In a gripping feat of storytelling, Anne Rice continues the extraordinary Vampire Chronicles that began with the now-classic Interview with the Vampire. For centuries, Lestat—vampire-hero, enchanter, seducer of mortals—has been a courted prince in the dark and flourishing universe of the living dead. Now he is alone. And in his overwhelming need to destroy his doubts and his loneliness, Lestat embarks on the most dangerous enterprise he has undertaken in all the years of his haunted existence.   Praise for The Tale of the Body Thief   “Tinged with mystery, full of drama . . . The story is involving, the twists surprising.”—People   “Rice is our modern messenger of the occult, whose nicely updated dark-side passion plays twist and turn in true Gothic form.”—San Francisco Chronicle   “Fast-paced . . . . mesmerizing . . . silkenly sensuous . . . No one writing today matches her deftness with the erotic.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution   “Hypnotic . . . masterful.”—Cosmopolitan

When Rick and Annie Waldron, a bitter elderly couple, turn onto New Hampshire's legendary Kancamagus Highway in a dangerous snowstorm, they are unaware that their fate may lie with an ancient forest alive with a vengeful spirit. (Short Story)This special edition of "The Kanc" includes free bonus chapter's from Steven R. Porter's novels "Confessions of the Meek & the Valiant and "Manisses."The past meets the present!In this first ever published collection of poetry by the author and written with warmth and feeling straight from the heart, this book intends to take readers,on a journey of emotions.A landmark in poetry, using olde English and contemporary crossover dialects.

There's a maniacal murderer on the loose, brutally slaughtering young women with a ferocity that rivals that of vampires Harry Koegh has spent his life combatting. The Necroscope's been asked to solve the crimes...asked by the dead spirits of the madman's victims. Harry cannot turn down a request from the dead...even if it costs him his soul. In the climactic battle with the vampires, mankind prevailed and purged the vampires from earth--thanks to Harry, his team of psychically-gifted spies, and Faethor Ferenczy, long-dead 'father' of the world's vampires, who betrayed his own kind. But Harry's alliance with Faethor has a terrible cost--Harry's very humanity is under attack from the vampire evil coiled in his mind!

So what do you do when you meet a group of girls having a seance on your local bus?Why not read on and find out?Grammy's are different now! This Grammy becomes a surfer, much to the amusement of her granddaughter. She hangs out with young surfers, who not only teach her how to surf, but also teach her the language of surfing. She wins competitions and travels all over the world following big surf, and she takes her granddaughter.

A short story about a careless driver, named Scott, who caused a tragedy. Scott was haunted by his actions. Would it cause him to change his ways?This is a contemporary Neo-Gothic horror story set deep in the heart of Florida's dark, foreboding Everglades. At its core, it’s a modern day morality tale wrapped in the Neo-Gothic genre. The story takes place near Lost Man’s River. Yes, there really is a Lost Man’s River. Want to speculate how it got its name? The story involves the ongoing clash between modern, agnostic view of reality and the native superstitions of past. One of those schools of thought loses. Big time. It has been compared to the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King.It’s a quick, fun read, but you may want to leave the lights on when you go to bed.

Breanne Murphy may seem like the average high school student, but she keeps her extreme intelligence hidden from most of her teachers. After an experiment that she is conducting with one of her teachers goes horribly wrong, Breanne is faced with a horde of zombie teenagers that still seem to have their intelligence. These zombie students are the people she knows and sees every day. About 7500wordsBreanne Murphy may seem like the average high school student, but she keeps her extreme intelligence hidden from most of her teachers. After an experiment that she is conducting with one of her teachers goes horribly wrong, Breanne is faced with a horde of zombie teenagers that still seem to have their intelligence. These zombie students are the people she knows and sees every day. She can’t bring herself to start killing her former peers. Her vast intelligence may be their only hope of being saved. Now she is in a race to cure her classmates before they can breakout and infect the world. About 7500 words.

From Out of the Dark, Science Fiction and Horror meet in the space between galaxies. A collection of 10 short stories for 10 unique writers to entertain.From Out of the Dark is a not for profit publication featuring notable and new authors writing to the theme of Horror from the depths of space, or horror in the space between galaxies. Here you will read stories by the likes of Tony Shillitoe, Gene Stewart and Gregory L Norris, plus 7 other stories. The project was put together by Altair Australia Pty Ltd to get new works, often unseen works together for general reading. Some of these might not be world beaters or award winners, but these newer voices have developed well during the editing of the collection. The editor, Robert N Stephenson. has been publishing collections and small books since 1997 and while he enjoys the process, he loves to write more, so From Out of the Dark is a labor of love. Please note that all authors have been paid for their contributions.

