The Uninnocent


Bradford Morrow - 2011
    Henry and Pushcart Prizes and have given him a devoted following. Now gathered here for the first time is a collection of his finest, gothic tales.A young man whose childhood hobby of collecting sea shells and birds’ nests takes a sinister turn when he becomes obsessed with acquiring his brother’s girlfriend, in “The Hoarder” (selected as one of the Best American Noir Stories of the Century). An archeologist summoned to attend his beloved sister’s funeral is astonished to discover it is not she who has died, but someone much closer to him, in “Gardener of Heart.” A blind motivational speaker has a crisis of faith when he suddenly regains his sight, only to discover life was better lived in the dark, in “Amazing Grace.”In all of these stories, readers will find themselves enthralled and captivated by one of the most potent voices in contemporary American fiction.

The Dark Dark


Samantha Hunt - 2017
    An FBI agent falls in love with a robot built for a suicide mission. A young woman unintentionally cheats on her husband when she is transformed, nightly, into a deer. Two strangers become lovers and find themselves somehow responsible for the resurrection of a dog. A woman tries to start her life anew after the loss of a child but cannot help riddling that new life with lies. Thirteen pregnant teenagers develop a strange relationship with the Founding Fathers of American history. A lonely woman’s fertility treatments become the stuff of science fiction.Magic intrudes. Technology betrays and disappoints. Infidelities lead us beyond the usual conflict. Our bodies change, reproduce, decay, and surprise. With her characteristic unguarded gaze and offbeat humor, Hunt has conjured stories that urge an understanding of youth and mortality, magnification and loss, and hold out the hope that we can know one another more deeply or at least stand side by side to observe the mystery of the world.

Scar Tissue


Marcus Sakey - 2010
    KONRATH: “Scar Tissue will make your heart race and your heart ache, often in the same sentence.” Not only that, but buying this collection helps battle real-life heartache—50% of every e-book sold is donated to fighting pediatric cancer. Marcus Sakey’s thrillers have won numerous awards and been translated into twenty languages. Celebrities like Ben Affleck and Tobey Maguire have snatched up his film rights. Now from the “modern master of suspense” (Chicago Sun-Times) comes seven stories of men and women pushed to—and beyond—the ragged edge: --* “The Desert Here and the Desert Far Away”Nick is back from Iraq, or so he keeps telling himself. But an old squad mate shows there are some battlefields you can’t leave behind. (Twice short-listed for Best Short Story of 2009)* “Gravity and Need”After having sex with a total stranger atop a $3000 television, you’re supposed to walk away. But for two lonely people, that’s just the beginning of a very complicated relationship.* “No One”The line between love and obsession is stretched razor-taut in this story where nothing is as it seems—and no one can be trusted.* “Cobalt”In this comic send-up the dotcom era, as the world panics over the last days of Y2K, one man searches for his soul. If he could only remember where last he saw it…* “The Time Before the Last”The shortest story I’ve ever written. It’s also inspired three paintings and made my wife cry.* “As Breathing”Billy Dexter has sworn off killing. But when he falls in love with the wrong woman, Dex discovers murder is a hard habit to break.* “The Days When You Were Anything Else”Frank has been many things: a conman, a hustler, a thief. But when his little girl finds herself in desperate trouble, he has one final shot at becoming something that matters.--These seven stories “contain some of the best writing in crime fiction today. You're in for quite a ride.” (J.A. Konrath). And it’s a ride you can feel good about, with 50% of every sale going to defeat pediatric cancer.---A PERSONAL NOTE FROM MARCUS---In 2010, two of the best people I know received unimaginable news: their four-year-old son had an incurable brain tumor. Julian Boivin was a superhero in training, and fought an epic battle. But in the end, cancer stole this beautiful boy. Nothing can make that right. But the Team Julian Foundation is trying to give other kids a fighting chance against this devastating disease. To help, I’m donating 50% of the proceeds from every single copy of SCAR TISSUE sold to pediatric cancer research. It’s a small way to work toward a big change. Want to get more involved? Visit TeamJulianFoundation.com.---MARCUS SAKEY IS:---“A brilliant writer.” -The Huffington Post “Brainy, twisty, twisted, and entirely ingenious.” -Gillian Flynn, bestselling author of GONE GIRL“One of our best storytellers.” -Michael Connelly, bestselling author of THE LINCOLN LAWYER“Exactly the electric jolt crime fiction needs.” -Dennis Lehane, bestselling author of MYSTIC RIVER“The new reigning prince of crime fiction.” -The Chicago Tribune

