fantasy

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Summary: The focus of the Heiresses of Russ series, a tribute to iconic author Joanna Russ, was lesbian speculative fiction in short story form, and its mission was to highlight the breadth and quality of what had been published during the past year. There was so much excellent work, in fact, that a single anthology couldn’t possibly contain it all, in so many styles, voices and far reaches of creative minds that the true uniting themes of our book turned out to be variety, and a breaking down of limitations and expectations. The writers in this book portray being lesbian as a vital component of their protagonists, but not to the exclusion of all the variation possible for any characters in speculative fiction. Their plots may or may not hinge on the lesbian factor, but they are also about much more, with the unrestricted inventiveness and well-crafted prose of all good work in the genre.   From Lethe Press A Lambda Literary Award Finalist

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Summary: This is not Shakespeare's Oberon and Titania. And Lydia has no desire to be their chosen one. Welcome to the subtle war between overt and covert magic, where every choice has consequences. THE BETWEEN, Changeling's Choice book 1: a modern take on the myths of Faerie. High school senior, Lydia Hawthorne, is less than grateful when Oberon has her snatched from the mortal world and she finds out she's actually Fae. And not just any Fae, but a trueborn with enough inherent magic to tip the balance between Oberon and Titania's warring Bright and Shadow courts. But that's their game and she doesn't want to play by their rules. Together with Clive Barrow, a Bright Court Fae with embarrassing family ties to the mortal world, Lydia fights to regain her old life, fueling her magic with the very human power of love and loss, challenging the essential nature of Faerie itself.

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Summary: Filter House is a collection of short fiction by Nisi Shawl, with an introduction by Eileen Gunn (author of Stable Strategies). The collection's fourteen tales offer a haunting montage that works its magic subtly on the reader's subconscious. As Karen Joy Fowler says, "This lovely collection will take you, like a magic carpet, to some strange and wonderful places."

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Summary: Tristan has agreed to bond with Ushna, but there is still much to do. Returning to Tribe Enkidu puts everyone on edge, and Tristan is being stalked like prey. It doesn't help that he fights depression as he mourns the loss of Nikita, or that claiming his birthright becomes a battle of wills with the Elder Council. The pleading of his adoptive daughter only adds to the oppressive feeling.   Stumbling onto a secret prison while searching for Ushna leads Tristan to risk everything to free a lost God. But breaking the bond to his Twin Flame all those years ago has more repercussions than Tristan knew, and the assistance of a forgotten Goddess and a centuries-old lover may not be enough to save him.     Surrounded by Crimson is the 4th book in the Sumeria's Sons series and features a poly (M/M/M) relationship that includes male pregnancy (mpreg). This book was previously released by another publisher and has been re-edited.   Surrounded by Crimson is the 4th book in the Sumeria's Sons series and features a poly (M/M/M) relationship and includes male pregnancy (mpreg).

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Summary: She lost a war… Ravel, a captain in her father’s cavalry unit, alone survived the defeat of her prince and country at the end of a civil war. Now, she is a fugitive without a home. He won a kingdom… Prince Glea returned after forty years lost at sea. Still youthful as the day he sailed, he could not explain how he gained immortality. When his doubting brothers called him a pretender, he waged a civil war to reclaim his royal birthright in blood. Now, he must deal with the aftermath. One chases the sky… A nobleman scholar avoided the civil war to embark on a solitary quest. Lord Torval must elude his pursuers long enough to find what he seeks. More innocent lives are at stake than anyone knows, and only he holds the key to their survival.

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Summary: Ash, an orphaned peasant boy, survived an unnatural plague at a copper mine with help from a mystic healer. He was adopted by a noble house and educated as a gentleman—a house where every male heir in the bloodline is burdened by a debilitating curse. Years later, the long-lost Prince Glea returned after forty years gone at sea. Still youthful as the day he sailed, he could not explain how he gained immortality. When his doubting brothers called him a pretender, he waged a civil war to reclaim his royal birthright. Ash, as a grown man, takes up arms on behalf of his adopted household to support restoring Prince Glea to the throne. But in the aftermath of battle, he discovers an ancient secret that reveals the truth of his childhood trauma. Now, he must choose to make a sacrifice to save his prince and every living thing in the world.

