Urban Short Stories

Charlie Rhodes grew up wondering why she was given up for adoption, convinced it had something to do with the magic she could call upon in an instant. It was that magic that had her delving into the paranormal. Now she’s part of the premiere monster-hunting group in the land. She’s hiding in the one place they’re looking for her…and the family she’s been longing for her entire life is about to resurface. Buckle up and enjoy the ride, because Charlie Rhodes is finally going to discover the truth.

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, a wish-granting spirit rapidly approaches burnout. Meanwhile, a banished fairy answers a Craigslist ad, a Victorian orphan navigates an occult situationship, and a multiverse assassin contemplates the one who got away. With both iconic fan-favorite stories and entirely original pieces, Januaries features modified fairy tales, contemporary heists, absurdist poetry, and at least one set of actual wedding vows. Escape the slow trudge of mortality by diving into these enchanting new worlds with a master of imagination.

In an ancient Japan where the incursions of gods, ghosts, and demons into the living world is an everyday event, an impoverished nobleman named Yamada no Goji makes his living as a demon hunter for hire. With the occasional assistance of the reprobate exorcist Kenji, whatever the difficulty - ogres, demons, fox-spirits - for a price Yamada will do what needs to be done, even and especially if the solution to the problem isn’t as simple as the edge of a sword.

Ever since her dad disappeared five years ago, Persephone has quietly walled off the feelings she’d rather not feel. There’s no room for pain or anger when you’re just trying to get through the hell that is high school. But one day, the crush of taunts and disappointments is finally too much—and a power breaks loose inside her that she never knew was there.

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.

Revisiting the paranormal realms they've made famous in their wildly popular fiction, New York Times best-selling authors Kim Harrison, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, and Jocelynn Drake—plus New York Times best-selling young-adult author Melissa Marr, with her first adult supernatural thriller—unleash their full arsenal of dark talents, plunging us into the shadows where the supernatural stalk the unsuspecting... and every soul is a target.

The Fogg River Seminary, a girls’ school in a small Illinois town, is supposed to be just another stop on Maryse and Vasyl’s endless travels. They’ve made lucrative use of Maryse’s “foreign” looks in their melodramatic séance act—and an act is all it is. Then, during their performance, a blizzard sweeps in and cuts them off from town completely. In the freezing halls, there’s a voice speaking the secrets of the dead, and Maryse has no choice but to listen…because this time, the voice is real.

Before writing the Conan stories, Robert E. Howard wrote an alternate history of the world that included the origins of the various races and countries that formed the background of his most famous heroic character. This history shows where the Cimmerians originated and the tribes they fought to establish their kingdom. How did the backward skin-wearing Picts overrun an empire? The answers are here. Fans of the Conan stories will enjoy this grand view of the history of the Hyborian Age.

Based on Japanese literature and foldlore, Kwaidan contains 17 stories. The story of Loichi, the blind biwa player who was called to perform for the dead; of Muso, the journeying priest who encountered a man eating goblin; of the samurai who outwitted the ghost of a dead man. All these plus 14 other spooly tales are included in this collection.

Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, was an Irish writer known also by the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo. His book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, comprises two parts, the first being the "Kwaidan Proper" and the second, "Insect-Studies", which consists of an essay each on ants, butterflies and mosquitos. According to the author, most of the folk tales and ghost stories in the first part were translated from old Japanese texts. The themes encompass resurrection, sacrifice, magic, and the realm of dreams.

Three suburban friends had normal and routine lives. The one thing they had to look forward to each week was their wine night. This all changed when one of the women decided to shake things up and brought a mysterious book of spells and magic to their wine night. She had a terrible, wonderful confession. She had been using magic to improve her life and it was working. Now she wanted to share this gift with her two best friends. It seemed harmless enough at the time and when their wishes started to come true, the three friends didn't see the harm in trying more and more dangerous spells.

The Ultimate Ghost Stories Collection is a fully indexed collection of classic ghost stories, read by three Audie-winning narrators. Included here are stories by Henry James, M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Edith Wharton and Washington Irving.

Fantasy fans rejoice! Seven years after writer and editor Robert Silverberg made publishing history with Legends, the acclaimed anthology of original short novels by some of the greatest writers in fantasy fiction, the long-awaited second volume is here.

The Fixer-Upper Cathy’s new home is handsomely furnished - by an amorous male ghost. If only she had something she could…touch. Paradise Bossed While traveling in the Cayman Islands, Nikki loses her life in a tragic accident, but has no intention of cutting her vacation short. Driftwood A Cape Cod werewolf agonizes over the death of a woman by his own paw. Well, to be fair, he never really killed her. She’s a vampire. Witch Way For centuries their families have been embroiled in a violent, irreversible feud. Today, can a witch and a witch-hunter find common ground?

Many a confident urban lesbian in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago was once a wide-eyed newcomer. Every year thousands of young women arrive in these queer-friendly cities, seduced by downtown life and its erotic possibilities. In Where the Girls Are, D.L. King collects explicit memoirs and stories about these newly arrived country girls. Here are stories of first times, initiations, bars, dance clubs, and parties, reading (or misreading) the codes - and sometimes teaching those city girls a thing or two in the process.

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.

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.

The reenactment of the iconic battle of the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, is in its second day, and the paramedics at Aid Station Three have seen their share of cuts and scrapes and heat exhaustion. With 20 minutes until the start of the next battle scenario, Eric, the senior EMT, sends the minor injury cases on their way. Suddenly, a cannon shot booms, followed by more in quick succession, followed by thunder. Has the battle started early? Strangely, it sounds more like the sounds of battle are coming from the actual site of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Everyone loves a well-catered event, and the supernatural community is no exception. Enter Sin du Jour, the expert caterers to demons, goblins, faeries, and everything in between. In their first month on the job, Lena Tarr and Darren Vargas, the newest line chefs at the supernatural catering agency, have had to approximate angel meat, evade amorous lizards, and provide craft sacrifices for a Hollywood debut. Their coworkers have contended with zombified clowns, fought off the Easter Bunny's hit squad, and captured a golden fish for a goblin royal wedding.

In Trio of Sorcery, Mercedes Lackey presents three exciting short urban fantasy novels, including the return of Diana Tregarde and the debut of a brand-new heroine for the twenty-first century.