Urban Short Stories

Fifteen dark tales by USA Today best-selling author J.R. Rain. "Vampire Nights": Samantha Moon meets someone unexpected on a late-night trip to Denny's, someone who seems to know all her secrets and has all the answers. "Book Burning": Two brothers find themselves on a late-night mission to burn a legendary book of supposed dark powers. "The Silo": The land is dying and crops are failing. The city of Wheatopia is in the middle of the worst drought in recent memory - that is, until a city slicker and his too-thin wife arrive in town.... Plus 12 more!

Untouched by Human Hands consists of 13 stories of beings who dwell on the strange borders of reality. Some of these stories tell of people you know or of events that might happen - but haven't yet. Some will take you to the furthermost reaches of the sky and to planets whose names are unknown this side of Arcturus. And some - perhaps the richest and most memorable of these stories - open into the interior of strange minds to reveal the reflection of ourselves.

Everyone needs to be a hero at one point in their life. The small town of Elliot Lake will never be the same again. Caught in a sudden thunderstorm, Zoe, a high school senior from Elliot Lake, and five of her friends take shelter in an abandoned uranium mine. Over the next few days, Zoe's hearing sharpens drastically, beyond what any normal human being can detect. She tells her friends, only to learn that four others have an increased sense as well. Only Kieran, the new boy from Scotland, isn't affected.

This volume covers H.P. Lovecraft's "apprentice years" - roughly the first half of his literary career, the half written before his return to Providence in 1926. Every story written for publication under his own name is included in this volume, from 1917 through 1925.

It hasn't been the best week for Jessica McClain. Her newly found mate has been kidnapped by a Goddess hell-bent on revenge, and Jessica is positive she can save him. But being the only female werewolf in town comes with its own set of rules and powers...if only she understood them. Aided by two vamps, two loyal Pack members, and one very reluctant human, Jessica must rescue her man while coming to terms with what being a wolf really means.

Werewolves, vampires, witches, voodoo, Elvis - and weddings An "ordinary" wedding can get crazy enough, so can you imagine what happens when otherworldly creatures are involved? Nine of the hottest authors of paranormal fiction answer that question in this delightful collection of supernatural wedding stories.

Whether they are undeniably heroes and heroines or bloodthirsty monsters (or something in between), the undead are a lively lot. This anthology offers some of the best short fiction ever written by the "blood sisters" who know them best: stories you can really sink your teeth into.

Linx Maxwell is on the verge of greatness. She's finally graduated from street fairs and hopping chain link to making art that pays the bills. Her family life is...not dull. And it looks like her van might just be able to exist on hope and duct tape. If only she could get rid of the ghost who's plagued her since the eighth grade.

These stories provide you with an invitation to traverse the boundaries of the known and unknown, to question reality as you know it, and to confront your deepest fears and desires. With each tale, you are transported into a different world, a different time, a different reality. From historical mysteries steeped in the supernatural to thrilling tales of science fiction, the Anthology of Strange Stories is your passport to the unimaginable.

Short stories with bittersweet themes that suggest horror, despair, and uncomfortable emotions. Featuring: Essel Pratt, Catt Dahman, Mark Woods, Brian Woods, Tabitha Baumander, D. A. Roberts, Amanda Lyons, TL Decay, Sharon Higa (editor’s choice award), Dona Fox, Michael Kanuckel, Nick Hatfield, Sam Reese, Shaun Meeks, Edward P. Cardillo, Richard Ramsey, Roy C. Booth, Axel Kohagen, Christina Engela, Justin Hunter, and Kerry Lipp.

He has taken me away from everything that I know and love. I only have one choice: to do everything he says or my fate will be worse than death. What does he want? He wants to play a game. But I’m not the only one playing. There are others. Prettier, smarter, more charming than I am. But only one of us can be the winner. Only one of us can be his wife.

The lives of six female superheroes and the girlfriends of superheroes. A ferocious riff on women in superhero comics. From the New York Times best-selling author Catherynne Valente comes a series of linked stories from the points of view of the wives and girlfriends of superheroes, female heroes, and anyone who's ever been "refrigerated": comic book women who are killed, raped, brainwashed, driven mad, disabled, or had their powers taken so that a male superhero's storyline will progress.

"Dancers in the Dark" is set in the Sookieverse and features Sean and Layla. Dancer Layla Rue Le May's childhood prepared her to handle just about anything, including her aloof partner, Sean McClendon, a 300-year-old, redheaded vampire. Even so, when she somehow acquires a stalker, Layla Rue is surprised to find that Sean is the only one she can trust.

"The Deep End" by Robert McCammon: Everyone thinks the drowning death of Neil Calder in the local swimming pool was a tragic accident. Only his father knows better. Now, on the last night of summer, Neil returns in search of revenge.

This new collection of six eerie short stories (including one piece published for the first time) features tales of vampires and vampirism, plus a new foreword by the author. Several of the pieces are set in Andre Norton's "Witch World" universe, and two feature the main character from the author's vampire romance novel Those of my Blood.

Satirical stories exploring modern themes of technology and relationships. Internet lawlessness, smartphone love triangles, zombie video gamers, gender role ambivalence and the demise of television - these changes infuse our existence. Borrowing from science fiction, fantasy and magic realism, the collected stories of Not from Concentrate take these contemporary quandaries head-on!

By the light of day, the world seems pleasant and safe. We tell ourselves we are the top of the life chain, the ultimate evolved species. When the sun sets and menacing eyes open, the lie is over. Our laughable dominance over the earth fades behind the veil of night. Beneath quiet and gloomy skies, rotten fingers claw upward from the cold ground. Coffin lids squeal. The lunatics in dank cells cackle the hymns of hell. Torturous nightmares rage in innocent minds devouring hope and sanity.

New York Times best-selling author Angela Knight revisits the world of Guardian and genetically engineered Temporal Enforcers Dona and Alerio, who combine their talents - and fight their passions - as they investigate a time-travel murder spree. USA Today best-selling author Jennifer Ashley continues her Shifters Unbound series as Bear Shifter Cormac is determined to take single mom Nell as his mate, despite her objections - until her sons are endangered and she desperately needs help.

From Nebula Award winner Gregory Benford comes this ambitious hard SF anthology that collects five original novellas. Each one takes the very long view - all are set at least ten thousand years in the future. The authors take a rigorously scientific view of such grand panoramas, confronting the largest issues of cosmology, astronomy, evolution, and biology.

Women Destroy Science Fiction!, a special issue of Lightspeed magazine (winner of two Hugo Awards), is an all-science-fiction extravaganza, written and edited entirely by women.