Ilyana is always careful to avoid the temptations of her gift, until she began to fall in love with a ghostly spring visitor and realizes that he is an evil wizard returned from the dead to take revenge on her mother.

A college professor and other oddballs are dropped onto a bleak world near a giant blue cube -- with no idea how to proceed.

In Letters from Novosibirsk an international group of iconoclastic colonists living in New Siberia (of the late 21st century) communicate to the rest of the world via a journal in which they offer advice for saving human civilization. Trouble is, a group of ghosts in their town, previously known as Vydrino, does not welcome them, nor their attitudes. In the end no one’s life is what it used to be.In Letters from Novosibirsk an international group of iconoclastic colonists living in New Siberia (of the late 21st century) communicate to the rest of the world via a journal in which they offer advice for saving human civilization. Trouble is, a group of ghosts in their town, previously known as Vydrino, does not welcome them, nor their attitudes. They pop up at unexpected turns, though never too concretely, to try and rattle the newcomers into a more humane existence. Some of the characters are Wynnet (a statistician who has devoted himself to information), Todd (a monarchist), Kolya (a ghost who died too young and wants to be born again to have another chance), and Karyne (an activist who preaches against eating parsnips). In the end no one’s life is what it used to be—including the ghosts’.

A slightly different version of this ghost story was published in Midnight Times # 18, Summer 2007, under the title "In The Kettle".When Jeff first heard about the ghost at the Phoenix Tire Retreading Plant he thought the old timer was pulling his leg, but when a young coworker told him the ghost wanted to talk to him he had to change his thinking.A slightly different version of this ghost story was published in Midnight Times # 18, Summer 2007, under the title "In The Kettle".When Jeff first heard about the ghost at the Phoenix Tire Retreading Plant he thought the old timer was pulling his leg, but when a young coworker told him the ghost wanted to talk to him he had to change his thinking.Author's note: Yes, I actually worked in a tire retreading plant one summer, many years ago.

From the pages of The Dark That Follows comes a short story about Jason Mills.Jason Mills is no ordinary Fortune Teller. As opposed to most of his brethren, Jason can actually see the future. And his latest customer wants to push that gift to its limits. Piece By Piece shows what Jason Mills does when he's not worrying about the end of the world.You've never, ever read a book like this.When a sexually-transmitted plague breaks out in Ashley Young's small town, leaving its victims with a bizarrely amplified libido, everything about her life changes. DEAD IN BED is partly a suspense thriller with a strikingly original story, partly a page-turning mystery about a disease that makes people hopelessly crave sexual contact, and partly a neo-western adventure in the American heartland. For anyone who can handle a smart, controversial female protagonist who's willing to do anything - no matter how difficult or morally questionable - in order to survive, the series pulls readers in like an unshakeable addiction.. . . Bailey Simms, teen author of DEAD IN BED, is stuck at home with a rare medical condition. Writing is her only escape, so she's determined to keep her salacious series hidden from her strict father. Soon an older boy starts to secretly help her, and Bailey finds new opportunities for freedom she's never had. But as DEAD IN BED grows in popularity, and Bailey's fans start to clamor for the sequel, she learns that being a successful author may come with a terrifyingly dangerous price.

A plague doctor takes his own life after being pressured to murder a plague victim – quarantined in life and now in death, with his fate in question by the ruler of purgatory.Inspired by the legend of the plague doctor who took his own life on the now-haunted Poveglia Island, this companion piece tells the story through a philosophical and metaphysical lens, theorizing what happens to him in the after-life. After 2 years of when it was first released, Miasma is now revamped and the final piece of The Shroud Eater flash fiction, the story that intimately focusing on the nuances of what led to his suicide - both stories are now included in this version.

In the future the civilian population must hire private enforcers since governmental police has been terminated. These are the adventures of Peter Blunt,an enforcer for hire. Because of the high risk involved in his profession he is called a Space Warrior.(Hello and Thank You!) See Also: Space Warrior AD 60,400.111102 and Blood SkullsPrologue Peter Blunt policed for profit. Government control of policing lost out.Private business had overtaken and won the job of enforcing civil law. Contract work for law enforcers lasted six months, max. No job security, pension, or health care to argue about. The government, the protectors of the people, had given the job of policing and enforcing civil law to the civilian creeps, the profit makers. The old timers in the ranks saw it coming. Everyone, including union efforts fell flat. In his favor, Peter Blunt figured the corporations and company businesses did pay for all equipment and supplies needed for the job. The catch: live to collect; die, and you got squat. A crusty, dirty, business, dangerous for sure, but that’s why he selected assignment, those that provided the high risk pay. Most of the guys who started with Peter Blunt were dead. The long stretched corridor he cruised stood as a reminder of other enforcers gone before him. Some people preferred to call the policing or enforcing men space warriors. Laws changed from civilized planet to civilized planet. Maybe a desk job? Heart attack, ulcers, or stroke, they were no worse than a ripped throat from a sneak attack. No, Peter Blunt figured, death from direct weapons fire seemed a better way to travel. Peter Blunt stepped square, shrugged his shoulders, his facial expression clicked. He knew that human life follows its own cycle. Enforcement burned and boiled in his blood. He knew it and did it well. His name carried weight and his skills were prized in the wide open economic market and universe of profit and life.

Three tales for children and some adults.The Magician - A fable style tale about a young man looking for protection that he could have done without.DreamDancer - a young girl wants to dance and gets her chance with remarkable results.Marshall - A number-loving cat, with the help of a mathematician causes trouble in the neighborhood.Three tales for children and some adults.The Magician, The Lion, And The Mouse - is a fable style tale about a young man looking for a little protection that he could have done without.DreamDancer - a young girl wants to dance and gets her chance with results greater than she expected.Marshall And the Mathematician - Marshall, a number-loving cat, with the innocent help of a mathematician friend, stirs up some trouble in the neighborhood.

