One morning, gentle Maylak wakes up and feels a sense of oncoming dread. As the tribe's healer, it is her job to ensure that everyone is safe, happy, and healthy...and they are. So what can be threatening her people?  This is a short story set in the ICE PLANET BARBARIANS series and does not stand alone. It should be read after BARBARIAN'S TOUCH and is a little bit of sweetness and family life for those waiting for the next release. Read more

A husband’s obsessive desire for a child leads to an unexpected manifestation of his yearning in a nightmarish short story about fatherhood dreams by New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill.Willy and Marianne’s farmhouse in Maine has acres of meadow and fresh air, and a lonesome bridle path in the forest along which Willy daydreams and ambles. When he’s loaned a decrepit old baby stroller to cart his groceries home, the rickety squeak of the wheels comforts him. So do the sweet coos of a baby Willy knows can’t be real. Can it? In this twisted thicket, wishes come true—with a price.Joe Hill’s The Pram is part of Creature Feature, a collection of devilishly creepy stories that tingle the spine and twist the mind. They can be read or listened to in one petrifying sitting. Read more

Nature or nurture? Neither. Discover a bold new way to raise a child in this unsettling story of the near future by the New York Times bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow.When Sam’s wife first tells him about Vitek, a twenty-first-century fertility lab, he sees it as the natural next step in trying to help their future child get a “leg up” in a competitive world. But the more Sam considers the lives that his child could lead, the more he begins to question his own relationships and the choices he has made in his life.Amor Towles’s You Have Arrived at Your Destination is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.Audible narration by David Harbour (Stranger Things) Read more

You must negotiate return of dragon wing. Penalty levied against party members. Piemu unleashed. Accept quest? (YES) (no)Tan: How is this harder than the pirates?Devan: I’m looking at the reason.Tan: Uncalled for. True, but still uncalled for. Tags:Academic types are stingy, demonic chickens, strange version of Whac-A-Mole, Niran acquires apprentices, Fa comes to play too, candy tastes best after murder, basically the corruption is spreading Read more

On the eve of Earth’s destruction, a young scientist discovers something too precious to lose, in a story of cataclysm and hope by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Divergent trilogy.It’s only two weeks before an asteroid turns home to dust. Though most of Earth has already been evacuated, it’s Samantha’s job to catalog plant samples for the survivors’ unknowable journey beyond. Preparing to stay behind and watch the world end, she makes a final human connection.As certain doom hurtles nearer, the unexpected and beautiful potential for the future begins to flower.Veronica Roth’s Ark is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.Audible narration by Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld) Read more

**This is Robert's story before he became the Robert you know in the Forty Proof Series.**In 1876, we were called to Savannah, Georgia to help with an infestation of demons. If we'd known what we, my wife Evangeline, and I, were walking into, we'd have run the other way.As it was, we shared tea with a vampire and stepped into a battle we did not understand until it was too late.On the night we arrived, Evangeline went missing, taken from our room.Now, in a strange city, filled with demons, and monsters, I must find her before those monsters make her one of their own.The only question that remains is one for you, dear reader.Are you brave enough to come with me on this journey, my friend? It is not for the weak of heart, but for those who believe that love is always strong enough...and that a kind soul or two can make all the difference in your life as you face the darkness.**You can read this novella WITHOUT having read any of the other books in the Forty Proof Series. Robert's story continues in Midlife Bounty Hunter** Read more

Do you wish to deploy the necromancer to fight? (YES) (no)Niran: The leg bone’s connected to the ~ leg bone. The leg bone’s connected to the ~ Tan: Sword hilt~ the sword hilt’s connected to the bad guy~ hear the voice of the Steve~!Steve: My boooOOOOoooone!Tags:Necromancers, fight!, it’s Niran’s time to shine, lawless city is our friend, onsen nookie, Steve makes a bad alarm clock, look at me, I’m the captain now, stinky city, Sword of the Sea makes an appearance, Steve needs his fainting couch to clutch his pearls upon, ragdoll Steve Read more

Some chilling campfire tales ring too true to ignore. For one young woman, an urban legend calls her into the woods in a spine-tingling short story by the bestselling author of Bird Box.The dense Michigan forest. Haunting wails. The clip-clop of demon hooves on a bridge to nowhere. It’s more than a tall tale to Brenda Jennings, whose sister disappeared in those woods one fateful night. Three years later, on a solo stakeout in the dark, Brenda goes in after her. She’s desperate for answers, and terrified to find what lies waiting on the other side of that bridge.Josh Malerman’s It Waits in the Woods is part of Creature Feature, a collection of devilishly creepy stories that tingle the spine and twist the mind. They can be read or listened to in one petrifying sitting. Read more

A revolutionary experiment in space opens a woman’s eyes to the meaning of solitude in a thought-provoking short story by New York Times bestselling, award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor.Tornado Onwubiko is one of seven people on Earth paired with sentient ships to explore and research the cosmos for twenty million euros. A decade of solitary life for a lifetime of wealth. Five years into the ten-year mission of total isolation comes a consolation: a temporary meetup among fellow travelers. A lot can happen in a week. For Tornado, who left a normal life behind, a little company can be life-changing.Nnedi Okorafor’s Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach is part of The Far Reaches, a collection of science-fiction stories that stretch the imagination and open the heart. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Read more