Death of Choice: Eight Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Mystery


Micheal Maxwell - 2015
    It is our hope that in this anthology you will find a story to love. We come from as varied backgrounds as we do locations. Hawaii to New York, California to Texas, and Texas to Tennessee; we have come together to share our love of storytelling. The characters within these pages are a wondrous mix as well. A flamboyant Knoxville designer, a 1900s investigative reporter, a neurosurgeon, a coroner, a woman dripping of Russian opulence and Parisian elegance, a detective that has simply had enough, and a Tennessee Police Chief all fill the pages and the imagination in Death of Choice. Come along with us to a Children’s Cemetery, 1920’s London, a daisy fresh diner in L.A., a fog shrouded barn, a small town in Tennessee, a Honolulu beach, and meet a collection of short stories from writers that will give you chills, thrills, and a set of tales you will long remember. Our hope is through these intriguing introductions you will discover an author or two you will want to read more of, and get to know better. Each of the authors in this anthology have many more books for you to enjoy. So find that spot where you love to curl up and read, and enjoy this collection of murder, mayhem and mystery. Micheal Maxwell Editor and Compiler September 2015

Bend


K. Bromberg - 2014
    Reiss UnRaveled by K. Bromberg Come by J.A. Huss Red & Wolfe by Ella James The Devil In Me by K.I. Lynn Worth by Shay Savage These Men by Andrea SmithSTILL by Alessandra TorreKick by C.D. ReissThe first novella in Songs of PerditionFiona Drazen, sex addict, submissive slave, celebutante, trapped in a mental ward until Dr. Elliot Chapman can help her remember why she's there. But once she does, she might not want to go home to the Master she tried to kill.***************************************************************Unraveled by K. BrombergOne night.One mistake.Filled with fear.Sated by pleasure.Robbed of control.Blindfolded and bound.Shamed she liked it.Doomed to want it.Limits tested.Boundaries pushed.Desire awakened.Inhibition unleashed.An identity unraveled.Lives changed forever.***************************************************************COME by J.A. HussHe must have her, take her, control her, keep her. She will submit. But she will do it when she is ready and willing. The bond is uneasy and the future uncertain. But one thing’s for sure.Alone… Harper and James are dangerous.Together… they are unstoppable.***************************************************************Red & Wolfe by Ella JamesAfter years attempting to contact her estranged grandmother, an artist who lives on a remote island, Sarah “Red” Ryder is surprised to receive an invitation. When she arrives at the island, she’s shocked to find it is now the home of J. Wolfe, the reclusive artist, who has his own plans for her.***************************************************************The Devil in Me by K.I. LynnIn search of strength and guidance at a nearby church, Jared happens upon a temptation. One he cannot hope to resist. Each time he sees her, the overwhelming urge to have her consumes him. The lust is overpowering, dragging him deeper and deeper with each encounter, exposing the devil within.***************************************************************Worth by Shay SavageAn injured Roman Tribunus finds comfort in the touch of the slave commanded to tend to his wounds. As a slave, her value is measured as a couple of coins, but as Tribunus Faustus learns more about her, he begins to understand her true worth.Still, a man of his station can never acknowledge feelings for a slave, and she is already owned by another man.***************************************************************These Men by Andrea SmithPaige Matthews has a lot to learn, and more than just about being an intern with the F.B.I. Inexperience with all types of relationships leaves her looking for a new place to live. Eli Chambers and his partner, Cain Maddox, are looking for a roommate. It's the perfect arrangement, but one that will change all their lives forever.***************************************************************STILL by Alessandra TorreI was raised right. To mind my manners, keep my knees together, to put my napkin in my lap. But somehow, with one look at the dark sexuality that is Brett Jacobs, I forgot my Southern graces. They may have gotten lost in the pushmeupagainstthewall and takemehere action that occurred. In the clothes-ripping ohmygod action that followed. They may have, along with my sanity and common sense, deserted me, leaving me with bruised lips, ripped panties, and multiple orgasms.***************************************************************This set will only be available for a limited time, so get it before it disappears.