Sandman Slim returns in a stunning, high-octane thriller filled with the intense kick-ass action and inventive fantasy that are the hallmarks of New York Times bestselling author Richard Kadrey. The request from Thomas Abbot, the Augur of the Sub Rosa council, couldn’t come at a better time for James Stark, aka Sandman Slim. For a man who’s most recently met Death—and death’s killer—a few months of normal life is more than he can handle. He needs a little action, and now Abbott wants Stark and Candy to investigate the disappearance of a young boy—and help uncover council members who might be tied to Wormwood’s power brokers. Stark’s plans change when he meets a dying angel who gives him a vial of a mysterious black liquid that could be a secret weapon in the ongoing war between angels who want to allow human souls into Heaven and rebel angels willing to die to keep them out. When one of Stark’s closest friends is poisoned with the black liquid, Stark and Candy have to go to the only place where they might find a cure: Hell. But standing in their way are the damned souls who, even after death, still work for Wormwood. The secret deal they’ve struck with the rebel angels is darker than anything Stark has encountered. Not only does the fate of the world hang in the balance, but also the souls of everyone in it. Stark has to find a way to break the stalemate in the angel war, score the Perdition cure for the black poison, and make it back to LA in one piece—where an old enemy waits to finish him once and for all.

Three great vampires--two Lords and a Lady--arrive on an unsuspecting Earth that teems with defenseless humans, easy prey for the marauding vampires. But humanity has defenders. Though the necroscope is gone, the psychically gifted men and women of E-Branch move swiftly against the vampire infestation. Jake Cutter is running for his life through the streets of Turin when he vanishes, appearing moments later inside the triply locked "Harry's room" in E-Branch's London HQ. Jake's dreams are very strange, filled with the voices of the dead--the Great majority, the Necroscope, Harry Keogh, even a dead vampire. He hears them all, but he doesn't truly understand. If Jake is the new Necroscope, he has to learn--fast!--how to control his powers and speak to the dead. E-Branch, with the reluctant Jake along for the ride, is about to go head-to-head with Malinari the Mind, a vampire Lord who psychic abilities are second to none. But the dead don't trust Jake, not like they trusted Harry. Jake's got personal revenge on his mind, and he's spending too much time talking that dead vampire. He's got to start thinking about the future--or he won't have one!

Ed Dillon has been on the road for his own reasons. A stop in Texas is far too typical, proving you can't outrun memory.Preston Cunningham and Arvie were the best of friends. Raised in the quaint New England Town of West Brookfield, Massachusetts, an hours drive from the world famous Tanglewood, the summer home of The Boston Pops Orchestra in the heart of The Berkshires.In a scheduled marathon, they were entered into the appropriate age category and trained for the race. Mr. Silverberg was their scoutmaster, and it was he who instilled the basic values in Preston's life.Life changed for the two young men when Preston was drafted into the Army in 1966, and Arvie entered helicopter flight school at Fort Rucker Alabama.With the possibility of serving two years in Vietnam, Preston opted for the Army's new four year program and within three months was assigned to one of the most prestigious military intelligence units in Europe.Following 16 months of living in a civilian status position in Frankfurt. The benefit of civilian clothes, an apartment in the center of the city and a chauffer, the Army in disregard of Preston's contract pulled him out of Germany and sent him to Vietnam.At about the same time, Arvie was assigned as a new young pilot to a medical unit in Vietnam. In January of 1969, Arvie was killed in a horrific air crash. Years later, at the dedication of The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C., it was by chance that Preston was searching for the names of his fallen comrades when he came upon Arvie's name on The Wall.Angered by the events of the war, ahd now as a civilian and able to put into words what he was prohibited from doing when he was a soldier, Preston wrote a poster poem about the pain and anger he suffered with the loss of his dear friend Arvid Silverberg.The poster poem was presentedto President Ronald Reagan and in a surprise move displayed it in the White House, and from that moment on The Wall - The Poem became a national best seller.UP UNTIL THIS TIME THE STORY IS TRUE BUT HERE ON IT IS FICTIONPreston Cunningham becomes the first Vietnam Veteran President of The United States, and returns to The Wall upon taking the oath of office and searches for Arvie's name...This book is free and it is the desire of this author that you will read the other books abailable in this series. Thank you!

