An Ellison potpourri: rewrites of tales 1st appearing in 50s pulp magazines (one a Joe L. Hensley collaboration), recent tales & four excellent nonfiction items. The nonfiction: some witty autobiographical sketches: an in-person account of events at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as data from Voyager I's Saturn fly-by arrives; the full story behind his acrimonious battle with Hollywood over the short-lived TV series The Starlost; & the story of how he ran away from home at age 13 to join a carnival, learning "more about the darker side of human nature than any kid should ever know." The fiction, alas, pales by comparison. There are several dressed-up variations on the Quest for the Grail. The sf tales offer so-so variations on familiar notions (Earthlings discovering their roots on an alien planet; robot megalomania; Adam & Eve; teeny weeny alien invaders). An Ellisonian satire is aimed at a TV show devoted to humiliating its guests--plus two other, more effectively humorous pieces on Aladdin's lamp & the Nativity. Less vivid than Ellison's best, with too many tired old variations & flabby retreads--but sparkling in spots.--Kirkus (edited)

When Cheri dies from an overdose, Lead Belly falls into a pit of despair. His bros in the Road Dogs motorcycle club try to help, but when they leave, Lead Belly picks up his 357 and starts playing Russian Roulette, but that's when Cave Man showed up. With death only a trigger pull away, Cave Man jumps on his spirit bike and rides, because Biker Heaven can wait, when one of the bros are in trouble.Auntie Beryl is a career optimist, unable to see the bad side of anything or anyone. But can she keep her cool in the hot place no one likes to talk about?

An epic yet personal look at several decades of life, love, and death in the imaginary city of Ambergris--previously chronicled in Jeff VanderMeer's acclaimed City of Saints & Madmen--Shriek: An Afterword relates the scandalous, heartbreaking, and horrifying secret history of two squabbling siblings and their confidantes, protectors, and enemies. Narrated with flamboyant intensity and under increasingly urgent conditions by ex-society figure Janice Shriek, this afterword presents a vivid gallery of characters and events, emphasizing the adventures of Janice's brother Duncan, a historian obsessed with a doomed love affair and a secret that may kill or transform him; a war between rival publishing houses that will change Ambergris forever; and the gray caps, a marginalized people armed with advanced fungal technologies who have been waiting underground for their chance to mold the future of the city. Part academic treatise, part tell-all biography, after this introduction to the Family Shriek, you'll never look at history in quite the same way again.

In this enthralling new tale from bestselling author Christopher Golden, one man is drawn into a realm just across the veil from our own, where every captivating myth and fairy tale is true, the vanished exist–and every fear is founded….Yielding to his father's wishes, Oliver Bascombe abandoned his dream of being an actor and joined the family law firm. Now he will marry a lovely young woman bearing the Bascombe stamp of approval. But on the eve of his wedding, a blizzard sweeps in–bringing with it an icy legend who calls into question everything Oliver believes about the world and his place in it…. Pursued by a murderous creature who heeds no boundaries, Jack Frost needs Oliver's help to save both himself and his world–an alternate reality slowly being displaced by our own. To help him, Oliver Bascombe, attorney-at-law, will have to become Oliver Bascombe, adventurer, hero–and hunted. So begins a magnificent journey where he straddles two realities…and where, even amid danger, Oliver finds freedom for the very first time.

Grim Island has a dark history of being shunned by many and being used as a dumping ground for bad apples by the colonists for centuries. But today, Grim Island has a normal thriving community; on the surface.Shrouded in fog, Grim Island used to be shunned and used as a dumping ground by the early American colonists to rid themselves of undesirables. An island home to ghosts, monsters and practitioners of Dark Magic. But now, for school teacher Lacey Rodriguez and her detective boyfriend, Jamie MacLeod, Grim Island is home. Unfortunately, Jamie seems to be losing interest in their budding romance. Either that, or he loves her so much, he’s keeping away to protect her. Making matters worse, Jamie’s new partner on the island police force, a woman with a dark secret, seems determined to steal Jamie away. Lacey and Jamie have secrets too, but then most of the people stuck on Grim Island do. Secrets that refuse to stay buried and have a bad habit of coming to life in the dark.Note: This is a romance and suitable for readers 18+ due to graphic language and sexual content.

The Uninvited presents...Blood Beasta novella by Mark MacKenzieYou are a powerful beast that has awoke from an ancient slumber and now you are very, very hungry..... for human flesh!A product of the horrors of the First World War, "Pumpkin and the Pocket Watch" follows a dog through the ruins of an unknown European City under invasion. Severely malnourished, scarred and infected, Pumpkin does what she can to stay clear of the shadows, artillery barrages, and any form of, regardless of nationality, Humankind - for all humans are monsters of war and chaos. And yet, there is a spec of light within the infinite space of darkness that is Our species.

