You’ll find every type of crime and all manner of detectives in this dip-in volume of 16 short stories. Meet Cass Nova, who just can’t separate his personal and professional life. Go back to the 19th century with Marmaduke Grey; experience the battle of different detection methods in Hard Cop, Soft Cop; and as for The Matilda Chronicles … please forgive me, Agatha.This short story anthology is comprised of eight suspenseful and horrifying tales, composed for a special one-week fiction event on the blog, "The Leaky Pencil". These stories centre around the theme of Madness. Not one of the stories approaches this theme in the same way, and each has something unique to say.Features eight outstanding new tales by: Laurita Miller, Richard Godwin, Angel Zapata, Benjamin Sobieck, Sean Patrick Reardon, Erin Cole, Lily Childs, and Chris Allinotte.

'I did have hallucinations, but did they harm anyone? Who did they harm, that's what I'd like to know!'

Gabriel – Death – is winning the ground war against demons in the mortal realm. But a rebellion is brewing among his army of grim reapers in the underworld he still can’t access. Worse, just when he thinks he knows where his heart belongs, he discovers there are two Deidres: the human he started to fall in love with and the deity whose love-hate relationship with him spanned thousands of years.Two women caught in a struggle between Death and the Dark One …Gabriel – Death – is winning the ground war against demons in the mortal realm. But a rebellion is brewing among his army of grim reapers in the underworld he still can’t access. Worse, just when he thinks he knows where his heart belongs, he discovers there are two Deidres: the human he started to fall in love with and the deity whose love-hate relationship with him spanned hundreds of thousands of years. What he doesn’t know: the two Deidres made a deal that will send one of their souls to the underworld by the end of the week.Deity-Deidre expects nothing but smooth sailing in her future. Until the Dark One strips her powers on her way out of Hell, leaving her a vulnerable human, reeling under the influence of human emotions, which deities do not possess. The deal she made with human-Deidre suddenly seems impossible to win. For the first time in her existence, she understands what Gabriel felt at her mercy for the eons they were together. She doesn’t know how to win the trust of the man she’s always loved – or even if she can.

A tale of pilgrimage and hope, betrayal and transformation. It was Avluela the Flier's scarlet and ebony wings that lead the Watcher to the seven hills of the ancient city, leaving the skies and deep space unguarded. And so the invaders came and conquered and Avluela became lost in the turmoil.

Zac Zombie, slayer of the undead is back in book 3 of the popular zombie novella series.Zac Zombie, slayer of the undead returns in book 3 of this popular zombie novella series.Book 3 kicks off where book 2 left us hanging.Zac and Fred set out with new companion Henry to rescue Fred's daughter who is held captive in a mausoleum.They have to fight off hordes of the undead along the way and find a safe route back to the rest of their group back at the hospital. Zac also discovers some new powers which will come in handy to kill the one behind the zombie apocalypse; Clairvius.

All countries have some interesting local characters out in their rural back blocks, but these two somewhat defective old-timers are in a league of their own.Noodles is left alone at home all day to guard the house while Granny is at work. After his rounds, he lies on a bed by a window. He remembers seeing some of the other dogs in the park playing with little boys, and he wishes he had a little boy to play with too. As he rests on the comfortable bed, a foggy mist from the river slips in slowly through the window as he relaxes more and more. Suddenly Noodles is startled to find himself floating and tumbling in fluffy white clouds in a blue sky. He doesn't know where he is. Just then Prince Jae Vaughn flies by on his dragon, Fire Tiger. He invites the dog to join him, and together they go on an adventure. They vanquish sorcerers and a witch, rescuing the lovely Lady Jesse Lynn and her dragon Hummingbird. After dinner Noodles falls asleep by the fireplace in the castle, wondering how he'll ever get back to Granny. The next thing he knows, he wakes up back on the bed at Granny's house, to the sounds of Granny returning home. He greets her happily, jumping up and down. She greets him happily too, telling him he's a good dog.