Stealing Innocents


Cari Waites - 2016
    Or Troy, the cop whose obsession with saving a brutalized human trafficking victim turns deadly. Or Drew, the mental patient who begins to suspect his nightly delusions of abuse by his doctor are actually real. Or David, the cuckolded husband who decides the best way to get revenge is to seduce his wife’s barely legal son.Stealing Innocents is an exploration of our darkest human impulses, where sex is power, love is horror, and there’s no such thing as a happy ending.* * * * *NOTE: This collection contains edited second editions of three stories that were previously individually published, plus one all-new story, by Lisa Henry writing as Cari Waites.

Eightball Two-Three


Tracy Tappan - 2015
    He has only one flight left to complete at training squadron HT-8, home of the “Eighballers,” before he earns himself his wings of gold. The day of his final solo, Eric’s copilot, Ensign Kyle Hammond, is to act as no more than a warm body…Until everything goes horribly wrong.Fresh from the cockpit of his near-death solo flight, Eric makes it to graduation, only to find that he is a lone man in a sea of his buddies’ celebrating relatives. He finds solace in the arms of a most unlikely woman the night before shipping out to San Diego…and learns more about himself than he ever planned.**Lieutenant Albert Bobcheck, Eric O’Dwyer’s former roommate in flight school, stars in an uplifting novella of second chances in CLEARED HOT.**High school sweethearts Albert Bobcheck and Jessica Larsen parted ways one heartbreaking prom night. Now ten years later, Jessica has a fulfilling career—except she is anything but fulfilled—and Albert is a Navy helicopter pilot for the HSM-48 Vipers out of Mayport, Florida. Currently deployed off the coast of Iran, Albert is thrown unexpectedly into a SEAL mission gone wrong…so wrong he faces his final moments on earth. Will tragedy separate Albert forever from the only woman he ever loved? Or will it offer him the second chance he always wanted?

Turn Down the Lights


Richard ChizmarSteve Rasnic Tem - 2013
    Pitcher Orel Hershiser and the Los Angeles Dodgers had beaten the Oakland A's in five games to win the World Series. People were waiting in line at movie theaters to watch Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. Tom Clancy's The Cardinal of the Kremlin and Anne Rice's The Queen of the Damned were atop the bestseller lists. The most acclaimed genre books of the year were Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs and Peter Straub's Koko.And twenty-two year old college student Richard Chizmar had just published the premiere issue of a horror magazine named Cemetery Dance.Twenty-five years later, there have been seventy issues of Cemetery Dance magazine. There have been more than 275 signed Limited Edition hardcovers in the Cemetery Dance book line. There have been awards including the World Fantasy Award, the International Horror Critics Guild Award, and the HWA Board of Trustees Excellence in Specialty Press Publishing Award, as well as nominations for the British Fantasy Award, the American Horror Award, and the Bram Stoker Award, just to name a few.To celebrate the 25th anniversary of that premiere issue of Cemetery Dance, we're proud to announce Turn Down the Lights, an anthology of authors who helped make the magazine what it is today. These original horror stories by Stephen King, Norman Partridge, Jack Ketchum, Brian James Freeman, Bentley Little, Ed Gorman, Ronald Kelly, Steve Rasnic Tem, Clive Barker, and Peter Straub capture the genuine love of the genre that pushes Cemetery Dance Publications forward year after year.Now, turn down the lights, flip the page, take my hand, and start the dance…

Sliced and Diced


Joan De La Haye - 2017
    All are sure to provide thrills and chills but are best read with the lights on.