A novella. Life is rough, unlife can be even more difficult, especially when you're a zombie with bad luck. Follow Bob as he deals with all sorts of trouble. This is not your average zombie novella.Our animal friends do fun, amazing, and silly things. These poems ask why our animal friends do such things. As you read each small poem, imagine what their answer would be or think of new questions of your own.This booklet includes the children poems: Zippy Dragonfly, Young Elephant, Giggling Hyena, and Slithering Snake

HOLLIS TODD is one of the richest men in the world, a flamboyant and dynamic multimillionaire who possesses everything in the world, except a good heart. With death imminent, he is flown to the country’s most prestigious heart transplant hospital, where shortly afterward the dying victim of an automobile accident is brought in. He is Tony Polanski, former Olympic track star already suffering a fatal disease—and the perfect donor. After his death, his heart is successfully transplanted to Todd, and so “the heart of one of the world’s great athletes beats on in the body of one of the world’s richest men.” But to Dr. Charles Everett, a member of the surgery team, there is something too fortuitous about the circumstances. Against spirited opposition and stern warnings, he delves deeper and deeper into the case, eventually exposing a masterly conceived and executed plan to insure the longevity of Todd, the man who wants to stay alive more than anything in the world. His disclosure triggers a chain reaction that brings the story to a shattering climax. Emphasizing, throughout, the moral and ethical dilemmas posed by transplants, and at the same time combining good surgery (“Medicine is just another form of human endeavor, the good and the bad.”) with good mystery (“. . . he was a far better doctor than he was a detective.”), The Todd Dossier is a novel both topical and engrossing, entertaining and informative.

He met her at the grocery store - piece by piece.Caroline is a strange and darkly funny love story.It is a full-length short story and includes a bonus preview of my second novel, Surviving Immortality, available as of August, 2012.Please do leave a review and/or contact me.

The infamous Easter chiller - now available in a terrifying new "Easter 2011 Edition" featuring many, many less typos and at least 13% more fire (with kind reference to the attentions of Ms Wielding). Please note that this is NOT a children's story... although it does feature children, and bunnies...Some friends lie to you, keep you safe from the horrors of the world, give you gifts that mean nothing. Katarina isn't one of those friends. With Easter just two days away she makes her way to her best friend's house with a gift that means the world to her. It's a gift her friend will never forget. For as long as he lives.

On a routine business trip, Jeff Parker awakens at 2am in his hotel room to a loud knocking at his door... A voice outside claims there is a gas leak. Jeff makes the fatal mistake of opening the door...Jeff's mother worries when she does not hear from him. She recruits an old family friend and detective to help. Will they manage to find Jeff, or will they fall prey to the same mysterious fate?On a routine business trip to Pennsylvania, Jeff Parker awakens at 2am in the Home Away From Home Suites to a loud knocking at his door... A voice outside claims there is a gas leak. At first angry and suspicious, Jeff makes the fatal mistake of opening the door...Jeff's mother, Sara, worries when she does not hear from him. She recruits old family friend and detective Bill Anderson to help, and they both venture off in search of the missing man. Bill has checked into Room 203 of the same hotel. But will Bill and Sara manage to find Jeff in this eerie place, or will they fall prey to the same mysterious, chilling fate that has befallen him?Following on from his powerful "11th Floor" series, but with less gore and more complex and likeable characters, Charles Culver infuses his latest suspense-packed novelette with a sense of malign yet banal evil.

With nowhere to go, no one to help her, Leigh fled into the arms of Luke Casteel! Leigh Van Voreen had to escape from Boston's Farthinggale Manor. The foul secret she harbored within her seemed to darken her life forever. Jillian, her mother, would not believe her...and Tony Tatterton, her stepfather, had betrayed her most cruelly. But the pure devotion of Luke Casteel promised her hope and respect. Only Luke knew her deepest of secrets...only Luke would love and protect her. Bravely she bore the suspicions of the Willies' hillfolk, as she tried to grasp the happiness that had so long eluded her. Leigh prayed with all her heart that her bright, shining dreams would save her from tragedy at last...

An inquisition is held where one brother is given his just desserts for his wicked ways, while the other is forced to watch his loved one burn for his sins before joining her in the pit.Two brothers, both share a plantation where they grow seasonal crops. But one brother is sick of how the other squanders their money, with gambling and prostitutes. He finds out a secret he wasn't meant to know, so he does what he thinks needs to be done to solve the problem.

This collection of tiny, terrifying tales features ravening werewolves, prowling vampires, marauding mummies, vengeful ghosts, murderous spouses, wandering gypsies, and gobbling ghouls. Each tale is different, each is set in a different place and time, and each ends with a twist.This collection of tiny, terrifying tales features ravening werewolves, prowling vampires, marauding mummies, vengeful ghosts, murderous spouses, wandering gypsies, and gobbling ghouls. Each tale is different, each is set in a different place and time, and each ends with a twist.Known as the Queen of Scary, this author weaves tales of gypsies and changelings, cannibals and sharks, ancient evil in a Scottish cemetery, misadventures in an Egyptian tomb, a hideously cursed inheritance, beasties that go bump in the night, a Russian socialite chased by wolves, a nun and a serial killer, a philandering movie star, a child-stealing social worker, a plague in medieval Hungary, a stoned rock star and a vampire, a mysterious cemetery vault, space-age lycanthropes, and murderous ghosts in medieval castles.

Jesse senses something off about the nightclub. She wants to leave, but her best friend, Tasha, is determined to have a night to remember. There's no way Tasha's turning down an invite to the VIP section. Against Jesse's better judgement, she follows Tasha up the ivory staircase to the mysterious room above. The whiskey and champagne are flowing, and pretty soon the blood will be too.Jesse senses something off about the nightclub. She wants to leave, but her best friend, Tasha, is determined to have a night to remember. There's no way Tasha's turning down an invite to the VIP section. Against Jesse's better judgement, she follows Tasha up the ivory staircase to the mysterious room above. The whiskey and champagne are flowing, and pretty soon the blood will be too.(A Short Story, approx 7,100 words)