Showing results by narrator "Chelsea Stephens" in All Categories

In Caitlín R. Kiernan’s The Ammonite Violin & Others, one of contemporary dark fantasy’s most bewitching and distinctive voices is back with another banquet of the weird and unexpected. Within this book, you’ll discover a dazzling suite of stories situated on the borderlands between the unspeakable and the erotic, the grotesque and the sublime.

Since Donald Trump's first day in office, a large and energetic grassroots "Resistance" has taken to the streets to protest his administration's plans for the United States. American Resistance traces activists from the streets back to the communities and congressional districts around the country where they live, work, and vote. Using innovative survey data and interviews with key players, Dana R. Fisher analyzes how Resistance groups have channeled outrage into activism, using distributed organizing to make activism possible by anyone from anywhere.

Matt and Natalia can’t catch a break. All they want to do is chase bounties, get paid, and live their lives in peace. If only life in the Big Easy was that simple. Everywhere they turn, something or someone is hell-bent on interfering with their plans. Winston Blackwell’s plotting against Matt and Natalia turns dark when he hatches a scheme to remove Matt from the equation and leave Natalia vulnerable. Will Matt prevail, or will Winston claim his ultimate prize?

It’s the summer of 1989 and Beatrice and Henrietta Volt are coming of age on remote Fowler Island, their ancestral home and wild playground. Thicker than thieves, the sisters plot their futures, having no idea that their parents are separating. Or that the plan is to separate them. Ten years pass before Henrie gets a desperate call from her sister―their father has died suddenly and B.B. needs her to come back to the island for the funeral. But Henrie doesn’t want to go back. She’s barely put the island and all those rumors about missing women behind her.

Seventeen-year-old film noir fan Neve Lanier is a girl who just wants to be seen, but doesn't really fit in anywhere. When Neve is betrayed by her best friend, Yasmin, at the end of the school year, she heads off to a girl's empowerment camp feeling like no one will ever love her again. So when she grabs the attention of the beautiful, charismatic Diane, she falls right under her spell, and may accidentally promise to murder Diane's predatory step-brother, Javier, in exchange for Diane murdering Yasmin. But that was just a joke…right? Wrong.

Zoe Hallett and her sister, Ava, are the precocious offspring of two pioneering scientists, but the sisters have been estranged for years. When Zoe reads a news story about Ava's mysterious disappearance, she assumes it's just another of her sister's twisted fictions, designed to blame Zoe and destroy the peaceful life she's created with her husband and beautiful stepdaughter in Houston. But Zoe's email is hacked to send threatening messages to Ava - and a more sinister picture begins to emerge.

After killing the first of five on his list, Finn Miles is on the trail of his next victim. After changing his name, identity, and appearance, he arrives in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where his second victim resides. Indiana Thomas was one of the members of the Fab 5, a group that tortured Finn in high school and led to some horrific, life-changing events. Now, though, he's determined to make all five pay—and it's Indiana's turn. As he works to blend in and carry out his sinister plan, however, it becomes apparent that someone else is lurking nearby with dark intentions.

The fantastic has always been at the edges of Heather O’Neill’s work.In Daydreams of Angels, O’Neill’s first collection of short stories, she gives free rein to her imaginative gifts. In “Swan Lake for Beginners”, generations of Nureyev clones live out their lives in a grand Soviet experiment. In “The Holy Dove Parade”, a teenage cult follower writes a letter to explain the motivation behind her crime. And in another tale, a grandmother reveals where babies come from: the beach, where young mothers-to-be hunt for infants in the surf.

Gem's life has gone from bad to worse faster than her secret demon baby can say "baby daddy". What started as a crappy job and a possible killer to bring to justice has become a full-blown conspiracy from hell. Literally. Demons are being summoned into New Orleans and Gem is sure there's a Nephilim behind it. Now, all she has to do is prove it. Oh yeah, and not get herself killed in the process. Too bad for Gem, everyone has secrets, including her. And when the powers-that-be find out what she's capable of, they'll stop at nothing to silence her once and for all.

