annual system-wide storm diving competition, they stumble onto an insidious conspiracy that changes everything they thought they knew about each other and themselves. They must overcome the past and work as one or Jupiter will eat their bones.

    It's a game where legends come to life, the lines between reality and fantasy become blurred, and the impossible becomes - probable?Unicorn Magic is the 1st story in the Celtic Fey series set in Anthea Sharp's Feyland universe (with her kind permission). A stand-alone short story with a full plot arc, Unicorn Magic was first published in the anthology Chronicle Worlds: Feyland.This is a clean urban fantasy which is set in Scotland (and the faerie realm) and uses British English spelling and grammar.

    But Clarissa knows what she’s seen. Unfortunately, she’s a little distracted, and her actions earn her a suspension. Great. Life is really looking up. Maybe her therapist is right. Maybe she’s under too much stress and is seeing things.
 But then a vamp seeks her out, telling her to knock it off and leave them alone or else he’ll knock her off.
 Clarissa isn’t the kind to back down, though, and she’ll do whatever it takes to keep Bethlehem safe. She’s just hoping that won’t require her to lose a lot of blood… or her head.

    Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft begins the series, introducing Jane to her magical abilities – as well as to her sexy warder and her quirky, cat-like familiar. The story continues in Sorcery and the Single Girl, when Jane is invited to join her exclusive local Coven. Jane’s story moves on to Magic and the Modern Girl, when she discovers the consequences of letting her powers lie fallow for just a little too long. This omnibus edition contains bonus recipes related to the series!

    Commander Halsey wants it back. For decades they were among us, silently infiltrating the power structures of society. Now the Swarm stands on Earth’s doorstep. As humanity launches a desperate counter-attack, the alien victory seems inevitable. For Halsey, this is personal. While the Fleet executes their battle plan, she leads a do-or-die suicide strike at the heart of the alien force: her own INVINCIBLE, turned into a weapon against mankind. With a few marines, a pirate ship, and an ex-lover by her side, Halsey fights to take back her command and save the human race--or die trying. She is a proud warrior. She is humanity’s last hope. She is INVINCIBLE.

    What do you do when someone else’s past forces itself on your own life? Sorting through the piles left behind by a grandmother who was both a stage magician and a hoarder, Persephone Aim finds a magical artifact from World War II that has shaped her family history. Faced with her mother’s desperate attempt to take the artifact for herself, Persephone must decide whether to hold onto the past—or use it to reshape her future.

     An epic dragon riding adventure from Jada Fisher, author of the best-selling Brindle Dragon series. Myradepf is an undersized young lady with a dream big enough to save the world. As she strives to become a dragon rider, she must prove herself worth or face the possibility of life without a dragon to ride. Along the way, she will be pushed by a rival intent on proving he is the superior dragon rider candidate. Can she overcome the odds, find her dragon, and go down in history as one of the most important dragon riders in history? Dragon Rider is a prequel story to the best-selling Brindle Dragon series. If you enjoy engaging characters and exciting stories, Dragon Rider will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page until the last. Download Dragon Rider and get started on your next epic adventure today!

     Lieutenant Commander Torrance Black, career is already on shaky grounds, finds himself facing questions. Did they just contact sentient life in the Centauri system? Will humankind sacrifice an entire alien species in their quest for the stars? Starflight, the first book of Stealing the Sun, a space based Science Fiction series from frequent Analog contributor and bestselling Amazon Dark Fantasy author Ron Collins. “Ron Collins is one of our best hard science fiction writers—a novel from him is a major event. Enjoy!” Robert J. Sawyer Hugo Award-Winning Author of Quantum Night

    But when Omar is accused of murder over the north sea, his quest for answers may end in a watery grave. Welcome to a fantastical world where strange machines sail the seas and the skies, enormous prehistoric beasts roam the earth, and the restless dead whisper to the living.

    What do you get when you ask 34 of today's top indie authors to each submit a story and then ask a team of judges to scour that ore and pick out the gems? You get All These Shiny Worlds:A world of today, divided, black from white, good from evil, and held apart by the taste of a cookie.A world of griffons and glimmer bunnies, sassy llamas, and the magic of beer.A world of contemplation and serenity, of service and devotion, ruled by a jewel and guarded by children.Plus 12 more, for a total of 15 sparkling worlds to explore.From the brutal curators at ImmerseOrDie.com comes this collection of indie short stories, each a distinct jewel forged in the fires of judgment, and all carrying one simple promise:Guaranteed not to suck.