Cucurbital 3 continues the series of of anthologies that provide a peek into the writing process itself. Authors are always asked two questions: "where do you get the idea for your story?" and "how do you go from idea to finished work?" This series offers insight into the second question by handing the book's authors the answer to the first one. Here are nine short stories that began with the same three prompts: MADNESS, DARKNESS, MATTRESS...

Darkness surrounds us.We can find darkness anywhere: in a strange green stone etched with mysterious symbols; at a small town's annual picnic; in a ghostly house that is easy to enter but not so easy to leave; behind the dumpster in the alley where a harpy lives; in The Nowhere, a place where car keys, toys, people disappear to; among Polar explorers; and, most definitely, within ourselves. Darkness flies from mysterious crates; surrounds children whose nightlights have vanished; a...

A brand new e-only standalone story from New York Times bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow.When the world falls apart, Lydia knows all you need is a gun and a dog. Unfortunately, she's going to find out that's not quite enough. . .

Set in modern-day Charleston. When a prominent man and his wife die suddenly, a cursed gift appears to be the culprit. Cassidy, Teag and Sorren must hunt a supernatural killer before it strikes again.This series of adventures spans over 500 years, from the 1500s to modern day as a small cabal of vampires and their human helpers battle supernatural enemies to find and destroy dangerous magical items and keep the world safe from dark forces.

Macabre meetings, sinister excursions, and deadly relationships; uncanny encounters; a classic ghost story featuring an American god; a historical murderer revived in a frightening new iteration; innovative Lovecraftian turns; shadowy fairy tales and weird myths; strange children, the unexpected, the supernatural, the surreal, and the all-too real . . . tales of the dark. Such stories have always fascinated us, and modern authors carry on the disquieting traditions of the past while invent...

**The eagerly awaited follow-up anthology to award-winning Firebirds: an anthology of original science fiction and fantasy stories.“A gorgeous and rich collection.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review“A truly irresistible book, with highly memorable stories (and at least a few future award-winners, I’d bet) . . . not just for YA fans, but for short fiction fans in general.”—Realms of Fantasy**What you hold in your hands is more than a book. It i...

The fourth volume of the annual Unidentified Funny Objects series features the theme of dark humor.What happens when you ask some of the genre's masters to interpret this theme? The enclosed twenty-three darkly humorous tales range from black comedy to biting satire to morbid irony and everything in between.Inside this book you'll find Faustian bargains gone awry, time-traveling ghosts, flawed supervillains, talking hamsters, and much more.Featuring stories by:

LIGHTSPEED is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF--and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales.This month, we have original science fiction by Jessica Barber ("Coma Kings") and Carrie Vaughn ("Harry and Marlowe and the Intrigues at the Aetherian Exhibition"), alon...

Mary Paige is a seventeen-year-old genius. Her photographic memory has made her smarter than anyone else, and more alone and lonely too. Her parents do not understand her. Her peers reject her.But her life changes during her senior year of high school. Mary Paige changes schools and it changes her life. Now she attends a special academy of the arts in a quiet mountain village, Idyllville.Little does anyone know, Idyllville is also the home of The Blood Vivicanti.Mar...

Hired to redecorate the Skeffield country home, Louie is both attracted to Robert Skeffield and abashed by him in equal measures. Louie, who favors bright clothing and has never been called butch in his life, has little in common with gorgeous, masculine, and closeted army officer Robert. But not everything is as it appears, at Skeffield Manor or in their hearts…Takes place after "Wes and Kit"This story contains some minor steampunk elements, magical elements, ...

Set many years after the zombie apocalypse, Hell Comes for the Hurried follows a group of weary survivors in their trek north and quickly takes a turn for the worse. Some things are worse than death; guilt and cowardice chief among them.