Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #33.I think you’ll find this issue particularly interesting. Darrell Schweitzer’s historic interview with C.J. Cherryh from 1978 is fascinating, since she talks about her writing process. (If you aren’t familiar with her work, you’ve missed some of the best science fiction of the last 50 years.). For mystery lovers, we have great tales from Greg Herren (courtesy of editor Barb Goffman) and Patricia Dusenbury (courtesy of editor Michael Bracken),...

Dragons have inflamed our hearts and imagination for centuries, making them some of our most enduring heroes and villains. Who hasn’t dreamed of finding a dragon’s hoard and matching wits with the fantastical creature with everything on the line? These seventeen stories will delight and entertain you for hours. Included in this anthology are Nisi Shawl, Edith Nesbit, Naomi Kritzer, Rebecca Mcfarland Kyle, Sylvia Spruck Wrigley, Kenneth Grahame, Sarina Dorie, Misty Massey, John Teehan, Gerr...

Vonda N. McIntyre preferred to keep her author's biography short and sweet: "Vonda N. McIntyre writes science fiction." While true, this modest claim conceals accomplishments that earned her multiple accolades and an enduring place among the most influential fantasy and science fiction writers of the 20th and 21st centuries.Even more important to the authors of this tribute anthology, McIntyre was a kind and generous supporter of other writers. In Bright Morning, eleven career writ...

A petty king sits on the throne of a peaceful nation while wizards and lords play politics. But evil grows restless, and dangerous rumblings threaten the easy prosperity.The dragons are waking. All of them."From all directions, in the darkness, a great terror approaches this world. I mean to fight the terror, Daven, and I would make a weapon of you."Daven Carrickson grew up as a beggar in the filthy alleys beneath the shadows of the palace....

Fans of the New York Times bestselling Wings of Fire series won't want to miss this all-new story set in the dangerous and thrilling world of dragons!Before the brightest night, the NightWings were plotting . . . Deathbringer is ready to be the next assassin for the NightWings. If he can just convince them to send him along on one mission with his mother, Quickstrike, he'll prove that he can help the NightWings decide who wins the war between the dragon tribes of Pyrrhia. ...

The Bear Prince (and other fantasy folktales) is a collection of three folktales from a fictional universe. When small magics are real, what stories do parents tell their children at night? What tales do storytellers spin, so their listeners will toss them a few coins? Come, and find out...In "The Bear Prince," being kind-hearted brings rewards, but being sensible brings greater ones. "The Princess and the Sheep's Wool" implies the priorities of royalty, when magic potions are a re...

You think you know the story of Sleeping Beauty, but the real story is far more spellbinding…Gorse is the thirteenth and youngest in a family of fairies tied to the evil king’s land and made to do his bidding. When accident-prone Gorse falls ill just as the family is bid to bless the new princess, a fairytale starts to unfold. Sick as she is, Gorse races to the castle with the last piece of magic the family has left—a piece of the Thread of Life. But that is when accident,...

Bouncey the Elf wakes up to a strange sight outside his bedroom window. He agrees to go on a dangerous journey to Mirror Lake, near the Barren Mountains. He also has to avoid the Goblins, if he is to be successful

At the beginning of time, in the land we now know as the Great Lakes, there once lived a funny group of magical fairies. Trapped in a treasure chest for many years, the fairies escape when an unsuspecting pirate opens the lid. Each chapter follows one fairy as she flies out of the chest and explores her new home. Under the watchful eye of their guardian, see how the fairies bring their magic back to the Jeweled Garden. The Northern Fairies is the first book in The Northern World series by Mel...

Have you ever wondered where the Easter Bunny comes from? How old he is? And how he happened to become a talking rabbit with a fondness for chocolate eggs? Gather around, children, and I shall tell you the legend of Peter Cottontail…AUTHOR’S NOTE:  I figured that there was one thing missing from usual Easter stories, and that was a large army of baby-eating goblins. This is a holiday story in the tradition of Tolkien’s Letters From Father Christmas. Younger children enjoy hearing i...

Now that the war has ended, three soldiers make a pact to meet again in two years. One has lost a foot, one has lost a hand, and one hears voices in his head. Will they keep their promise to meet? Will their plans for the future work out as they hope? Find out what lies ahead for these soldier friends.