Ricky Belisle is a boy born to first-generation Americans who have migrated north to farm and hold land that cannot be taken away from them. They bring with them the beliefs, manners and stories of the homeland that they have not occupied and in so doing they create a disconnect in Ricky that forces him to begin the exploration that will eventually take him away from the land that has leached into his bones, that has given him the foundation for how he sees the world.Marie Jeanne C...

The Wounded find Ricky Belisle and Marie-Jeanne Charbonneau have left their remote Lake Superior village, a world circumscribed by Life Magazine and the Saturday Evening Post, the radio, stories told around a kitchen table during winter storms, and such news as an occasional visitor might bring from the city.Marie-Jeanne, younger by months than Ricky, wiser by years, understood that two created such meaning as vague words––love, respect, sharing, kindness––conveyed through...

Twenty-five high-octane stories from the hottest thriller authors in one anthology, edited by #1 New York Times –bestselling author Lee Child.Lee Child and the International Thriller Writers, Inc. present an anthology of remarkable stories in First Thrills. Showcasing many of the organization's bestselling authors as well as rising stars in the genre, here are twenty-five brand-new, never-before published, storie...

Noseholes and elephants! A pet-eating monster interrupts a perfect playdate with Princess Sneezewort. . . . But who is that new masked avenger?Princess Magnolia and Princess Sneezewort have plans . . . mysterious plans, like a princess playdate! They dress-up slam! They karaoke jam! But then a shout from outside Princess Sneezewort's castle interrupts their fun. It’s a monster! This is a job for the Princess in Black. Yet when the Princess in Black gets there, she ...

Bird and Squirrel embark on one last adventure -- and this time, Red and Birdie come along, too!When best friends Bird and Squirrel find a treasure map, adventure calls once again. Squirrel is worried about the dangers ahead, but this time, Red and Birdie aren't going to miss out on the fun.The foursome's path is full of kooky clues, wacky weather, and creepy creatures. What sort of treasure is at the end of their journey? And can Bird work up the courage t...

“If this is your first taste of Howard, I envy you.”—From the Introduction by George R.R. MartinAcclaimed cult author Waldrop's stories are sophisticated, magical recombinations of the stuff our pop-culture dreams are made of. Open this book and encounter jazz singers, robotic cartoon ducks, nosferatu, angry gorillas, and, of course, the dodo.The first paperback (and twentieth anniversary) edition of a landmark debut collection. Waldrop’s capacious, encyclopedic knowledge o...

With characters ranging from the desperate to the obsessive to the wildly comic, Mark Anthony Jarman's 19 Knives employs dazzling linguistic verve and staggering metaphoric powers in every sentence. But Jarman doesn't just write about people, he puts us in their skin so that we feel their frailty and courage. No other contemporary Canadian short-story writer slices up the imaginative excitement, cultural hybridity, and Joycean play of language we see in 19 Knives. With one of the stories s...

From one of the most ferociously brilliant and distinctive young voices in literary nonfiction: a debut shot through with violence, comedy, and feverish intensity that takes us on an odyssey into an American netherworld, exposing a raw personal journey along the way.Locked in battle with both his adult appetites and his most private childhood demons, Kent Russell hungers for immersive experience and revelation, and his essays take us to society’s ragged edges, the junctures between...

George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards rampage through unrecorded history! Mike Mignola's Hellboy battles the fiendish Nuckelavee! Can Camille Alexa's Pinktastic prevent the end of the world? Will Jonathan Lethem's Dystopianist cause the end of the world?In these pages, you'll find the exploits, machinations, and epic mêlées of these superpowered aliens, undead crusaders, costumed crime fighters, unholy cabals, Amazon warriors, demon hunters, cyberpunk luchadores, nefarious megalomaniacs...

From Derringer Award winner BV Lawson comes four short tales of mirth, murder and mayhem:A shopping mall Christmas elf with revenge on his mind;A young man whose day goes from bad to worse when his car is rear-ended by the mayor's wife, and police find a skeleton in his trunk;A private eye's blackmail case that takes him to a costume party and too many Abraham Lincolns;And little Sammy Spade wreaking havoc at summer camp.

Jake Morgan loves Las Vegas. He’s a 33-year-old ex-cop from Boston who will wager on anything — as long as his money holds out. Having run into trouble in Beantown, for the past year he’s been eking out a living as a blackjack dealer at the posh Oasis Hotel & Casino. Christian Valentine, the star attraction of The Sultan’s Tent, tells Jake that he’s being blackmailed; because of his star status, he doesn’t want the police involved. He knows Jake’s history, and he wants his private help. Ja...