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Summary: Collected here are 35 short vampire tales by David Lee Summers and Lee Clark Zumpe. You'll find humor, horror, and history, loss, love, and legends, sex, seduction, and surprises. Many are good tales for couples to share. You'll find vignettes such as "Jornada del Muerto,""On the Ramjet," "Nosferatu Watches Dracula on the Lateshow," "Until Tonight,""The Poet," and "Ostrava, 1995." These particular pieces first ran in the magazine Blood Samples between 2001 and 2003. You'll also find longer works here including "Dragon Reborn" which is an excerpt from Dragon's Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order Vampires that tells the origin of Lord Draco from Vampires of the Scarlet Order and Lee Clark Zumpe's story "Becalmed". The collection features a cover by Laura Givens and interior illustrations by Marge Simon. Blood Sampler is a must-read, even if you don't care for the usual suckers.

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Summary: Master of his destiny, terror of the Caribbean, the pirate known as the Black Angel is also elegant, charming, and seductive. En route to Jamaica to bring her brother news of their father's death, Lady Rosalind Hanshaw is captured by the Black Angel, a legendary French pirate who targets English shipping. TOrn between her loyalty to her homeland and her growing attraction to the one man she should hate above all others, Rosalind must decide whether the Black Angel is nothing more than a despicable pirate or if he holds the key to both her heart and her future.

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Summary: Runa, alone, survives the massacre. But a traitorous mage has captured her king’s essence—his vital energy, linked to a long line of wolf-shifter rulers. Unless Runa can recover that power by dawn, the mage will command not only her, but also her kindred. Yet Runa is the weakest of the pack. Her quest will fail unless she finds help, and the dark winter woods is deserted but for a small dog and a young soldier.  Prince Paolo is eager for adventure and stirred to action by Runa’s ordeal. As they learn to respect each other’s unique skills, attraction blossoms. But the mage is a trusted figure from Paolo’s past. And he’s filled his lair with marvelous steam-powered machinery and ambitious plans for the prince’s future. Paolo can’t help but have second thoughts about Runa’s story and must choose between his promise to Runa and the life he’d hardly dared to envision. Can Runa recover the king’s essence and protect her kindred?  The answers lie in the wolf’s very heart.

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Summary: Each unique short story in this supernatural anthology will transport you to a magical interpretation of romance as authors bring to life, uncommon love affairs and out of the ordinary long distance relationships. Escape into the realms of eroticism, fan fiction fables, intergalactic intimacies, lunar love, mythical fantasy, and past lives revisited. Is it fate, is it destiny or is it one of those defining moments where the universe comes to a screeching halt as an epic love appears?

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Summary: If ultimate power corrupts, how does one learn to be incorruptible? I’m Aliyah Morgenstern. All of my life, I grew up on tales of my great-grandfather’s magic bringing light and healing to the world. Then, I bonded with my dragonet Ember on my sixteenth birthday, which means I’ll be scary powerful someday. There’s one problem. Mom’s kept secrets that everyone at my new school seems to know. Turns out, I’ve got an infamously criminal uncle and now everyone’s waiting for me to do something evil. After my first horrible day at school I’m convinced I’m going to do something evil. My biggest challenge this year isn’t history, math, Gym, or even the dreaded Magiscience Lab. No, it’s keeping a devastating secret from almost everyone, including my own family. I’m an extramagus. Is evil really my destiny, or can I fight it somehow?

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Summary: At Providence Paranormal College, class is about to start. Who’s enrolled? Students who are a bit different: vampires, werewolves, changelings, shifters, psychics, and magi. For one-hundred years, the college has taught and trained only psychics or magi, and for the first time, it’s opening the doors to those not different: regular humans. At this Ivy-League school, the students are expected to learn their powers and keep high grades. Unfortunately, grades are slipping, but that’s what happens when a mysterious villain is hunting you down… Because someone is angry about this new admissions policy and they'll kill to stop integration. To defeat this rising evil, the students must band together and master their strange powers – because if they don’t.. Well, it’s pretty hard to graduate when you’re dead.

