These seven short stories, all previously published in magazines or anthologies, contain magic, monsters, ghosts, history, beer, Scotland, scifi, fantasy, horror, singing, more beer and fun.If you're looking for a taster of William Meikle's work, this is who he is.These seven short stories, all previously published in magazines or anthologies, contain magic, monsters, ghosts, history, beer, Scotland, scifi, fantasy, horror, singing, more beer and fun. This is who he is.

Samuel Johnson is in trouble. Not only is he in love with the wrong girl, but the demon Mrs. Abernathy is seeking revenge on him for his part in foiling the invasion of Earth by the forces of evil. She wants to get her claws on Samuel, and when Samuel and his faithful dachshund, Boswell, are pulled through a portal into the dark realm, she gets her chance. PLEASE NOTE: This book was published by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK as HELL'S BELLS. The titles are different, but the books are the same. Please spread the word!

On the night of October 23/24, 1995 in Prairie Village, Kansas, a fierce, wind-driven fire devastated the luxurious mansion of Dr. Debora Green and her husband, Dr. Michael Farrar. Trapped and burned to death in the flames were twelve-year-old Tim and his six-year-old sister Kelly. Lissa, ten, was barely able to leap to safety from the garage roof into the arms of her mother, who was standing outside the house. When Michael Farrar returned to the scene, he had lost more than his children and his home. His entire life was in ruins.The fire was the climactic event of Michael and Debora's lives. Until that summer, they seemed to have it all -- a happy marriage, successful medical practices, three bright and beautiful children. Then they went on a trip to Peru with their son. There, they met attractive, blonde Celeste Walker, whose husband, John was also a successful doctor. But after that trip, nothing was the same again for either couple, and all the dark hidden places in Debora and Michael's marriage bubbled to the surface in a series of almost unbelievable horrors.Bitter Harvest is the chronicle of this tragedy in the heartland of America, the true story of the disintegration of a marriage and its horrifying consequences. Rule takes us deep in the psyche of a killer whose behavior was so twisted and so evil that it defies belief. Gripping, powerful, and ultimately terrifying, Bitter Harvest is a vivid recreation of an unthinkable crime -- and a depiction of the unimagined depths of a darkness within the human spirit.Copyright (c) 1998 Ann Rule. All Rights ReservedPerformance copyright 1998 by Simon & Schuster Inc. All Rights Reserved

When the zombie apocalypse strikes without warning the fearless American bulldog Riley quickly discovered that it was up to her to keep the pack safe. Together with Yorkshire terrier Ben-Ben and former archenemy Patches the cat, Riley struggles to keep the zombies at bay while helping her favorite human, Jessie, as they travel cross-country. They are a rag-tag group of survivors, who, when pushed to the limit, realize that they are all each other has. Books 1-4 Plus bonus Short Story Pulse

A young man is kidnapped from his fiancee's apartment complex. His abductor performs terrible experiments on him, seeking to unlock some hidden potential...and that potential may be his only route to freedom. But at what cost?Margaret, made miserable by her unappreciative family, diverts her attention to someone else's hotel. On investigating further, she is spared disgrace by her inquisitive friend and the unwitting owner.

A warrior-woman/sorceress from the northern steppes visits the ancient and wicked city of Bel-Athis, "The Jewel of the Sands" while traveling through strange desert lands far to the south and east. There she comes into conflict with the vicious tyrant Ammon-Zul, High Priest of Baal-Zebub, "The Lord of Flies," a devil-god who demands human sacrifice lest he unleash a terrible plague upon the city.A barbarian warrior-woman/sorceress from the northern steppes visits the ancient and wicked city of Bel-Athis, "The Jewel of the Sands" while traveling through strange desert lands far to the south and east. There she comes into conflict with the vicious tyrant Ammon-Zul, High Priest of Baal-Zebub, "The Lord of Flies," a devil-god who demands human sacrifice lest he unleash a terrible plague upon the city.Weird fiction meets sword and sorcery fantasy in this first installment of the Valruna Saga, an ongoing series of tales in the tradition of Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and Fritz Leiber.This short story introduces the character Vana Valruna and her reluctant campaign against the Baals, the four demonic Lords that rule the ancient world.It all starts here in this tale, when a single heroic act earns Vana the enmity of the most bloodthirsty of these devil-gods, the sinister Baal-Zebub, whereupon she is inexorably drawn into a desperate spiritual battle between the noble gods of the north and the terrifyingly alien deities worshipped by the rest of the known world.With the aid of her beloved horse, Thunrasar, her trusted guide, Jerob of the desert folk, and her northern gods, as well as an unlikely ally in one who was cast out by those same gods, villified as a traitor and deemed no better than a demon himself, one by one Vana will see these elder deities dethroned, or die in the attempt.