As the web of deceit and lies widens, Karian Vanador must try to find allies - however unlikely - to combat the enemies of the Demonhunter Order. Effectively forced into a visit to the volatile King S'Bakthra, Kari must try to match wits with a being over 12,000 years old. Can she turn an enemy into an unwitting ally, without having the same done to her? This is to say nothing of Kari's testing to become her deity's avatar. An age-old enemy comes back into Kari's life, forcing her to walk away from an ailing husband and young children to see to her god's wishes.

Vampire Alexis Black is on a mission - to rejoin the human race. Coerced into signing an ironclad contract by an angel-with-attitude, Alexis must hunt down and assassinate at least one vampire, werewolf, or creepy crawly every night for 50 years to become human again. Too bad the contract didn’t mention the badass vampire who now rides shotgun in her brain, insatiable bloodlust, or her new I-hate-everything-with-fangs sidekick. If she can fulfill her end of the bargain, her humanity is restored, if not she will be destroyed.

After barely escaping an attempt on her life, veteran demon hunter Karian Vanador must root out infiltrators within her own order. At the same time, she is presented with a unique opportunity: Infiltrate the very realm of the demon kings to bring back a possible defector. With a family to consider and the risk of inciting a war between two worlds, Kari must decide: Is the life of a Syrinthian priestess worth the risk?

With so much changing so fast-accelerated by the impacts of COVID-19, the most in-demand jobs and skills of today may be obsolete by the time our youngest become adults. For kids to be ready for this new reality, they must acquire four critical "currencies" that will serve them well: credentials, competencies, connections, and cash. Author Stephanie Malia Krauss lays out what adults can do to get young people ready for the future.

The one constant in Jules’ life is family—the plentiful Martin clan. Domestic terrorism brought the Martins together under one roof to endure food scarcity, punishing Gulf Coast heat, no electricity, and no indoor plumbing. One outhouse for twelve people is no way to live, but at least they are safe. For now. With every setback and stolen dignity, Jules questions whether she wants to survive at all.

Cate Brady almost had it all. Until a knock on her front door brought news that her beloved husband had been in a terrible accident. He was pronounced dead on the scene. Reeling from the shock and suspecting she's being followed, Cate must question everything she thinks she knows.

Feminism fuels fantasy in this genre-busting collection by "master of the fantastic" (Roxane Gay) Amber Sparks. Exciting fans of such writers as Kelly Link, Karen Russell, and Carmen Maria Machado with prose that shimmers and stings, Amber Sparks holds a singular role in the canon of the weird. Now, she reaches new, uncanny heights with And I Do Not Forgive You. 

For Hanna Moss, love has always come with danger. From the incessant stalking by an ex to nearly losing her life in a hit-and-run accident, she vows to remain alone—and safe. So when her golden retriever, Bella, welcomes a handsome private investigator into their lives, Hanna is reluctant to confide in him.

Everest Lovecraft is going to be murdered. After joining forces with a devil to destroy a tyrannical shadow corporation, Everest is furious when he foresees a massacre at the hands of the other-worldly prince. But preventing the demon’s rise to power comes with an unthinkable price: saving the world will kill his partner. Setting a trap to force the demon’s hand, Everest hopes to slay the would-be overlord and change the flow of fate. But with cutthroat traitors stalking his every move and his honor stained with treason, Everest knows he cannot face the apocalypse alone.

This collection of 22 short stories by the author of Daughter of Hounds and Alabaster firmly established Caitlín R. Kiernan as one of the preeminent voices in dark fantasy today. Through a cycle of interconnected narratives, Kiernan unflinchingly explores a surreal world where the fantastic and the mundane are never separated by more than the insubstantial thickness of a shadow.

A godless miracle worker. A suicidal teenager. Can a young woman save the dying when the backlash whittles away at her life? Jane Davis isn’t a hero. A twenty-five-year-old rebellious vagabond, she’s stupefied when she discovers she’s developed supernatural powers. Desperate for answers, her search catapults her into the orbit of a disturbed teen carrying a devastating secret—magic and horrific monsters are spreading.