"The Darkness Within" is a short collection by Jessenia Filomeno, full of nonstop suspenseful adventure sure to leave any reader at the edge of their seats with the turn of each page. Three thrilling stories come together to create the ultimate home of darkness and horror."The Darkness Within" by Jessenia Filomeno is a collection of thrilling and suspenseful stories that will not only keep you on the edge of your seat but keep you waiting for more. "Taken Away" is a daring take on a girl who wishes to leave the life she had behind. Little does she know that worse things could be lurking in the darkness. "Great Expedition" is an adventure to the world undersea. Suspenseful thrills await as the crew search for UFO's and try to find the ultimate discovery. "Night Watch" is a chilling tale of a woman who drives her Cadillac town to town looking for any who may appear on her list. These three tales combine to form the ultimate collection of suspense and thriller leaving anybody ready for the impossible.

Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. With this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni Morrison transfigures the coming-of-age story as audaciously as Saul Bellow or Gabriel García Márquez. As she follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the place of his family’s origins, Morrison introduces an entire cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the inhabitants of a fully realized black world. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Looking out upon the backstreets, the suburbs and the high society haunts of Edwardian London, the delightfully witty and independent spinster Miss Ley surveys a tangled web of lives; she sympathetically observes the struggle under the pressures of convention, and the complex interplay between love and reason. Through Miss Ley's eyes we witness the brief but happy marriage of a dying poet; a woman's adulterous passion for a young rascal, and finally, an honourable man's decision to take virtue to extremes.

This thrilling short story from bestselling author Kiersten White is a prequel to the psychological thriller Mind Games. Annie has been blind since she was four. Suddenly—for an instant—she can see. And what she sees will change her life forever. Fia will do anything for Annie. But she never realized how far she would have to go to protect her sister. And now she can never go back. Also available in the Mind Games paperback and ebook (as of 12/3/13).

They are here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. His name is Ares, and the fate of mankind rests on his powerful shoulders. If he falls to the forces of evil, the world falls too. As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he is far stronger than any mortal, but even he cannot fight his destiny forever. Not when his own brother plots against him. Yet there is one last hope. Gifted in a way other humans can't-or won't-understand, Cara Thornhart is the key to both this Horseman's safety and his doom. But involving Cara will prove treacherous, even beyond the maddening, dangerous desire that seizes them the moment they meet. For staving off eternal darkness could have a staggering cost: Cara's life.

Meredith Stratton worked hard to become a successful businesswoman—and now she owns six elegant inns all over the world. But on a trip abroad she is struck by a strange illness, one that seems to have no physical cause. Meredith has always played by her own rules—and won—and now she must uncover the roots of this mystery ailment that threatens her future happiness. The answers lie buried somewhere in her forgotten past. And with the help of a caring psychiatrist, Meredith will have to peel back the layers of her most carefully designed and constructed creation: herself.

Jessi is filled with holiday excitement. She loves Christmas, and she can't wait for Kwanzaa, when her whole family--including out-of-town relatives--will celebrate together. But then a terrible accident occurs. Squirt hurts his head in a car crash and is rushed to the hospital. Everyone is relieved to find out that Squirt will be okay. But meanwhile, the stress of the accident has taken its toll on the family. If holidays are supposed to be about being together, then why is Jessi's family being pulled so far apart?

Abby loves her family's visit to Grandpa Morris and Gram Elsie's summer house. Staying there has always meant extra fun and a special closeness with her grandparents. This summer, though, Gram Elsie doesn't seem to be herself. She tires easily, even when she and Abby are enjoying work on Gram and Grandpa's big Alice in Wonderland party. Abby's afraid something's wrong with Gram Elsie. If she's right, Abby's world may become as topsy-turvy as Alice's...

It's no secret that Claudia and her sister are different. For one, they don't look alike at all. Claudia loves her wild clothes and funky jewelry, and Janine dresses. . .well, kind of nerdy. Janine is a genius, and Claudia brings home C's--when she's lucky. Claudia opens the family photo album to see what she and her sister looked like when they were little. But there are hardly any baby pictures of Claudia! And when she goes searching for her birth certificate and birth announcement in the newspaper, Claudia can't find them. Is Claudia Kishi who she thinks she is? Or is there something her parents aren't telling her?

