Whitstead, December 1844There has always been something a little otherworldly about the village of Whitstead; there are thin places, where the ordinary world touches on the realms of fairies, ghosts, and darkness. And this year, during the holy season of Christmas, various forces—dragons, demons, fae, dreams, and snow—act on the denizens of the town.A dryad is on a mission to free something trapped in a mirror. A little girl prays for a Christmas pudding. A blind peddler sing...

New York Times Bestselling AuthorGive the gift of STARDUST!Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie—where nothing not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.From the #1 New York Ti...

The astonishing and impressive first collection of short stories from New York Times bestselling author Neil GaimanAn elderly widow finds the Holy Grail beneath an old fur coat in a second-hand store . . .A stray cat fights and refights a nightly battle to protect his adoptive family from an unimagiable evil . . .A young couple receives a wedding gift that will reveal a chilling alternate history of their marriage . . .Beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks...

Mercedes Lackey's magical Elemental Masters series recasts familiar fairy tales in a richly-imagined alternate Victorian worldSusanne Whitestone, an Earth Master magician, had always lived in Whitestone Manor and liked nothing more than to keep the land itself and its animal inhabitants thriving. For the last eleven years, she has had a special teacher in the forest—a powerful fae known only as Robin. Susanne, at twenty-one, doubted any mortal Earth Master could fi...

A Whyborne & Griffin short story.Griffin Flaherty wants nothing more than to create a perfect Valentine’s Day for his lover, Dr. Percival Endicott Whyborne. Dinner at a fancy restaurant, an evening at the theater, and a romantic interlude at home should do the trick.But a new client with an urgent case puts Griffin’s plans in jeopardy. A magic talisman has been stolen, and if it isn’t returned by sundown, disaster will befall not only on the thief but the innocents...

Twenty curses, old and new, from bestselling fantasy authors such as Neil Gaiman, Christina Henry, M.R. Carey and Charlie Jane Anders.ALL THE BETTER TO READ YOU WITHIt's a prick of blood, the bite of an apple, the evil eye, a wedding ring or a pair of red shoes. Curses come in all shapes and sizes, and they can happen to anyone, not just those of us with unpopular stepparents...Here you'll find unique twists on curses, from fairy tale classics to br...

The first book in a new paranormal romance series by New York Times bestselling author Lynn Viehl. In the Provincial Union of Victoriana, a steampunk America that lost the Revolutionary War, Charmian “Kit” Kittredge makes her living investigating crimes of magic. While Kit tries to avoid the nobs of high society, she follows mysteries wherever they lead.In the Provincial Union of Victoriana, a steampunk America that lost the Revolutionary War, Char...

A rich anthology of short stories from the New York Times–bestselling author and legendary creator of the Witch World series.Each year, Garner's troupe makes its way to Ithkar Fair. The actors charm the crowd, winning applause and lavish reward, but none captures the audience's imagination like the yellow-eyed, silver-haired girl whose performance conceals pain that few can understand. She is a Quintka—her coloring makes that plain—and yet even Garner, who ...

A heartbreaking and daring love story that questions the nature of time, appearance, and reality, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less.We are each the love of someone's life.So begins The Confessions of Max Tivoli, Andrew Sean Greer's extraordinarily haunting novel. At his birth, Max's father declares him a "nisse," a creature of Danish myth, as his baby son has the external physical appearance of an old, dying creature. Max grows older l...

Gothic romance with a twist.Elements of The Sound of Music, The Enchanted Garden, Jane Eyre, and “true” ghost hunting shows make this story feel familiar. Gay love makes it unique.Seeing an ad for a position at a Yorkshire estate, typesetter Graham Cowrie decides to make an upward career move by passing himself off as a tutor. How hard can it be to teach a few subjects to a pair of nine-year-old boys? But on his arrival at the ancient house, he finds the staff creepy, the t...

Taken from A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS, this is the perfect short tale for the festive season.When the Emery family first moved into the village of Fairacre, the locals were not entirely sure what to make of them. With three children, and another on the way, Mrs Emery didn't exactly fit the villagers' idea of a perfect mother.On Christmas morning, with the sunshine catching the frost on the thatched roofs, there is an unexpected knock at the door of the cottage whe...

Everyone's favorite supernatural detective steps in to thwart unchivalrous deeds at a Renaissance fair in this perfectly irresistable gem of a novelAfter living in the small English village of Finch for eight years, Lori Shepherd longs for some excitement to spice up her all-too-familiar routine. So when a Renaissance festival complete with wizards, wenches, knights, and jesters sets up in town for the summer, Lori gets her wish-and more. She soon discovers a sinis...