It's time to turn the "man and his dog wandering through a dystopian world” trope on its head, and tell the stories about cats and their women - their badass women!Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse wanders through broken worlds with stories of survival, technology, magic, and sheer determination. But – like their cats – the authors frequently slipped out the upstairs window or knocked things off of countertops, and their stories are stronger for it.In these pages, cats help thei...

Webster defines "obsession" as an "a persistent disturbing abnormal preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling."Obsessions sometimes include a hobby or collection that has gotten out of hand. Other times an obsession can drive a person to invent something new, cure a disease or attempt to right a great wrong. And at other times, obsessing can send a person down a dark and disturbing path.Obsessions can be healthy; can be born out of love and t...

Water has always intrigued humanity. We walk along the shores and banks of oceans and waterways, take boats across the surface, or swim in the waters.But water hides secrets - including those of the creatures that live in its depths...- What if mermaids really do exist, and they lure men to their deaths?- Why might bodies suddenly start washing up on shores all around the world?- What if you discovered a lost girl is the daughter of a water spirit?This...

Our world is full of wonders - if only you know how to lookThat background hum might not be the midnight traffic; it could be the echo of a whispered incantation. Step into a concrete jungle where alleyways shift course, online maps fail, and ancient runes hide in UV-reactive street art. From the quiet, agonizing personal choices of individuals protecting the people they love to the fate of entire hidden communities, the characters in these fifteen urban fantasy stories face the sa...

Hide in plain sight: that’s master thief Misha Kif’s strategy for survival. Keeping her true identity as a genetically altered Synth secret with a bounty on her head from everyone in the Hundred Worlds except her partner in life and partner in crime, Jerrold McKell. After all, what’s life but risk, right?Smuggler-thief Jerrold McKell knew how to work alone. And then Misha Kif entered his life and turned it upside down. But when th...

Magic. It hides under our unsuspecting noses, and swirls all around us.In STREET MAGIC, fifteen urban fantasy authors invite you to walk with one foot in the mundane world, and one in... another world.And if what you see there seems a little out of the ordinary, it's probably magic.Contains stories by Meyari McFarland, Mike Jack Stoumbos, Douglas Smith, J.L. Madore, Travis Heermann, Jessica Guernsey, Jena Rey, Taylen Carver, Tina Back, C.E. Barnes, Leigh Saunders, S...

For centuries, the weather witches have ruled Nizam, protecting the oasis city from the devastating sandstorms that threaten its existence.But the aging queen is dying, and Yolara, the heir to the throne, does not possess the gift of weather magic found only in her family line. Hers is the power over stone, the ability to command the shifting sands - but not the winds that drive them across the desert.Will those who question Yolara's right to rule be proven right? Or can Yo...

Dangerous spirits lurk in the woodsA bargain can bind a soulEnchanted sleep can only be broken by true love’s kiss…You know these things are true…even in this modern world. Your heart still recognizes the power and mystery you can only find in a fairy tale.In Beauty and Wickedness, sixteen authors retell and reimagine some of the most enchanting fairy tales ever told. Within these pages, you’ll find beauty and treachery, magic and courage, innocence and wick...

Win in the EndA Fundraising AnthologyOnce upon a time, an inkling of writers got together to tell stories and raise funds to help one of their own. These are those stories, and all funds raised through retail outlets go directly to Annmarie SanSevero.34 tales from 34 authors. Some new. Some award winners. All inspiring. All for Annmarie.You've got this, Annmarie. You're going to Win in the End.Edited by Leslie BridgwaterExecutive Editor Sam K...

Having very little brain can be a blessing. Or a curse!The Hundred Acre Wood has been part of the consciousness of the world for a very long time. For most of the history of the world, it existed on the fringes of awareness, just there, in the corner of your eye. In the early days of the Twentieth Century, a well-meaning fellow by the name of Alan Milne recorded some of the adventures of the denizens of that fell place, though he did brighten the real stories a bit...

Tour guide, emissary, diplomat, thief -- and a long-lived, genetically engineered Synth -- Brianna Rei travels the Hundred Worlds, hiding in plain sight. She knows her survival depends on staying one step ahead of the bounty hunters who have nearly exterminated her kind.All that changes when she teams up with fellow-thief, Jerrold McKell, and he discovers her true identity. Now Brianna must choose between trust and survival, and what it means to be truly human.

An unexpected demand by the powerful Rhysa throws fragile treaty negotiations into a turmoil. Tasked with brokering an interspecies marriage of alliance between humans and Rhysians, Earth's negotiation team finds themselves caught in an interstellar re-enactment of Beauty and the Beast - one demanding personal sacrifices to ensure peace, and where no one will be magically transformed in the end.(a novelette by Leigh Saunders, Writers of the Future contest Finalist)