Anarah's husband is so sure the world is going to end in 2012 that he convince her to avoid it by locking her into a pod.When Gwendolyn Grady gets the news that her cousin Ginny is missing, her family packs up and returns to Brighton—the town her father fled years ago after a brutal falling out with his brother. As they begin their search, the tension begins to mount between the brothers, leading Gwen and her brother Gabe to question what horrible events led to their fallout years ago. During the course of their search, Gwen encounters more than one mystery, like the ever present wolves that seem to haunt the Grady’s home and the mystery person Ginny was in contact with shortly before her disappearance. Secrets begin to collect, leaving Gwen uncertain how she and her brother and cousin fit into it all. All she knows is that her family is keeping secrets from her…dangerous ones that might spell disaster for them all.

Paradise Road is long known to be a haunted stretch of forest near Jefferson in Wisconsin. But when Nicky asks Tracey to accompany her out to the desolate stretch of road to find their lost friend, they both get more than they bargained for.Evy is out with her horses, Rusty and Twilight, when she comes across a dead moose. Things only get worse when she discovers a very young, now orphaned calf standing over his mother’s body. She is determined to save the calf, but before she can, Twilight, her mustang filly, disappears. Evy sets out to rescue her, only to stumble upon even worse danger: illegal hunters who will do anything to keep their poaching a secret. Will Evy be one of their victims?

Haven: The Federation, The newest and possibly the last installment of the Haven novels about the inhabitants of a community living in a post Zombie apocalypse world. The residents are forced to form a federation to protect themselves.Haven: The Federation, The newest and possibly the last installment of the Haven novels about the inhabitants of a community living in a post Zombie apocalypse world. This is the story of Bill Mason's survival to meet up with his brother Ralph estranged since Bills childhood. The residents of the various communities must unite to withstand the various groups vying for control of the remains of civilization. After years of risking their lives for their communities and loved ones they find that they must expand their areas of influence to survive. They are forced to attack or be subjugated by outsiders. Suddenly the various settlements find themselves fighting the Zombies, hostile survivor groups and a group of well armed surviving military.horror, zombies, zombie, post apocalyptic, apocalyptic, survival

Victoria Frankenstein is a driven researcher. So much so that she creates a breakthrough: a living woman. Thus begins her descent into horror, as she begins to understand just what she has done and the tragedy and terror it will bring all involved.A Gender Switch Adventure.Oma should fear the fierce warrior whose captive she’s become after she is seized while spying. The penalty is the lash of his whip. The ache in her body is not from the sting of his flogger but from the scorching heat of his touch. Still, she has to resist him if she wishes to safeguard the secrets she hides.Jide is the prince’s closest guard. His duty is to keep the royal family safe, so he should deliver instant justice to the spy in his chambers. Yet the intense fire in the eyes of his beautiful prisoner Oma stirs him beyond that of any other maiden in his past. When his self-control is tried which will he choose—hand her over for punishment or defy the prince and protect her?

If you have ever cast an uncomfortable glance over your shoulder when passing the silent snowy sentinels that stand looking at you as you pass on the icy sidewalk, if you've ever questioned what might really happen if the old silk hat placed on Frosty the Snowman's head was truly magic, then these two dark humor snowman tales by Mark Leslie are for you.If you have ever cast an uncomfortable glance over your shoulder when passing the silent snowy sentinels that stand looking at you as you pass on the icy sidewalk, if you've ever questioned what might really happen if the old silk hat placed on Frosty the Snowman's head was truly magic, then these two dark humor snowman tales by Mark Leslie are for you.THAT OLD SILK HAT THEY FOUNDWhy does that classic song always portray a jolly, happy snowman dancing around and celebrating life? What if, once the kids placed that old silk hat on Frosty's head, it wasn't quite the magical experience?IDES OF MARCHIn the middle of March a middle-aged man frustrated with the benign activity of filling out his annual tax forms is confronted with a bizarre event - two hulking creatures appear in a pick up truck and are intent on kidnapping the snowman from the front yard.