An intergalactic luxury cruise to a distant port is a world unto itself in this piercing short mystery by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth.Traveling faster than light, the transport ship Redundancy is cut off from communication as effectively as an ancient ocean liner. The isolation suits crew member Ace Vance just fine—she’s got nowhere else to be. But when a wealthy passenger turns up dead during a routine voyage, Ace will have to connect with the passengers and crew to uncover the truth. Tragedy will strike again—it’s only a matter of time.Veronica Roth’s Void is part of The Far Reaches, a collection of science-fiction stories that stretch the imagination and open the heart. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Read more

For a family trying to make an isolated farmhouse into a home, fear and rage are getting harder to control in a primal short story by the New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network and Cutting Teeth.The Strauss family is on knife’s edge. Sam is a resentful stay-at-home dad. Rachel feels the restlessness in her blood returning. Their children are getting out of hand. And a recent mudslide has forced the wolves out of the woods to look for food. As dusk falls and tensions rise, the family must come together to survive the night—from the threats outside and those within.Chandler Baker’s Big Bad is part of Creature Feature, a collection of devilishly creepy stories that tingle the spine and twist the mind. They can be read or listened to in one petrifying sitting. Read more

Dragon wing located on pirate ship! Board ship? (YES) (NO?!)Devan: I feel like this is a bad idea.Tan: Those are the best kind!Tags:Steve’s been gagged, Tan’s a dramatic bat, Devan adopts pirates, the crack ship armada is literally sailing, Lesia is adopted by pirates, stickers are fish food, Tan’s volunteered Devan to officiate over weddings Read more

Ribs located! Penalty activated if you refuse. Proceed with quest? (YES) (no)Devan: But the ribs are in the middle of a barbarian village.Tan: Historically speaking, fireball would fix–Niran: Charred bone. No. Devan: Time to do this the hard way. Tags: BoooOOOooones, trekking through barbarian lands to find dragon bones is not as fun as it sounds, they marrowly escape, yes all the bad bone puns, Niran can’t help himself, dragon ribs are big, Niran has more bones in his workshop than a collector, whole story is just mindless violence and fluff, and fireballs Read more

Sentient dragon skull acquired! Do you wish to find rest of body? (yes) (no)Tan: Yes!Devan: No, but why?Tan: We get half of his hoard~ Devan: We leave tomorrow. Tags:Tan’s field trips go awry, no one is surprised, only he can find a sentient dragon skull in a church’s basement, Quest time!, Wells gets stuck babysitting, again, Niran’s more excited than anyone else, except maybe the apprentices, gold is a great motivator, all the bone puns Read more

A single warship against a pirate fleet?Most captains would call that insane. But when a routine patrol of a border system reveals six pirate ships attacking a mining colony, Captain Brad Mendoza, Commander Katherine Henderson, and the crew of HMS Lancer will do whatever it takes to save the day!Join Brad, Kat, and their crew as they take on their riskiest mission yet in this action-packed short story from the universe of the fan-favorite series, Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes. You'll be on the edge of your seat as they take their single battlecruiser against an entire pirate fleet and show them what it means to attack His Majesty's Navy.This thrilling short story combines military science fiction with space opera, sci-fi adventure, and a touch of humor. It can be read independently of the other books in the series. Order and read today! Read more

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye comes a riveting short story about an impossible connection across two centuries that could make the difference between peace or war.Yorkshire, 1943. Lily Baines, a bright young debutante increasingly ground down by an endless war, has traded in her white gloves for a set of headphones. It’s her job to intercept enemy naval communications and send them to Bletchley Park for decryption.One night, she picks up a transmission that isn’t code at all—it’s a cry for help.An American ship is taking heavy fire in the North Atlantic—but no one else has reported an attack, and the information relayed by the young US officer, Matt Jackson, seems all wrong. The contact that Lily has made on the other end of the radio channel says it’s…2023.Across an eighty-year gap, Lily and Matt must find a way to help each other: Matt to convince her that the war she’s fighting can still be won, and Lily to help him stave off the war to come. As their connection grows stronger, they both know there’s no telling when time will run out on their inexplicable link. Read more

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I am a bashful, dorky human woman -- your average refugee on Risda III. Haina is tall, blue, and magnificent. She is effortlessly confident, and her laugh is contagious. I might hide behind the candle section at the store in Risda's port just to get a weekly glimpse at her when she makes her vendor runs. I might be in love with her from afar. Someday I'll get the courage to talk to her. Someday.But fate steps in, and 'someday' turns out to be a lot sooner than I expected.(This is a wlw short story that was previously published in the Pride Not Prejudice anthology.) Read more

This is a 12,000 word short story featuring Yute and Wentworth from THE BOOK THAT WOULDN'T BURN.It can be read as a standalone or between books 1 and 2 of The Library Trilogy.Yute and Wentworth investigate a strange connection between several bookshops. Read more