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Summary: The Education Continues at Providence Paranormal College! Five more books, no waiting. Read. Laugh. Catch a case of the feels. Book 6: Roundtable Redcap: Can Fred rescue his brother from the Fae Queen with just reluctant Psychic Irina to help? Book 7: Better Off Undead: Lane and his vampire punk band Night Creatures are broke and broken. Can they pick up their pieces and shine in a Battle of the Bands? Book 8: Ghost of a Chance: Ghostly Horace and his Medium, Bianca, must solve a mystery to save Professor Watkins. Book 9: Nine Lives: It's time for Olivia Adler to trust her instincts or Tony Gitano just might die for good. Book 10: Fae of Fae Knot: The family that's Fae together can't stay together. The series concludes as they bend the tantamount Faerie Law to its breaking point.

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Summary: In one night, change comes with the strike of a match as Leo Riley loses everything. Giacomo Bianco's hitmen burned his home to the ground with his family inside. Leo will pay any price for his revenge. He will need power. Oguina, the mythical woman turned monster, can give it to him. But at what cost? Bianco gazes into an abyss that stares back. His fall to madness is a one-way trip Leo aims to stop at all costs before Bianco kills again. In his quest for vengeance, Leo teeters over that same cliff. Monster and Mafioso fight for dominance over Fall River's streets. Bianco’s got more up his sleeve than anyone suspects, including the means to make his power absolute. Even new powers and strange allies might not be enough to ensure Leo’s victory. Who is the real monster? Bianco, Oguina, or Leo himself?

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Summary: Mobsters, Monsters, and Magic. It's 1929 at the height of Prohibition in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Bill Chiavo and his twin sister Millie are learning Wisdom, the family magic. Wise families should take care of their own but when the stock market crashes, their Irish Uncle Finn hoards his visions. He reaps the rewards and the Chiavos head to the poor house. Now the twins are on the outs while their uncle's got the money, the power, and the connections to take over. Bill and Millie need allies and the mob-run Supper Club just might have the muscle they need. Millie wants them to skip town but Bill refuses to leave his family or friends at Finn's mercy. The twins will need to wise up if they are to thwart their uncle's conquest. But how do you defy a man who sees the future? The Wise and crime families clash in this small town for big stakes. But who will claim the prize?

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Summary: Life sucks and then you die. Sort of. Valentino Crispo loves Mom’s Italian cooking, sun on the beach, and working for the Cranston Police Department. He loses it all after getting vamped. Now, he’s the noobiest vampire in Providence. This collection includes the complete four-book Supernatural Vigilante Society at a great price! Be Counted When a hitwoman apparently shoots Valentino Crispo's dad and one of Cranston’s Finest on the same night, Tino stops letting vampirism bite him. He’ll mix supernatural and PD skills to solve the crime. But he hasn’t got the hang of being a vampire yet. The mystery of whodunit and why is tied up with Tino’s own turning. The Providence vampire elders hate nosy vamps almost as much as new ones. Will Valentino stand up and be counted or add to the body count? Body Count Valentino Crispo’s just started sinking his fangs into unlife as a vampire. He’s got a decent start in his new PI business, too. Cases walk through the door and he solves them with a little help from his paranormal pals and the vigilante hobby they’ve got on the side. Wash, rinse, repeat. But there’s big trouble in the little Ocean State. Powerful nouns in the supernatural community are going missing. These people, places, and things threaten to leave a power vacuum in their absence. Tino and his gang don’t like the crew likely to step in and fill it, either. It gets personal when an old enemy shows up, asking the Supernatural Vigilante Society to help hide a tween psychic who knows too much about what’s fishy in Providence. Are Tino and his friends in too deep this time? Can they stop the body count from rising or will they go out with the tide? Counting Costs There’s no fortune in favors owed. After saving a king but losing a kingdom, Tino’s up to his fangs in debt. But he doesn’t owe money. A vampire’s word is his bond. When a rival, a witch, and a hunter all call in their markers at the same time, Tino’s suddenly got a metric ton promises to keep. To keep his vows, Providence’s newest vampire must find missing memories, adopt an orphan, and cure a comatose fiance. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. The Mafia’s standing in his way at every turn. And the holes in his own recall are a total roadblock. Meeting obligations is impossible if they’re forgotten. Can Tino pay his debts without cashing in his unlife? Counting Stars Undead stars still burn. Still adjusting to recent changes, Tino Crispo, vampire PI, saddles himself with a new case. An ailing friend charges him with investigating a series of mysterious assaults. Rhode Island’s youngest vampire has to balance his work life and new domestic responsibilities. With his extended supernatural family counting on him, he’ll need help. Which is in short supply. Tino’s biggest advantage is his circle of friends. But the threads he follows in this case seem connected to some of his closest allies. Who can he trust?