In one horrifying night young Trevor will battle for his own immortal soul. Three nightmares, three warnings, one outcome. Animalize starts his journey into the world behind the veil. A world of demons, werewolves, and a small town in South Carolina with a rising body count. Who can reverse the curse from the past hungry for blood and souls?The town of Epson South Carolina had its pluses, like the crystal clear lake enjoyed by all, and its minuses such as its rising mutilated body count.It was the start of another summer and other than a few pranksters with a little too much time on their hands everything was quiet, until a herd of cattle was found torn to bloody pieces that is. A monster resurrected from Epson's dark forgotten past has clawed it's way from the depths of Hell to annihilate everyone and everything.Sheriff Frank Marshall may have discovered the origin of the beast, but can he tell anyone before coming face to face with it?Wendy Kinsington has unlocked the secrets of Epson's past, but can she do anything about the present?When the creature turns out to be one of there own they may have to give more than any of them are prepared to sacrifice. Do they kill a child to save the town; to save themselves?

What if we took our political leaders' rhetoric seriously? What if we implemented their dodgy policies in real life? In this chilling parable, the User Pays doctrine is examined as applied to a typical Australian family.A tale of gryphons, snow-dragons, elves, dwarves, dragons and men. An evil elf-mage is haunting the frozen wastelands in the north. Hinfane the tavern-keeper finds unlikely allies in the mysterious creatures that come on the first night of the new moon to collect the mead that she leaves out for them. You can fight an elf, and it seems that you can win. But elves are not so easy to kill... Hwedolyn the gryphon ends up going on a quest, barely believing in the purpose of it himself, not knowing how it will end. This is the first in the Gryphonomicon Gryphon-Dragon histories, a saga that spans generations and tells of the battles between gryphons and dragons and the rise of Aerae, Princess of the North, Empress of the South. An epic heroic fantasy in the tradition of Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, David Eddings.

A mysterious wooden box leads Albert on an extraordinary and terrifying adventure into a strange labyrinth deep beneath the city streets.When Albert Cross finds a mysterious wooden box waiting for him in the driver’s seat of his locked car, he has no idea that it will lead him on an extraordinary and terrifying adventure. With the help of his lab partner, Brandy, he begins unraveling the puzzle of the box, but each clue they solve leads only to more questions as they piece together a map of the complex, subterranean system that lies beneath Briar Hills, Missouri…and the strange and deadly labyrinth hidden deep within. Will they be able to discover the meaning behind the box? Or will the endless darkness and the things that lurk unseen within these walls swallow them forever?52,000 words. Adult Content. Dark Adventure, Suspense, Mystery.

The Final Cut. James Logan wants to save the world but can't. General John Cygan wants to burn it and can. Two friends are thrown onto the opposite sides of a war until brilliant scientist Abe Priest finds a way to end the zombie outbreak once and for all."I think I've figured it out Logan. I think I know what it is.” ... “I asked myself the questions that everyone else is afraid to ask. Just like you told me to. I asked myself: how do you kill that which is already dead? Then I started looking at it like a cold mathematical equation. We got it wrong. We have been fighting the zombies using attrition warfare this whole time. We've been trying to kill them all. But you can’t add death to death and balance an equation. To kill something alive you must minus life. To cancel out death from the other side of the equation you must plus life. Death plus death, I guess, equals more death and imbalance. The equation reversed is “death plus life” and that returns the world to balance. To zero.” Doctor Abraham Priest and General James Logan have what it takes to save the world from the gaping jaws of defeat. But rogue US Air Force General John Cygan would sooner watch it burn than see it fall to the dead. Logan and Abe partner themselves with tough as nails inner city cop, Elizabeth Jones, and army pilot "Jack" as they fight against the clock to save the world. Served with lashings of gore, Reggie takes the genre to somewhere it has seldom been before. Its end.