Evil was about to fall upon the Delany estate that Mike and Samantha could never have imagined. It was Halloween and Samantha`s contractions were unbearable so her husband rushed his pregnant wife to the hospital.Mike stayed the night in his wife's room with their new baby, but as they slept an unforeseen force came in their room that was about to change their lives forever.Evil was about to fall upon the Delany estate that Mike and Samantha could never have imagined. It was Halloween and Samantha`s contractions were unbearable so her husband rushed his pregnant wife to the hospital to deliver their new bundle of joy.Mike stayed the night in his wife's room with their new baby, but as they slept an unforeseen force came in their room that was about to change their lives forever, when they both woke in the morning. Morning came, and Samantha was discharged from the hospital, and time for their new baby to be raised in their new home. It wasn't until after little Johnny turned 6 years of age that things around the Delany Estate turned deadly. The first sign that Johnny had the mark of the beast was June 6. It was the 6th month, 6th day, and Johnny was 6. All the numbers represented 666.

In a new series that blurs the line between historical fiction and dark fantasy, Mitch Pembroke follows the love of his life out of prohibition-era America to a remote Caribbean island. While his only thought is to learn why she ran away, he should be worrying about how he’s going to survive the deadly secrets of Lazarus Key.When the girl of Mitch Pembroke’s dreams responds to his invitation to meet his parents by fleeing home to a remote Caribbean island, the former Great War pilot does what he thinks any red-blooded American male would do—he drops everything and goes after her. But Mitch isn’t the first man to follow Lorali home and like his predecessors, he may not survive the visit. Lazarus Key is the first novella in a series that blurs the line between historical fiction and dark fantasy.

(1600 words) When Ray found the old shack in the back of his new property, curiosity, or something more, lured him in. When he saw what was in there he realized his life depended on getting out.Once upon a time there were three children who meant to save the world.The first, and the oldest of the three—and whose name was Flannery—knew this on arrival: the world was in terrible trouble. The Great War, still less than seven years past, had left the world in a darkness that for all the optimistic political rhetoric—and the noble aims of the League of Nations—never quite lifted and which was soon to return fully fledged with a small mustache and renewed violence.The second child—whose name was Heather, and who was the youngest of the three—arrived in Ridgefield, Connecticut, in December of 1950, just a little over five years after the Second World War finally ended, and on the very day that her sister Flannery left Ridgefield for her painful and prolonged audience with death. When in her seventh year, Heather’s Irish Catholic father beat her younger brother senseless with his fists, and then killed him by tossing the lifeless five-year-old boy down a set of stairs—deemed an accident by the local Irish Catholic investigator, and grandly forgiven by the local Irish Catholic priest—Heather knew that evil roamed freely in this world and that God seemed to turn a blind eye. She did, however, not remember that she was meant to give God a hand.The third child, Gabriel, was born on the 9th of August, 1945. He took his first breath the very instant that the atom bomb over Nagasaki, Japan, detonated. He was later to muse that his first lungful of air contained the souls of 40,000 Japanese children. He (like Heather) had no notion about his purpose on this Earth until one summer morning when 40,000 dust motes, shimmering in the slotted sunshine of an abandoned attic (where a man recently had hanged himself), suddenly began to sing.Then there was the fourth child: Netoniel.Siblings all.:Gabriel was half-way up the dilapidated ladder. The day was Saturday and the date was July 23rd, 1960. The time was a little after ten in the morning. The rungs showed evidence of age or rot or both so he proceeded up them slowly, taking care to place his feet close to the sides where they would be the strongest. The ladder groaned softly under his weight, but didn’t seem to mind him.A perverse curiosity had brought him here. A few years ago—no one had been very specific about exactly when—a man had hanged himself in this very attic. If the truth be told, Gabriel didn’t know that for a fact, he hadn’t even asked his parents or other such authority to confirm it, but it was rumored, and quite widely—common knowledge, as it were—especially among the kids (and as yet he was not much more than one himself).So, in essence, a fact.

Time is running out for Thomas Ward. His final battle against the Fiend is drawing near, and the Spook's apprentice has never felt more alone in his task. Isolated and afraid, the Fiend is set to send the greatest of his servants against him - Siscoi, a Vampire God more ferocious than anything he has yet faced. Tom must risk his life to prevent the evil beast from entering this world, even as he learns that the final destruction of the Fiend may involve a sacrifice more terrible than he can imagine...

When George realizes he is destined for hell,he makes a deal with the dark angel. Trouble is, when you deal with the devil, there is HELL to pay!JT Lewis explores the darker side of angelic intervention in this terrifying short story. JT Lewis is the author of mystery/action novels such as Murder! Too Close To Home and Gabriel's Revenge.When George realizes he is destined for hell,he makes a deal with the dark angel. Trouble is, when you deal with the devil, there is HELL to pay!JT Lewis explores the darker side of angelic intervention in this terrifying short story. JT Lewis is the author of mystery/action novels such as Murder! Too Close To Home and Gabriel's Revenge. You can also check out his work in his YA (Young Adult) mystery series, Pepper and Longstreet!