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Summary: Eclectic, imaginative, and unexpected, Community of Magic Pens features forty genre-spanning flash and short stories--including fantasy, humor, science fiction, romance, historical fiction, satire, and mystery--bringing together a rich group of diverse voices from a wide range of backgrounds and intersections. Fountain pens, markers and ink, charcoals, spy pens, a braille writer, a printing press, virtual reality, and a supernatural pizza: whether revealing unspoken truths, fighting injustice, or finding friendship and love, our pens have power. Join us as a recent graduate of superhero school struggles to understand her gift, a disabled android interviews for a job, a queen’s conscripted artist must pull reality from illustrations on parchment, and a grandmother’s secret room is…better kept a secret. Tales of struggle and triumph, compassion and hope: Community of Magic Pens is a celebration of our shared story.

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Summary: Brother and sister team Midnight and Aurora Pendragon have a successful airship business taking clients on trips to be photographed with their pet pterodactyl. The last thing they expect is to have one such trip hijacked by the dashing adventurer Voltaire Crevin and his right-hand man Trevilian Hawke. While his sister and Voltaire repeatedly lock horns, Midnight finds himself increasingly drawn to Trevilian. Finally, Voltaire explains they are trying to prevent a weapon of mass destruction from falling into the hands of a ruthless, secret organization, the S.O.R. With Midnight's help, they take the airship down into an extinct volcano to find that not only does Atlantis still exist, but the weapon is in the hands of the few remaining Atlanteans. But if Voltaire had believed the S.O.R. were ruthless, it's nothing compared to that of the Atlanteans who seek to return to the surface and rule the world using their ultimate weapon: The Leviathan. Midnight's feelings for Trevilian deepen as they seek a way to stop the Atlanteans and escape from Atlantis. Danger comes in many ways and takes many forms, each more deadly than the last. Can Midnight and Trevilian survive long enough to know whether love never dies?

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Summary: For six lifelong friends, it was supposed to just be a simple game night. But when they break out a new, classic high-fantasy style game—half tabletop RPG, half dungeon-crawling board game, simultaneously familiar and unexplored—for a test run, they find themselves transported into the game’s setting, living the lives of their made-up characters, where the dangers, and the monsters, are deadly serious. Left with little choice but to jump headlong into their roles, Cordelia, Morgan, Jack, Eriko, Tamsin, and Tobias will have to become the heroes they were just pretending to be to stop a nightmare creature’s reign of terror… or find out if life and death in this fictional setting is as real as it seems. Ranger and cleric, barbarian and thief, bard and magician: they'll have to combine all of their new-found abilities to stop a creeping evil and to survive in this strange new world.

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Summary: After a few weeks trapped inside a cursed tabletop role-playing game, the players--Eriko the rogue, Morgan the cleric, Tamsin the mage, Cordelia the barbarian, Jack the ranger, and Tobias the bard--have become fixtures in the fictional town of Moderate Expectations, doing things adventures do. Whether it's slaying ogres or saving children from actual bogeymen, the adventurers are learning their roles and becoming weirdly comfortable with the concept of being heroes locked in a game world. But when a terrifying threat bubbles up out of a broken mine shaft and threatens their starting zone and adopted home, the gang will need to go on a real dungeon crawl into the subterranean world below, where they'll learn just how dangerous this imaginary world is to them and how high the stakes can be for the people who live here. It's time for the Dungeon Crawlers to level up, face down their greatest challenge yet, and find out just how big the world they've found themselves trapped in really is... and how long it's been holding players like them prisoners. So grab your gear, check your spell list, and make sure you've got plenty of torches--it's time to go spelunking, RPG-style.