Magician Uncle Joe's birthday present entitled "The Book" swirls green mist and grants pal Fred's wish to "see knights and all that stuff for real", sending Sir Joe the Magnificent, Sir Fred the Awesome, and Sir Sam the Unusual to King Arthur's castle opposing the Black Knight, grossly smelly giant Bleob, and fire-breathing leather-winged iron-clawed green dragon Smaug. Fred plays tag and wields a baseball bat. Sam cleverly politicks. Joseph Arthur tricks with cards. But Merlin has "The Book" to get home.

Praise for the Aegypt sequence: "A dizzying experience, achieved with unerring security of technique."-The New York Times Book Review "A master of language, plot, and characterization."-Harold Bloom "The further in you go, the bigger it gets."-James Hynes "The writing here is intricate and thoughtful, allusive and ironic. . . . Aegypt bears many resemblances, incidental and substantive, to Thomas Pynchon's wonderful 1966 novel The Crying of Lot 49."-USA Today "An original moralist of the same giddy heights occupied by Thomas Mann and Robertson Davies."-San Francisco Chronicle This is the fourth novel-and much-anticipated conclusion-of John Crowley's astonishing and lauded Aegypt sequence: a dense, lyrical meditation on history, alchemy, and memory. Spanning three centuries, and weaving together the stories of Renaissance magician John Dee, philosopher Giordano Bruno, and present-day itinerant historian and writer Pierce Moffitt, the Aegypt sequence is as richly significant as Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet or Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time. Crowley, a master prose stylist, explores transformations physical, magical, alchemical, and personal in this epic, distinctly American novel where the past, present, and future reflect each other. John Crowley was born in the appropriately liminal town of Presque Isle, Maine. His most recent novel is Lord Byron's Novel: The Evening Land. He teaches creative writing at Yale University. In 1992 he received the Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He finds it more gratifying that almost all of his work is still in print.

A cry in the woods leads Ranger Kell Ardantin to the rescue of a lovely young lady, escaping a horrible fate in her homeland to start life anew.Santa’s Ninja Elves: two short stories depicting elite elves whose missions are to protect Santa against all enemies using an assortment of cinna-bombs, candy cane bullets, tinsel traps and throwing bells and intelligence from the fortune-telling Mrs. Clause. After years of dedicated service, Santa decides to reward them by helping them find love on Christmas.Past retirement, Natasha is sent from the North Pole to Ohio on a final mission to identify a threat to Santa. Natasha runs the lead to ground, only to find Santa sent her there for an entirely different mission. She’s been set up with a handsome stranger, a final gift from Santa to his favorite Ninja Elf.Hunter gets drunk on eggnog one day and beheads an innocent snowman. His punishment: he’s banished from the North Pole to work at a mall in Arizona, managing a fake Santa’s long line of kids. When the fake Santa sheds the fat suit to reveal a beautiful woman, Hunter falls fast for the woman who makes him feel the thrill Christmas Eve with one look.

Piper Willow dies the summer after her high school graduation but she doesn’t make it to Heaven or Hell…instead she finds herself in a spiritual terminal called the Station. She’s given only two choices: Return to Earth as the subconscious for a person in need of some outside assistance, or move on and spend an eternity lost in her own sorrow and pain.Does Piper have what it takes to save a life?Piper Willow dies the summer after her high school graduation but she doesn’t make it to Heaven or Hell…instead she finds herself in a spiritual terminal called the Station. She’s given only two choices: Return to Earth as the subconscious for a person in need of some outside assistance, or move on and spend an eternity lost in her own sorrow and pain.Does Piper have what it takes to save a life - to be the nagging voice inside someone else's head - or will she fail and end up lost and tormented in limbo...forever?“Excuse me, Niles…I mean, Mr. Abbott. But, where are we?”“I’ll explain everything to you dear, just as soon as we reach the Station.”“What station? We aren’t in the hospital? Where’s my Dad?”“No Piper, this isn’t the hospital, and your father is at home…he’s fine. Please, follow me.”He turns away and continues on through the light. I hang my head, staring at my bare feet as we walk. Even though my cuts are gone, I keep rubbing my arm. It’s soothing. I almost bump into Niles when he stops abruptly.“We’re here,” he says softly.

