After Effects is a collection of twenty-seven short stories that dig into the downfall of a person, community, or society as a whole; and what the after effects of that ruin entail.Some are humorous, some are touching, but all make us pause and reflect.

The first of seven pairs of short stories by Matthew Jankiewicz. The first short story, "Dandelions", is akin to the style of magical realism, a genre popularized by Gabriel García Márquez, Haruki Murakami, and Alice Hoffman. The second short story, "Newton's Shop of Magical & Aesthetically Pleasing Artifacts", is a blend of fantasy, comedy, and horror with a plot as intriguing as its title.

It's 2 AM. She leaves work and begins the long drive home, exhausted after another twelve-hour shift. Suddenly a tire explodes on a desolate stretch of highway, leaving her stranded at the side of the road. With no jack and no cell phone reception, her only option is to wait in the car…and depend on the kindness of strangers.

ITS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT...For decades, the apocalypse and its aftermath have yielded some of the most exciting short stories of all time. From David Brin's seminal The Postman to Hugh Howey's Deep Blood Kettle and Tananarive Due's prescient Patient Zero, the end of the world continues to thrill.This companion volume to the critically acclaimed WASTELANDS offers thirty of the finest examples of post-apocalyptic short fiction, with works by:Ann Aguirre

“Drawing upon the same New England landscape and family as his Pulitzer Prize-winning debut Tinkers, Harding deftly captures loss and its consequences in this gorgeous and haunting follow-up. . . . The phenomenal prose on which Harding has staked his name comes out authentically, especially in the book’s darkest and most introspective moments. . . . [Harding is] a contemporary master and one of our most important writers.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Hardi...

Nightmares come in many forms. Some rend the veil of sleep with heart-stopping madness. Others defy sanity to leave a helpless corner of your mind twitching for release. Sometimes, hours after waking, a nightmare drifts across your memory, tainting your day with wisps of discomfort. NIGHTMARES UNHINGED reveals horror in all its mutable forms—abject to absurd—through twenty tales of terror.Contributors include Mario Acevedo, Edward Bryant, Dustin Carpenter, Sean Eads, Keith Ferrell,...

Playfulness, spare elegance, and wit epitomize the poetry of Billy Collins.With his distinct voice and accessible language, America’s two-term Poet Laureate has opened the door to poetry for countless people for whom it might otherwise remain closed.Like the present book’s title, Collins’s poems are filled with mischief, humor, and irony, “Poetry speaks to all people, it is said, but here I would like to address / only those in my own time zone”–but also with quiet observation, int...

Whether featuring tattooed demon hunters, angst-y vampires, supernatural gumshoes, or pixelated pixies, Urban Fantasy mashes up old-school tales with pop culture, creating iconic characters, diverging moralities, and complex settings. Urban fantasy is finally showcased in this star-studded collection, representing all three of its distinct styles, including the playful new mythologies of Charles de Lint, the sexy paranormal romances of Patricia Briggs, and the gritty urban noir of...

Imagine driving home alone at night. You roll your window down, stop at a red light, and fiddle with the radio.Then you die.That's just the beginning of award-winning writer Annie Reed's story THEY LIE, the harrowing tale of one young woman's savage death and rebirth as a vampire."The appearance of a new Annie Reed story is a treat. Try one and you'll be hooked." -- Dave Hendrickson, author of CRACKING THE ICE, forthcoming from WestSide Press"A friend recomm...

Unlucky thieves invade a house where Home Alone seems like a playground romp. An antique bookseller and a mob enforcer join forces to retrieve the Atlas of Hell. Postapocalyptic survivors cannot decide which is worse: demon women haunting the skies or maddened extremists patrolling the earth.In this chilling twenty-first-century companion to the cult classic Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror, Ellen Datlow again proves herself the most masterful editor of the ...

This is my humorous story of Bigfoot and how I found out first hand long ago while I was on a camping trip up in Maine that the creatures do in fact exist. I was threatened and held against my will for over three long years. Finally one hot summer day I was fortunately lucky enough to find an opportunity to escape from their clutches. My life since then has never been the same and never will be again

Everyone loves their grandma but these three are just a little...different. They have certain skills in war and strategy developed over forty years through military training and discipline. They are the definition of "never judge a book by its cover." They now work as contractors for the extra money. Follow the hapless Clem as he is hired to drive the three on their latest mission of destruction.