A teenager named Kara learns about her powers and stops her Stepmother from trying to take over her world Araen and the rest of her universe.Once, the empire of Vhur was the world's most powerful. But that was before the Lichy plague. Now, twenty years and millions of dead later, only a few cities remain. The survivors walk a fine line between staying alive and crumbling into the grave. Come the Night of Knives, even these last few might perish.This Dark Fantasy Serial begins here and will be released over the course of the next 6 weekends.

Read the first 20 chapters for free.An epic adventure into the world as it was before the rise of man. A story that races from deep and inhospitable deserts to the frozen lands of the north, from the high seas to the highest mountain peaks. A titanic struggle between the forces of good and evil. A story of friendships forged and loyalty won, strategies revealed, deception, fear and doom.Ice cream Mountains, frosting covered roofs, and trees that grow balloons! A little boy immersed in his imagination learns that God is creator of all things seen and unseen – and the possibilities are endless.“I Wonder if They Grow Balloon Trees on the Moon,” is a children’s book written in rhyme about a little boy with lots of questions. His mother uses his questions as way for him to see the world around them as a beautiful place, created by a creative God. She keeps his imagination stimulated by highlighting the wonders of the things we have seen and peaks his interest about the things we have yet to discover – maybe balloon trees on the moon!

Star-studded and comprehensive, this imaginative anthology brings a myriad of modern fantasy voices under one roof. Previously difficult for readers to discover in its new modes, urban fantasy is represented here in all three of its distinct styles—playful new mythologies, sexy paranormal romances, and gritty urban noir. Whether they feature tattooed demon-hunters, angst-ridden vampires, supernatural gumshoes, or pixelated pixies, these authors—including Patricia Briggs, Neil Gaiman, and Charles de Lint—mash-up traditional fare with pop culture, creating iconic characters, conflicted moralities, and complex settings. The result is starkly original fiction that has broad-based appeal and is immensely entertaining. Contents Introduction by Peter S. Beagle Mythic Fiction Introduction: “A Personal Journey Into Mythic Fiction” by Charles de Lint “A Bird That Whistles” by Emma Bull “Make a Joyful Noise” by Charles de Lint “The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories” by Neil Gaiman “On the Road to New Egypt” by Jeffrey Ford “Julie’s Unicorn” by Peter S. Beagle Paranormal Romance Introduction: “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Urban Fantasy” by Paula Guran “Companions to the Moon” by Charles de Lint “A Haunted House of Her Own” by Kelley Armstrong “She’s My Witch” by Norman Partridge “Kitty’s Zombie New Year” by Carrie Vaughn “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs “Hit” by Bruce McAllister “Boobs” by Suzy McKee Charnas “Farewell, My Zombie” by Francesca Lia Block Noir Fantasy Introduction: “We Are Not a Club, but We Sometimes Share a Room” by Joe R. Lansdale “The White Man” by Thomas M. Disch “Gestella” by Susan Palwick “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” by Holly Black “Talking Back to the Moon” by Steven R. Boyett “On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert With Dead Folks” by Joe R. Lansdale “The Bible Repairman” by Tim Powers “Father Dear” by Al Sarrantonio

Clementine DeVore spent ten years trapped in a cellar, pinned down by willow roots, silenced and forgotten. Now she’s out and determined to uncover who put her in that cellar and why. When Clementine was a child, dangerous and inexplicable things started happening in New South Bend. The townsfolk blamed the fiendish people out in the Willows and burned their homes to the ground. But magic kept Clementine alive, walled up in the cellar for ten years, until a boy named Fisher sets her free. Back in the world, Clementine sets out to discover what happened all those years ago. But the truth gets muddled in her dangerous attraction to Fisher, the politics of New South Bend, and the Hollow, a fickle and terrifying place that seems increasingly temperamental ever since Clementine reemerged.

Darkwitch Rising is the third title in Sara Douglass's compelling Troy Game series, a riveting historical fantasy series of love and revenge set against the very fabric of time itself. Britian. An ancient land. Most think they know its history. But few suspect and fewer still know the truth. For back in the mists of time came Brutus, last of the Trojan kings, who was armed with the knowledge of how to construct a magical Labyrinth that could rival the might of the gods. He was drawn to this place by the alluring sorceress Genvissa and together they almost succeeded in creating the Labyrinth. But in the end they were thwarted by Brutus's wife Cornelia, who understood the danger to the land. Her actions however trapped them all into a endless cycle of death and rebirth until the magic of the Labyrinth is completed. Ages pass. Time and again the players have come close to victory but each time there is a new wrinkle to stay the fulfillment of power. The Now that these soul travelers arrive in is a most unique one. The English are at war, not with a foreign power but amongst themselves; a mighty Civil War that threatens to destroy a nation. A great pestilence is upon the land and the newly restored Charles II sits upon the throne trying to hold chaos at bay...and he is one of the major players in this drama. And he is not alone.

Sixteen-year-old Beckan and her friends are the only fairies brave enough to stay in Ferrum when war breaks out. Now there is tension between the immortal fairies, the subterranean gnomes, and the mysterious tightropers who arrived to liberate the fairies. But when Beckan's clan is forced to venture into the gnome underworld to survive, they find themselves tentatively forming unlikely friendships and making sacrifices they couldn't have imagined. As danger mounts, Beckan finds herself caught between her loyalty to her friends, her desire for peace, and a love she never expected. This stunning, lyrical fantasy is a powerful exploration of what makes a family, what justifies a war, and what it means to truly love.

Tails of the Coward Lion and FriendsTails of the Coward Lion and Friends