I'm going to tell about the day I decided to take my own life.The day I gathered every pill I could find and got in the bath.The day an award award-winning, internationally best-selling author appeared in my bathroom.The day everything changed.I'm going to tell about the day I decided to take my own life.The day I gathered every pill I could find and got in the bath.The day an award award-winning, internationally best-selling author appeared in my bathroom.The day everything changed.A rib-tickling, life-affirming short story about suicide.Praise for David D Sharp's work:"Innovative, weird, intriguing and enthralling.""Engaging and thought-provoking while entertaining with chills and smiles.""Really unusual, very gripping and so dark in parts."This is a short story, totalling around 4,000 words. It also includes the bonus short "The Price of Escape", a quirky tale about what happens when you bump into people you knew at school.

In the future, ghosts can be contained within the newly-discovered Paliakis fields. When an entrepreneur uses this phenomenon to create the worlds first 'spook zoo', Lila is at the head of the line to visit. And she has a more personal reason to be there than most.An elder demonic entity tells a younger one to 'get off her lawn' by murdering one of his demon priests using a butterfly.THE 'ZOMBIES VS VAMPIRES VS DEMONS' WORLD:In a post-apocalyptic world, humans are a just valuable resource: zombies want their brains, vampires want their blood, and demons want their souls. Pure humans are difficult to come by, and the factions scrape what they need from each other, either through brute force or fragile alliances.SUPERNATURAL FANTASY STORY [900 words]

After a rash of brazen daylight crimes by wild drug fiends plagues the capital city’s plushest shopping district, the senate wonders if it is time to outlaw a popular new substance called Smokeless Green. However, more than one senator has found this treat to his liking, and thus an exemption for gentlemen is proposed.After a rash of brazen daylight crimes by wild drug fiends plagues the capital city’s plushest shopping district, the senate wonders if it is time to outlaw a popular new substance called Smokeless Green. However, more than one senator has found this treat to his liking, and thus an exemption for gentlemen is proposed.Some worry that outlawing this product is going to send crime rates through the stratosphere and bankroll a new criminal class.

Willow is The Weaver. She spends her days weaving an intricate tapestry of stories and people, artfully stitching the World as we know it. Willow longs to see the beauty she weaves, and when she feels The Pull to one particular Lifeline, she knows it is time for her journey, but everything she believes will change when she finally visits the World she has created.Willow is The Weaver. She spends her days stitching the threads of all our lives into the intricate tapestry that is the World, and she longs to see the place she is creating. As the connection she feels to one particular Lifeline grows stronger, Willow's desire to visit the World becomes more desperate. With her sister Magnolia taking over the Weaving while she goes on her journey- a journey she is permitted only once in her lifetime- Willow follows the Pull. The devastating consequences that arise will change her perspective of the World forever. The Weaver is a fantasy/sci-fi drama aimed at young-adults, dealing with themes such as isolation and loneliness; coming of age; loss; and family relationships.

When Elissa sets off in search of her brother, the last thing she expects is to be trapped in safety while a raging war threatens her family. Despite her inability to leave her strange host, she is determined to save those she loves from the rebels, no matter the cost.They were coming. They never stopped coming.A wolf howled, the call rising to an eerie pitch before dropping, hurtling downward. The echo barely faded when another howl replied. Always… Always, forever, and yet again, they would come.His breath slipped between his teeth and he finally lifted his gaze from the crimson rose as the wind hurtled off, whistling through the narrow pass that led outward. Out into the forest. Out into Aslaria.And so he waited.Meanwhile, war clouds the horizon and rebels gather under a mysterious leader. Alone, with her two younger sisters, Elissa watches the mountain road desperately for her brother’s return. Instead, she receives news of his capture by a strange figure covered in scars and cloaked in wolf skins.With rebels drawing nearer, she sets off to find her brother. To save him. There is no one else who can.Yet she soon finds the rose that granted her warning now holds her captive in safety. Outside the valley, war threatens those she loves most. Though her strange host claims the ancient promises of the Prince’s return and victory over the rebels, Elissa knows the blood-drenched truth. She is on her own. Elissa will do anything to keep her family safe, but more than one kind of wolf stalks the Blackwood and danger lurks closer than she could ever imagine. Perfect for those who love fantasy, but don’t have the time to sit down for a full-length novel, this first novella in the Legends of Light series presents the story of Beauty and the Beast as you have never read it before. Danger, sacrifice, and treachery combine a thrilling retelling of a favorite fairy tale.Each Legends of Light novella focuses on one of the nine aspects of the Fruit of the Spirit while also following the conflict between the Prince and Tauscher and retelling popular fairy tales in a clean, exciting, and inspiring manner.Note: A novella is not a full-length novel. At 107 pages, this novella is a fairly quick read which can be finished in two or three hours. 

