The new Captain America has a big shield to carry. Is he up to the task? Find out in these subversive, exciting and uplifting short stories inspired by the Marvel comic book universe, written by celebrated Black authors.The new Captain America has a heavy shield to hold. As a black man in America, Sam Wilson knows he has to be twice as good to get half as much credit. He must be a paragon of virtue for a nation that has mixed feelings towards him. In these thirteen...

Go ahead, give it a try. Even drawing the simplest things can help relieve stress and make a bad day better. Don't be afraid of making mistakes, because there are no mistakes in art.In this book, you'll learn how to draw people (their faces, their anatomy in full body, and poses), animals (lions), landscapes (flowers, stars), and miscellaneous objects (such as a vase and house).You'll also receive many tips on perspective, depth, lighting, and drawing in general. Using step...

Nominated for the 2017 Anthony Award for Best Anthology/CollectionBestselling novelists David Morrell, Alison Gaylin and Elaine Viets headline a new anthology of 22 tales exploring the unique aura of mystery of New Orleans and the surrounding bayou country.BLOOD ON THE BAYOU is published in conjunction with Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, which is being held in New Orleans in 2016. As with the convention itself, the anthology spreads a broad canop...

With the clock ticking, the story jumps off in the border town of Tijuana, Mexico. A smooth cat who labels himself an expeditor must survive a gauntlet of hitters and freaks to deliver his client alive to their destination. She's a high maintenance drug queen who's made a deal with the top cop in California's state capitol, Sacramento. By all means of transportation and dodging devastation, and busting some heads themselves, the two make their way north while behind-the-scenes machinations...

“[A] rich and varied anthology…” —Publishers Weekly, Starred ReviewJanet Hutchings, Chris Grabenstein, Gary Phillips, and Hilary Davidson headline a new world tour anthology of 22 stories from the heartland of America to Italy, Japan, Mexico, Cuba, England, and more.Passport to Murder is published in conjunction with Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, held in 2017 in Toronto, Ontario. As with the convention itself, the anthology spreads a broad cano...

A wide range of bestselling and acclaimed writers—from masters of noir to literary lights—explore the milieu of drug culture in this "eye-opening series" ( New York Journal of Books).From Lee Child to William T. Vollmann, Joyce Carol Oates to Sherman Alexie, Eric Bogosian to actor James Franco, many of the finest contemporary writers of fiction weigh in on the lure and destruction of drug use, society's ambiguous relationship to drug culture, and criminal ...

Since 2005, Murder & Mayhem in Muskego has welcomed and hosted over 150 authors a thousands of fans of crime fiction to the Milwaukee area. Just in time for the 8th annual benefit, a short story anthology featuring bestselling, Edgar and Shamus award-winning writers who have attended the day-long convention has been created. The collection is edited by Jon and Ruth Jordan.Contributors include: Megan Abbott, Dana Cameron, Reed Farrel Coleman, Hilary Davidson, Sean Doolittle, J.M. Ed...

Aspiring chef Hannah Wendt has a multitude of talents-- prowess in the kitchen and in the bedroom-- but also a penchant for disposing of bothersome chefs. Wronged by those who steal her recipes, ridicule her weight, and denigrate her talents, Hannah has turned in her apron as sous chef and food stylist to plow new territory-- her overpowering hunger for revenge. Hooked on how tasty payback can be, soon she is bumping off famous chefs who've burned her ego with spectacular culinary flair.

You may be disturbed—or possibly titillated—to discover what can happen once you cross the Orange Curtain . . ."'There's a dark side to most places,' even California's sunny Orange County, Edgar-winner T. Jefferson Parker observes in his foreword to this outstanding entry in Akashic's noir series, one of the stronger of the all-original anthologies. The crisp, often seductive prose of the 14 contributors, most of them relatively unknown, is a tribute to th...

The Akashic Noir Series' forensic study of Southern California sharpens its focus on one of Los Angeles's most recognized neighborhoods."If you're of a certain age, your perception of South Los Angeles might have been formed by riots and rappers. Or maybe you know it through television . . . But Gary Phillips, who grew up there, has a more historically complex point of view . . . For Phillips and the 13 other writers who contributed to his just-published a...

A professional thief takes the chance of a lifetime when he agrees to mastermind the raid of a tech billionaire’s secret bunker in this action-packed heist thriller set in the heart of contemporary Los Angeles, from master of West Coast noir Gary Phillips. Perfect for fans of Sara Paretsky and Michael Connelly.After years of close calls, O’Conner—the former “Warlord of Willow Ridge”—spends most of his time in semi-retirement, running his legitimate businesses and p...

In the wake of the Rodney King riots, Ivan Monk investigates a cold murder.Just a few months ago, the corner of Florence and Normandie avenues was an inferno. Enraged by the jury that freed Rodney King's brutalizers, people took to the streets of Los Angeles to vent their anger on the city. For three days they smashed, looted, and burned, until South Central L.A. looked like Sarajevo. Now the city is trying to rebuild, and private eye Ivan Monk has come to watch th...