When her mother was in the hospital with terminal cancer, Simone had time to reminisce about her mother’s early life, as Simone and her sister, Poupette, prepared to face the decision of whether to prolong a life when it is full of suffering. Like most people, they believed that it would be better to die than to continue to suffer, but their mother had a very different view of the matter. Françoise de Beauvoir had finally found happiness in her life, and she truly believed she could find h...

Weird Tales magazine is known for launching a number of sub-genres of fiction—cosmic horror, swords & sorcery, dark fantasy, and others. It has also greatly added to existing genres like science fiction, horror, and—a personal favorite of editor Jonathan Maberry—weird mystery stories. Or, as they became known—occult detective tales. Here are all-original tales about people who peer into the shadows in order to solve a mystery. Sometimes successfully … and sometimes the darkness wi...

It’s kitten season in Cambridge, and the results can be murder.Becca Colwin is coming home from her job at Charm and Cherish when she sees a tortoiseshell kitten run down an alley—leading to a dead body.As a connection between Becca and that corpse is confirmed, Becca comes under suspicion—and is dragged into a cyberware scandal, thanks to her cheating ex, Jeff. The unfaithful computer geek and his high-powered investor were working on stealth software desi...

When a panicked stranger shows up at Charm and Cherish, Becca Colwin feels compelled to help. But when that stranger then disappears, leaving behind her heirloom violin, the aspiring witch detective is drawn further into a web of deceit and intrigue complicated by a history only her three magical cats truly understand.

Becca, newly single and newly unemployed, wants to believe she has psychic powers. With nothing but time—and a desire for empowerment—she's studying to become a witch. What she doesn't know is that her three cats—Harriet, Laurel, and Clara—are the ones with the real power. And when Harriet, ""a cream-colored longhair with more fur than commonsense,"" conjures a pillow for her own comfort, Becca believes her spells are finally working. Could that be why Trent, the coven's devilishly handsom...

When two new clients seek Becca’s professional services, the fledgling witch detective is overjoyed. Finally, she can use her skills to help her magical community. But as the young witch finds the new cases intertwining, things grow more complicated. Becca’s three cats—the ones with the real power—can smell something is wrong with these clients. But not even Clara, the calico, knows what to do when a man ends up dead and a powerful and poisonous root appears—and disappears—in the case. To ...

This volume integrates a conceptual framework with participatory methodologies to understand the complexities of dryland socio-ecological systems, and to address challenges and opportunities for stewardship of future drylands and climate change in the global south. Through several case studies, the book offers a transdisciplinary and participatory approach to understand the complexity of socio-ecological systems, to co-produce accurate resource management plans for sustained stewardship, a...