Secrets, Sex and Scandals … Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming. As Joanne Alvarez settles into life without Hector, her children still struggle with the fallout. Marcus confronts the differences between him and Brittany, while Dakota tries to find a new equilibrium. Meanwhile, the Johnson’s grapple with war between two sets of brothers, and Ian Briggs rides into town…

Librarian's Note: Alternate-cover edition for ISBN13: 9781508453420 Stella Ford’s grasp on reality is already loose, and it’s about to come undone. When the college junior flees Chicago and leaves her toxic family behind, she heads for coastal Maine to find the one person who brought her peace years ago: Sam Bishop. But the Sam she once knew now has painful secrets. Stella is determined to heal them both. Healing, however, is a challenge when the walls of her everyday existence collapse. And when Sam’s best friend is his worst enemy. When the line between life and death blurs. When an end is just a beginning. When lust and rage rule. Yet during extraordinary chaos, there can be extraordinary love, even if that love comes with a twist. Welcome to death tripping. A thriller, a paranormal, and a passionate romance, CLEAR crosses genres and breaks boundaries.

Karen White can open "doors" between universes. This power, which she shares with her brother and sister, has been suppressed since childhood. But now it appears in her teenage son, Michael, who is approached by a mysterious figure known only as the Grey Man, a figure who has haunted Karen's dreams for decades. Fleeing to her sister Laura's reality, Karen and Michael have to undertake a terrifying and painful journey into the past - to discover the secret of their power and the truth about the Grey Man and his masters.

The story toggles between the past, as Flynn Carsen tries to find Aladdin’s Lamp before an ancient criminal organization known as the Forty Seals gets hold of it, and the future, when Eve Baird and a new group of Librarians — protectors of ancient artifacts like King Arthur’s sword Excalibur — stumble on a mystery in Las Vegas that seems to relate to the Lamp and the powerful djinn it can summon.

REALITY BITES Talk radio host and celebrity werewolf Kitty Norville has agreed to appear on TV's first all-supernatural reality show. What she's expecting is cheesy competitions and manufactured drama starring shapeshifters, vampires, and psychics. But what begins as a publicity stunt is all too quickly turning into a fight for her life. Kitty and her fellow housemates arrive at the remote mountain lodge where the show is set, but no sooner does filming start when violence erupts. It doesn't take Kitty long to suspect the show is nothing more than a cover for some nefarious plot. Then the cameras stop rolling, cast members start dying, and Kitty learns she and her monster housemates are not battling for a prize: they are, ironically enough, themselves the ultimate prize, in a very different game. Stranded with no power, no phones, and no way to know who can be trusted, she must find a way to defeat the evil closing in...before it kills them all.

Seven blue wards have imprisoned the Black Lord in the Underworld for aeons. Now he has stolen a human child and made him a mortal god. After eighteen years of torturous training, Bane sets forth to break the wards with aid of a dark army. The Demon Lord will release Arkonen and destroy the Overworld unless an innocent young girl can turn him from his savage path...Are you an alien who just purchased your first Human pet? Don't panic! Just read this guide that comes with your Human pet.In this guide you will get answers to questions like: How to help your Human pets to reproduce, why Human pets have different colors and how to tell the difference between Human pets and other humanoids.Excerpt (why Human pets have different colors):Human pets in wild come in variety of colors. Brown, pink, red, orange, black, olive and albino. These differences are certainly entertaining but are also believed to serve a function, camouflage. Albeit, a very crude form of camouflage. For example olives can only hide in sand and not grass and most of their home planet is blue. Colors such as green, purple and yellow has been added, courtesy of our research programs, to give you even more freedom of choice.