Laws change from culture to culture, decade to decade. Strange laws make criminals of ordinary citizens. Like the Massachusetts woman whose brother asks her for help, slave hunters at his heels. Or the little Irish girl who needs to protect a priest from a different kind of hunter. Or the Native American detective searching New York’s Stonewall Bar for a ratfink on the night of a world-changing riot. These stories and more prove that once again, Fiction River’s crime volumes have, in the w...

Fear. The word alone evokes a powerful response. And in Feel the Fear, editor Mark Leslie takes readers on a haunting tour of the many ways fear presents itself. From genuine horror stories filled with frightening monsters to the real-life horror of losing a loved one to the terrifying idea of losing one’s own mind, these tales run not only the genre gamut but also the emotional gamut. With each fearful twist, the sixteen talented writers in this volume prove why ...

Read a holiday story per day from the end of November to January first...or binge the entire collection.This volume contains 37 stories—ranging in genre from mystery to fantasy to romance—that center around traditional holidays such as Christmas and New Year's but also fictional holidays like Hogswatch. Featuring works from award-winning and bestselling authors Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith, Anthea Lawson and many more, each story comes presented as it first appeared in...

Cats find themselves in all sorts of situations, sometimes comic, sometimes scary, sometimes just plain headshaking. In fact, for some reason, cats tend to draw crazy situations to themselves like the old cliché, moths to a flame.But nothing attracts cats like a good mystery, particularly of the cozy kind. Cats love crime; they love to solve crimes, to observe humans trying to solve crimes, and occasionally even to commit crimes, because, you know—cats.The felines in this v...

Springtime. A time for new love, new romance, and discovering that special someone who just might change your life in the best possible way.Romance for All Seasons is proud to present a stellar lineup of stories of sweet springtime romance sure to leave you with that wonderful ah! feeling romance readers live for! Fall in love with these all too human heroines and heroes as they meet cute, meet silly, and meet again during that magical time of year when the world shakes of...

Justice comes in many forms. And the wide variety of stories presented in this latest volume of Fiction River make that case. Of the fifteen powerful stories in this volume, some will twist your heart, others will pound you in the gut, and still others will make you feel like the world has meaning. From a man avenging a wrongful conviction, to heroic women fighting to reclaim their homeland, to kids trying to find justice in the chaotic world of adults, this volume will prove one ...

The passage from real life to an imagined, magical one has fulfilled a childish yearning for many a young person, particularly those who grew up in less than desirable circumstances. Writer and editor Dayle A. Dermatis tapped into that yearning to bring together this collection of stories that take their characters through portals to fantastical worlds—although sometimes the new worlds prove more problematic than the old ones. Still, for anyone who sees herself as the hero of her own story...

Venture forth into the delightful adventures of ghosts and elves and imps and more found in the magical worlds of Fantastic Christmas.Enjoy sweets for the sweet romantics, charming ghosts and imps to capture the imagination, and stories both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.From Nordic sprites who long for the porridge and butter and sugar from the hands of their human neighbors to a man desperate to be with his dying wife on their own special holiday, the st...

In A Cat of a Different Color, the first volume of WMG's The Year of the Cat series, editors Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch worked to find stories that featured cats that were just a little surprising (an impressive feat for cats, anyone would have to admit).Just a little weird. A little different.Which makes these stories amazingly fun to read. After all, for cat people, reading about cats equals the fun of being with one.Almost. Just don't t...

Read a holiday story per day from the end of November to January first...or binge the entire collection.This volume contains 37 stories—ranging in genre from mystery to fantasy to romance—that center around traditional holidays such as Christmas and New Year's but also fictional holidays like Hogswatch. Featuring works from award-winning and bestselling authors Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith, Anthea Lawson and many more, each story comes presented as it first appeared in...

Venture forth into the delightful adventures of ghosts and elves and imps and more found in the magical worlds of Fantastic Christmas.Enjoy sweets for the sweet romantics, charming ghosts and imps to capture the imagination, and stories both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.From Nordic sprites who long for the porridge and butter and sugar from the hands of their human neighbors to a man desperate to be with his dying wife on their own special holiday, the st...

History offers many heroic tales of final battles. And in Last Stand, sixteen courageous authors offer their take on the topic. From a heartwarming tale of not-so-friendly business competition to a battle of the gods—sort of—for the fate of the world to a tale of looking for love in all the wrong places. These inventive stories make Last Stand one of the most creative—and memorable—Fiction River volumes yet.“Editor Dean Wesley Smith has compiled an outstanding volume ... I highly r...