Honoria Ardmore has a secret. Four years ago, the notorious pirate Christopher Raine, arrested and condemned for stealing a ship full of gold bound for Napoleon, makes one last request of Honoria. She grants it, and Christopher is taken out to be hanged. — Or was he? Honoria couldn’t have seen him alive again in the rather thick fog outside Covent Garden Theatre, could she? Christopher is long dead and gone, Honoria’s secret with him. Her life has moved on, and now she’s betrothed to a respectable English gentleman. Christopher has other ideas. His sentence commuted at the last minute, Christopher was press-ganged onto a ship bound for Asia, and he’s spent the last four years working to return home and get everything back—his crew, his treasure, and Honoria Ardmore—his wife. Meet the crew of the Starcross, and revisit the crews of the Argonaut and the Majesty for more pirate fun and adventure!

Robert E. Howard is one of the most famous and influential pulp authors of the twentieth century. Though largely known as the man who invented the sword-and-sorcery genre-and for his iconic hero Conan the Cimmerian-Howard also wrote horror tales, desert adventures, detective yarns, epic poetry, and more. This spectacular volume, gorgeously illustrated by Jim and Ruth Keegan, includes some of his best and most popular works. Inside, readers will discover (or rediscover) such gems as "The Shadow Kingdom," featuring Kull of Atlantis and considered by many to be the first sword-and-sorcery story; "The Fightin'est Pair," part of one of Howard's most successful series, chronicling the travails of Steve Costigan, a merchant seaman with fists of steel and a head of wood; "The Grey God Passes," a haunting tale about the passing of an age, told against the backdrop of Irish history and legend; "Worms of the Earth," a brooding narrative featuring Bran Mak Morn, about which H. P. Lovecraft said, "Few readers will ever forget the hideous and compelling power of [this] macabre masterpiece"; a historical poem relating a momentous battle between Cimbri and the legions of Rome; and "Sharp's Gun Serenade," one of the last and funniest of the Breckinridge Elkins tales. These thrilling, eerie, compelling, swashbuckling stories and poems have been restored to their original form, presented just as the author intended. There is little doubt that after more than seven decades the voice of Robert E. Howard continues to resonate with readers around the world.

Tom Dreyfus is a Prefect, a policeman of sorts, and one of the best. His force is Panoply, and his beat is the multi-faceted utopian society of the Glitter Band, that vast swirl of space habitats orbiting the planet Yellowstone. These days, his job is his life. A murderous attack against a Glitter Band habitat is nasty, but it looks to be an open-and-shut case - until Dreyfus starts looking under some stones that some very powerful people would really rather stayed unturned. What he uncovers is far more serious than mere gruesome murder...

The queen of the vampires lives a solitary and protected life. She must be very selective when she hunts and even more so when she takes a lover. Marcus is there to protect his queen from the evils of the world, but he quickly discovers one of the reasons she is such a powerful queen is because she brashly and independently protects herself. Both of them are used to asserting their dominance over a situation and they quickly learn they have this and other things in common...including a common enemy...the most dangerous sycophant to ever rule the Eastern Seaboard's underground. But Draz is more than a pain in the ass and an inconvenience. He has his eyes set on Simone's throne. He's no longer content with ruling just the underworld. He wants to rule the vampires too. In the midst of this struggle, Marcus finds himself falling for the headstrong woman he is meant to protect. But how can he love her and protect her at the same time? All he has to do is look into Simone;s eyes and fall into her heart in order to find all the answers.

Everyone can remember a special teacher in his or her life: someone who inspired them to achieve greatness, offered encouragement through difficult times, or simply made learning fun and exciting. The magic of Chicken Soup for the Soul takes an all-new direction in this enchanting collection of stories and accompanying photos that honor and celebrate the teachers and mentors in our lives. Through the artistry of acclaimed photographer Sharon J. Wohlmuth, readers are offered a glimpse into the hearts and minds of those who have dedicated their lives to making a difference in the lives of children. These soul-stirring pictures illuminate the teacher-student relationship in a whole new light and make readers feel a part of every moment in these touching stories.The perfect gift for graduation, this delightful book will earn high marks with readers.

This brilliant reconception of the Arthurian epic cuts through the familiar myths and tells the story of the real King Arthur: Artos the Bear, the mighty warrior-king who saved the last lights of Western civilization when the barbarian darkness descended in the fifth century. Artos here comes alive: bold and forceful in battle, warm and generous in friendship, tough in politics, shrewd in the strategy of war - and tender and tragically tormented in love. Out of the braiding of ancient legend, fresh research, soaring imagination and hypnotic narrative skill comes a novel that has richly earned its reputation as a classic.