Henry searches for new inspiration only to discover a trap waiting for him.Or is it?A childhood friend’s intriguing proposition leads him down a path of remembrance and discovery.

Is there a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Going to a parade? Cashing in your four-leaf clovers? A glass of green beer?How about a romantic dinner? A pulse pounding adventure?We're thrilled to bring you this anthology: A Gathering of Stories: St. Patrick's Day. Five St. Patrick's Day-themed stories by five gifted storytellers. Tales that will warm the cockles of your heart...and get it pounding....

10 Tales of Unlikely PartnersThe Odd Couple, Remington Steele, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Kirk and Spock, any couple in Friends or The Big Bang Theory or...Thrown together by chance, assignment, or circumstance. Driven apart by skills, personality, or they just don’t trust each other. Until their lives are on the line and their only options are to cooperate—or die.Partnerships from the too perfect couple to the new met stranger. And when you...

What do you see when the night sky fills with glowing lanterns?Do you make a wish as they drift away? Celebrate with family and friends? Watch the colors dance against the dark?How about a romantic spark beneath the lights? A heart-stopping adventure after dark?We’re delighted to bring you this anthology: A Gathering of Stories: Lantern Festival. Five festival-themed tales from five gifted storytellers—stories that will lift your s...

We love our toys. Modern-day worker bee or undercover criminal, every aspect of our lives teems with gadgets. Office, home, automobile, bicycle — even while doing the shopping or going for a walk.An autonomous-driving car or the fastest one on any road. A phone, smart glasses, or a dog clicker. An airboat or a bit of tomorrow’s tech.They all become a part of our daily lives. But what happens when they also put our lives on the line. Fourteen stories to make you wonder.

In this third Fiction River Special Edition, award-winning editor Kristine Kathryn Rusch proves a master of intrigue with a wide variety of spy stories. Ranging in tone from satire to serious, from touching to brutal, from light to oh-so-very-dark, these fifteen stories illuminate the secret world of espionage. Despite their different tones, different cultures, even different time periods, these diverse stories form a powerful anthology that reveals the world in all its messiness.“...

A howling ghost haunts a Wyoming small town tavern.Sassafras, a paranormal paralegal, arrives to evict the unwanted resident.She discovers the situation involves far more, including arranging conversations between a living human and the ghost.Can she find a way to mediate and resolve their issues?

Josie reacts quickly when she finds her husband, Hal, lying on the barn floor unconscious. But he is already gone.Still reeling from his death and the questions surrounding it, Josie must pick up the pieces for running the 1,000 acre elephant refuse.Questions arise concerning a possible rare virus or other reason for death and the refuge is closed, leaving Josie with few options to pursue the truth.Could the newest elephant, Ruan, be the key to answering her questions?...

Henry hunts among discarded metal pieces where he discovers an unfamiliar and nonhuman scent.Tracking that smell leads to an unexpected path and confrontation.Follow Henry as he investigates the mystery.

Fendra, a researcher for the Museum of the Universe- Mechanical, moonlights as an investigator of archaic mechanical devices.She’s tracking down the pieces of a strange device rumored to have far reaching consequences to planets.Word of her search and success attracts aliens trafficking in the dark market.Can Fendra find all the pieces before the other aliens and protect against those who would use the device for their own purposes?

Four original stories from the world of the Steampunk Seamstresses.A food shortage in the world after the wars. Can the seamstresses negotiate an exchange of magical sewing for seeds?An old grab-it machine, a broken down cowboy and something else. How will the seamstress obtain what she searches for?A broken down cowboy and a recovering woman meet on the road. Can they defeat the scavengers?The steampunk seamstress meets a sand genie with a child. The seamstres...

A failed vampire conversion procedure results in a lawsuit.An investigation ensues into what went wrong.Who can solve this?The paranormal paralegal travels to Transylvania, working with a vampire and werewolf to find out.