A millionaire haunted by a demon consults a fortuneteller, a sideshow performer is captured in a horrible spell, a Hollywood producer cheats the wrong man, a cuckolded husband is invited to an odd dance and then there is that strange clown by the side of the road in Kansas... To many people, the experience of theatre is akin to the mystical experience of religion—the transformation of the human being into a deity—all occur as much with the smell of greasepaint in one's nostrils as with incense. This collection of stories runs the range from love stories to horror tales, from trickster demons to wizards who warp human form for their own purpose. And in each tale, the smell of greasepaint and the sulphurous odor of the other side combine to make a heady mix of fable, fantasy and fright....
Queen Morgana will not allow free passage between the realms of the Fae and of humans. Because of this, both realms are dying. The only bridge between the worlds is the place where dreams live in the daylight: Renaissance Faires! A group of humans stumbles through the portal: a cocky movie make-up man who hits on the wrong woman, a Vietnam vet whose nightmares make living a chore, a private detective on the strangest case of his career, a crippled cop and a burger store manager who loves to go LARPing. One of them has to show the Queen of the Fae what true love is or they will perish in the greater darkness that is growing day by day. Oh, and in the process, they have to try and figure out who the strange guy in the Viking helmet is and why he is giggling all the time...
Once the Fae and mortal worlds lived side by side, then Queen Morgana became unhappy with a mortal hero and closed the passage between the worlds. For many years the worlds of man and fae could be breached only in dreams or where dreams lived in the daylight: Renaissance Faires! Then the barriers were opened again and the two worlds became as one—that was when things got interesting! Now gods and ogres, jinn and demons cross into the world of mortal man with alarming regularity. In this brave new world, a farmer makes a wish and his deal with a Leprechaun is not what he bargained for; an Englishman attends a party and accepts a terrible gift; a Manhattan bar bouncer throws the wrong little folk out of his pub and an actuary falls in love with a beautiful jinn princess. Humans beware, when Renfairies attack, danger follows!
Join professional fight choreographer Teel James Glenn as he takes you on a journey through the process of creating believable and dramatic action scenes in every kind offiction. Using wit and personal experience, he dissects action scenes for the keys to what makes them work. Readers benefit from his combat experience, including eastern martial arts, the physiology and kinetics of weight training and the dramatic story telling from film and stage acting. From fantasy swordfights, barroom brawls, comic combat to martial arts knockabouts, he not only outlines and explains the whys and wherefores of literary violence, he also explores techniques that allow you to create them yourself with a series of fun and easy to do exercises. He takes the mystery out of writing action, but not the excitement!
In Stan Lee's The Devil's Quintet: The Armageddon Code, the world-famous architect of the Marvel Universe, teams up with New York Times bestselling author Jay Bonansinga to unleash a bold new superhero series on the world. A five-person special ops unit, composed of a diverse assortment of former Navy SEALS from all walks of life, are responding to a terrorist threat deep in the Caucasus Mountains when their mission goes south in a big way. Facing certain death and torture, they’re unexpectedly offered a Faustian bargain by the Devil himself, who grants them unearthly powers in order to send evildoers to Hell on his fiendish behalf. But “The Devil’s Quintet” do things their own way, fighting to protect America and the world, while trying their best not to let their hellish new abilities corrupt them beyond redemption . . . At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The charming sixth installment of the bestselling Aunt Dimity series. Watch out for Nancy Atherton's latest, Aunt Dimity and the King's Ransom, coming in July 2018 from Viking! With rain crashing down on her Range Rover, as it climbs up a steep embankment on the Northumberland moors, Lori Shepherd is beginning to doubt the wisdom of her decision to evaluate a rare book collection at Wyrdhurst Hall. The grim, neo-gothic hall that greets her upon arrival is full of surprises-including a charming, secretive stranger, and a cache of World War I letters that tell a tale of doomed love and hint at a hidden treasure. It will take all of Dimity's supernatural skills to help Lori solve the puzzle and restore peace to a family haunted by its tragic past.
A chance meeting brings old friends ... and new enemies in the steampunk Wild West ... Daisy Linden and her sister Frederica arrive by airship in Santa Fe, capital of the Texican Territories, determined to search for their missing father. But two surprises await them—the authorities’ baffling refusal to help, and a not-so-chance meeting with snake-oil salesman William Barnicott. To their joy, the Lindens find that their father has indeed been seen in Santa Fe. To their horror, it was an assignation with a cancan dancer in the dead of night. Now the dancer is missing—and their father could be a suspect. There is nothing for it—Daisy and Freddie must find the girl before the authorities do, for only she can tell them where he might be now. But there are forces arrayed against them in Santa Fe ... men in the shadows who have bet too much on a dancer’s disappearance to let two young ladies interfere and raise the stakes ... “Shelley Adina has brilliantly combined steampunk with the ‘clockwork cozy’ in this series in which a young painter solves mysteries. Best of all, the novels feature familiar characters I love from her bestselling Magnificent Devices series. I can’t wait for the next book!” —Nancy Warren, USA Today bestselling author of The Vampire Knitting Club The Dancer Wore Opera Rose is the second novel in the Mysterious Devices series set in the Magnificent Devices steampunk world. Though the books can be read as standalones, there are threads of romance and family running through them all. No strong language, just a very proper kiss or two and a satisfying solution. If you like books by Gail Carriger, Lindsay Buroker, or Nancy Warren, you’re in the right place. Enjoy!
In the twilight of the Gilded Age, a man accused of gruesome murders struggles to clear his name--and save his soul. The Kingdom of Bones is the haunting story of Tom Sayers, a former boxing champion who is wrongly accused of a series of grisly murders. As Sayers struggles for justice, he also must battle for the heart and soul of a theater troupe's leading lady, and to uncover the truth behind a legend as old as evil itself. Thrown into a maelstrom of obsession, betrayal, and sacrifice--where even the pure may not escape damnation--Sayers must face the implications of an unthinkable bargain: the exchange of a soul for a chance at eternal life. With action that spans continents, decades, and every level of society, this brilliantly macabre mystery is a modern psychological thriller.
