Urban Short Stories

Everybody’s favorite over-the-top circus performers travel to Hemlock Cove, where they meet a group of witches they didn’t see coming, before heading to the Detroit area and visiting Poet Parker’s old stomping grounds. There, they come across a family of snarky reapers who challenge their world view...and a group of at-risk street kids who are in danger of being swallowed whole by a dark enemy. Finally, they stop at Mammoth Caves, where vampires (and something a little more sinister) seem to be taking over a small town and leaving nothing but devastation in their wake.

This audiobook collects Wellman’s John Thunstone and Lee Corbet stories, written between 1943 and 1979. These stories combine the mystical and horrific with traditional Southern folk tales and legends. These stories also reveal a post-World War II modernism that make them much more then pulp romanticism. The paranoia and cynicism of modern weird icons, such as The X-files, may well have had their genesis in the pulp musings of Manly Wade Wellman.

Urban Books' popular Girls from da Hood series is back, bringing listeners more dramatic tales about the lives of some tough, resourceful women who can hold their own when things get rough on the streets. This time, Redd, Nikki-Michelle, and Erick S. Gray deliver the stories with their trademark flair. Like a hood-rich Bonnie and Clyde, Candy and Raynail have their hands on all of the drugs that run through the veins of Westwood. When Raynail is set up to take the fall for a crime he didn't commit, Candy goes on a mission to take down everyone involved.

Wellman’s work will be remembered, and should be preserved because it combines the dark gothic tradition of the American pulps with a detailed snapshot of regional history and culture. This mixture is shown through the lens of the American modernist tradition, revealing something that is larger than the sum of its parts.

Mermaids, mermen, treacherous villagers, and a Nix: these are some of the exciting things in store for you with the latest Natashiah Jansen story entitled Pearl Port Singer. You’ll be taken on a dive into the magical world of merpeople...If you love humorous stories, you will love Pearl Port Singer.

"Next of Kin" by Astrid Amara: Jay Yervant is a Hell Cop so powerful that his bare skin incinerates anyone he contacts. Isolated, he is tortured by desire, until he meets Brian, a sensual young man who touches him with impunity. But Jay's burgeoning hope is threatened when a malevolent sorcerer unleashes a host of demonic assassins against Brian. Keeping his lover may cost Jay his life.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it’s tough not to get freaked out when you’re alone and you hear something bump in the night or even hear a voice. The stories below will freak you out so it’s best to read these with someone. Preferably a friend and not a stranger you’ve decided to creep up behind on the street. My house was built in 1904. It is a single family home, wood frame setting on a concrete block foundation. I have been living here for about 12 years. Of all the weird things that my siblings and me have seen or heard in this house this one event is my favorite.

This paranormal mystery series will take you on a ride through ghost stories, murders, theft, and trickery, though also friendship, loyalty, love, and family. Join Maddie on her journey as a paranormal investigator. Brace yourself. This series will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Echo of Silence: In a deep-sea station, Tazia Nerif has found her life's work as an engineer, keeping things running smoothly. But she wants nothing more than to break down the barrier of silence between her and her telekinetic Psy station commander. Dorian: A changeling who can never shift lives a life of quiet frustration - until he learns how to let his leopard come out and play.

Does size matter? Is bigger better? That’s no small question to Tom Little - the circus midget with giant dreams. Tom may be king of the midgets, but he’s got far grander ambitions - to become the muscleman at the top, the ringmaster. Now, drawing on some dark ancient secrets and mystic texts, he’s about to get his wish.... Assuming another man’s identity, Tom discovers he must also take on his sins, debts, and enemies. He may be living large - but now there are those who want to make him pay for the big man’s sins.

Iraq - The Americans are fighting a drawn out war against ISIS. With public support for the war draining, they find themselves under pressure to discover new ways of waging war against the enemy. At an isolated American air base, one scientist has come up with an ingenious idea - use zombies to defeat the Islamic State. The only problem is, the virus isn't ready and top brass are running out of patience. How can they deliver "the package" to where it's needed - straight to ISIS leadership? And meanwhile, at the air base, who is the mysterious man under the hood?

"The Departed" by Clive Barker: On All Hallows' Eve, a dead and disembodied mother yearns to touch her young son one last time. But will making contact destroy them both? "Creature Feature" by Heather Graham: What could be better publicity for a horror convention than an honest-to-goodness curse? It's only after lights out that the hype - and the Jack the Ripper mannequin - starts to feel a little too real.

I thought moving into a new apartment would be easy. Even in this world of magic and monsters, moving out shouldn’t be too hard, right? With help from the ghost in my head, I hunt monsters to pay the bills and pay my way through university. Now it’s time I finally get my own place. Through lopping off zombie and giant rat heads, I should have enough money, right? But if there’s anything consistent about living in Hope City, things are seldom easy.

This collection contains three short stories: "The Vampire Hunter", "The Undead", and "The Gatekeeper".

A Gift of Ghosts: Akira has secrets. But so does the town of Tassamara. A Gift of Thought: Sylvie Blair swore she’d never go back to Tassamara. She was wrong. The Spirits of Christmas: Akira's plans are simple: Write wedding invitations, bake Christmas cookies, and eat red meat. (The last surprises her, too.) But when Rose, the ghost who haunts her house, asks for a favor, Akira can't say no. A Gift of Time: Natalya thought she knew everything. Time is proving her wrong.

The night brings more than darkness after the Fall. With her fangs bared, Tilla attacks a camp of savages until a mysterious young girl emerges from the wrecked, post-apocalyptic landscape. “The Hunt” was originally published as Retrograde and won first prize in the 2009 Boutique du Vampyre Short Story Contest.

Black clouds of xenophobia gather over Radvadur, the western province of the Empire. The political climate is strained and fragile. A surge of Nymph refugees has stirred widespread hostility towards non-humans. When the investigation of a gruesome triple murder linked to the refugee camp ensues, it takes Inspector Käyru Skaer and his lover, Count Ellydhar Finn-Jánn, along an unusual path, at the end of which a precious gift awaits. Käyru and Elly are worlds apart in social standing, but they have found common ground in the bedroom - up against the wall and the stable doors, too.

Take a trip into theheart of passion as seductive samba rhythms pulse in the warm evening breezes. Escape and savor these three scintillating stories set against the beautifulbackdrop of Brazil.... Two weeks in Rio - surely that's enough time for marketing VP Sydni Lawson to forge a lucrative merger. But instead of sweet-talking real estate mogul Gabriel St. James, she's being swept away by their sizzling and unexpected attraction.

With only two hundred dollars, Unique packed her suitcase and headed to New York City for a brand-new start. It's there that Unique meets big-time boxing promoter Kennard, and it is love at first sight.... After nine months of living in the lap of luxury with Kennard, skeletons from Unique's past show up, and it will cost her a cool million dollars to keep not only her relationship but her life.... Unique isn't about to lose it all. With the help of her best friend, she devises a major heist; to pull it off all she has to do is stay alive....

Mika Tanner has loved Bailey Morrell, a beautiful Healer, since childhood. But his duty as a sentinel, a supernatural guardian of an ancient race, clashed with her rebellious spirit. Now a dangerous new anarchist group threatens life as they know it.