Terror in the Shadows: Volume II


Emma Salam - 2019
    A party girl’s addiction gives birth to a monster within. Man’s best friend must fend off a woman’s greatest nightmare…Scare Street is proud to present eleven chilling tales of the supernatural, in one monstrous volume. Horror authors Ron Ripley, David Longhorn, Sara Clancy, and many more unite to bring you a terrifying collection of short stories, each one guaranteed to haunt your dreams. And each one more chilling than the last.Once you start reading you won’t be able to stop. Because when these authors sink their teeth into you, it’s already too late.The only way to escape from these nightmares… is to wake up screaming.

Some Will Not Sleep: Selected Horrors


Adam Nevill - 2016
    In the big white house on the hill angels are said to appear. A forgotten tenant in an isolated building becomes addicted to milk. A strange goddess is worshipped by a home-invading disciple. The least remembered gods still haunt the oldest forests. Cannibalism occurs in high society at the end of the world. The sainted undead follow their prophet to the Great Dead Sea. A confused and vengeful presence occupies the home of a first-time buyer . . . In ghastly harmony with the nightmarish visions of the award-winning writer's novels, these stories blend a lifelong appreciation of horror culture with the grotesque fascinations and childlike terrors that are the author's own. Adam Nevill's best early horror stories are collected here for the first time.

Parlor Games


Jess Michaels - 2006
    . . a world of seduction and sensation, where inhibitions are unlaced and desires long corseted are gloriously freed. . . .Fallen Angel Jess MichaelsLondon's greatest beauty and most notorious madam employs the services of a disgraced Bow Street Runner to keep her safe from a stalker . . . and satisfied after dark.Parlor Games Leda SwannAn innocent virgin enters a brothel to escape starvation and receives expert tutelage in the steamy Victorian parlor games that rakish gentlemen indulge in. . . .Border Lord Julia TempletonFleeing an unfaithful fiancé, a nubile young lovely finds herself the prisoner of a lustful Scottish laird and must bow to his every erotic whim. . . .

The End is Nigh


John Joseph AdamsNancy Kress - 2014
    Death. War. Pestilence. These are the harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, of the End of the World. In science fiction, the end is triggered by less figurative means: nuclear holocaust, biological warfare/pandemic, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm.But before any catastrophe, there are people who see it coming. During, there are heroes who fight against it. And after, there are the survivors who persevere and try to rebuild. THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH will tell their stories.Edited by acclaimed anthologist John Joseph Adams and bestselling author Hugh Howey, THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH is a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic fiction. THE END IS NIGH focuses on life before the apocalypse. THE END IS NOW turns its attention to life during the apocalypse. And THE END HAS COME focuses on life after the apocalypse.THE END IS NIGH features all-new, never-before-published works by Hugh Howey, Paolo Bacigalupi, Jamie Ford, Seanan McGuire, Tananarive Due, Jonathan Maberry, Robin Wasserman, Nancy Kress, Charlie Jane Anders, Ken Liu, and many others.

Strange Little Horrors and Other Stories


Amy Cross - 2020
    

Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer


Tanith Lee - 1983
    In RED AS BLOOD, she displays her soaring imagination at its most fantastically mischievous. Not for nothing was the title story named as a Nebula nominee. Not for nothing was the author of THE BIRTHGRAVE & THE STORM LORD called by New York's Village Voice, "Goddess-Empress of the Hot Read."Here are the world-famous tales of such as the Brothers Grimm as they might have been retold by the Sisters Grimmer! Fairy tales for children? Not on your life!Contents:Paid Piper (1981)Red as Blood (1979)Thorns (1972)When the Clock Strikes (1980)The Golden Rope (1983)The Princess and Her Future (1983)Wolfland (1980)Black as Ink (1983)Beauty (1983)