The first book in The Pattern Pals series begins as Zoe the Parrot sets up a surprise party. Her best friend, Clara the Chameleon, worries that Zoe is acting strange-whose birthday is Zoe celebrating, anyway? Together, they use the secret birthday girl's favorite colors to decorate the party in different patterns before the big reveal. This book enriches the familiar setting of birthday parties with beautiful colors and patterns. Not only is it a fun and intriguing mystery, but the book has been designed to help young children learn simple patterning skills in an enjoyable way. Questions are built into each page to help adults expand on the conversation and introduce early math concepts to children.

A shattered weapon. A job undone. A new danger. An ancient hero and an uprooted inventor reunite to deal with an old problem, all the while confronting changes, new fears, and a duty without end. “The Things She Made” is a short story set in Anthony St. Clair’s acclaimed Rucksack Universe. The Rucksack Universe series combines alternate history, speculative fiction, myth, adventure, globetrotting, and intrigue—all with well-poured pints of beer. Library Journal says Anthony St. Clair’s storytelling has “universe building reminiscent of Terry Pratchett,” and readers say they love the Rucksack Universe’s unique combination of “quirk, wit, travel, and magic.”

The truth sleeps Aednat had nothing but her family, until The Blast took them and everything Aednet knew of home in Ireland. Aednat finds herself in France, with people who seem more like myths, in a rich world unlike anywhere she ever dreamed of belonging. Yet in caves in Ireland, strange images from the past tell the tale of a present unfolding in fire. Aednat and her companions make their way to find answers to the questions burning the world. But if she wakes a sleeping truth, she may also awaken betrayal and great harm. The Rucksack Universe series combines alternate history, speculative fiction, myth, adventure, globetrotting, and intrigue—all with well-poured pints of beer. Library Journal says Anthony St. Clair’s storytelling has “universe building reminiscent of Terry Pratchett,” and readers say they love the Rucksack Universe’s unique combination of “quirk, wit, travel, and magic.”

Good dog. Bad man. Highlow will never understand humans. Not even his wonderful sausage-giving Master. Humans smell through their eyes, talk instead of sniffing arses, and believe there's a maximum number of sausages a dog should eat at one time. What Highlow really doesn't understand, though, is the strange, hard, round thing he finds near the Black Cliffs of Dover. He especially doesn't understand why some newly arrived, orange-suited Fancyman is so obsessed with seeing it... and why Highlow wants nothing more than to get Master away from him before it's too late. The Rucksack Universe series combines alternate history, speculative fiction, myth, adventure, globetrotting, and intrigue—all with well-poured pints of beer. Library Journal says Anthony St. Clair’s storytelling has “universe building reminiscent of Terry Pratchett,” and readers say they love the Rucksack Universe’s unique combination of “quirk, wit, travel, and magic.”

The trouble is, kindness is trouble. Disgraced. Jobless. Kicked out of the butler’s guild. Pennyton believed he had done the right thing. The kind thing. Look where that got him. Yet when he answers a surprise knock on his door, Pennyton finds himself where he least expected: on a one-night gig driving a carriage for a rich journalist who paid in full and up front. Trouble is, now Pennyton sits on his freezing arse. In the dark. On a hard carriage seat behind impatient horses. Waiting for hours at the mouth of a dark alley full of bad news. Waiting. And waiting… Then a terrible sound tells Pennyton that trouble just found him again. If you love a down-on-their-luck hero with a good twist, then get ready to curl up with your favorite beverage and “A Tea and Brandy Gig.” The Rucksack Universe series combines alternate history, speculative fiction, myth, adventure, globetrotting, and intrigue—all with well-poured pints of beer. Library Journal says Anthony St. Clair’s storytelling has “universe building reminiscent of Terry Pratchett,” and readers say they love the Rucksack Universe’s unique combination of “quirk, wit, travel, and magic.” Praise for Anthony St. Clair and the Rucksack Universe “Left me completely gobsmacked. Great concept, fun characters, and beautiful writing… High-stakes story, told with wit and compassion.” – Nth Degree “Brings the reader into the story and holds them there with every sight, smell, sound, and feeling…. St. Clair is now one of my favorite authors and I truly cannot wait to read more.” – Online Book Club “Fans of travel, fantasy, and beer will circle around this story… with universe building reminiscent of Terry Pratchett, St. Clair's tale will make readers reconsider fate.” – Kristi Chadwick, Library Journal's Self-Published Ebook Awards What Readers Say “Cheeky and sophisticated.” “Pulls you in fast and keeps you on the edge of your seat.” “A page turner for sure.” “Fascinating new universe.” “Modern fantasy writing with very real characters and situations.” “Anthony seamlessly combines quirk, wit, travel, and magic.” “Grabs your attention and doesn't let go.” “Entertaining fantasy full of twists and turns.” “Beautiful prose.” “Delightful and artful adventure into an intriguing world.” “Sharp writing and dialogue.” “A variety of amazing characters that have been masterfully brought to literary life.” “Beautiful prose, smart humor and a slanted take on reality.” “Anticipation of what's to happen next kept me turning the pages.” “A delightful read, especially for those who love to travel—even if only in their armchairs.” “Intriguing, magical underbelly!” “Easy to slip into the myths of the situations and places.” “An amazing sense of the epic.” “Goes down smooth and leaves the reader poised for another round.” “Armchair Travel!” “Just when you think you have it all figured out there is a twist that keeps you guessing.” “The story telling is exquisite and makes it hard to put the book down.” “This is not Douglas or Pratchett, this is St. Clair!” “An abundance of love, light, and wonder.” “Left me wanting more!”

Finally. Proof. In the Mexico City night, the cops freed the prisoners and locked up their torturers. Nearby, the reporter picked up a torn scrap of fabric. What looks like plain black silk turns out to be covered in subtle yet intricate patterns. The very tongue of life, rendered in thread. Something small. Torn from something larger. World-renowned roving journalist BS Trotter knows that little clues add up to big revelations. And she knows the scrap in her hand could be the first piece in a puzzle unsolved for thousands of years. Such a shame she has to give it up. Could anything be more fantastical than a reporter of impeccable character and unlimited resources? If you like sharp-tongued women heroes and short stories with a smooth twist, get ready to bundle up with “To Find the Man in Black, First Find His Tailor.” The Rucksack Universe series combines alternate history, speculative fiction, myth, adventure, globetrotting, and intrigue—all with well-poured pints of beer. Library Journal says Anthony St. Clair’s storytelling has “universe building reminiscent of Terry Pratchett,” and readers say they love the Rucksack Universe’s unique combination of “quirk, wit, travel, and magic.”

In the second book of The Pattern Pals series, Zoe the Parrot goes to Clara the Chameleon's house for her first sleepover. They're both excited for this new adventure, but Zoe misses her own home. Fortunately, through the power of patterns and imagination, Clara reveals how similar their houses really are! This book shows children that some unfamiliar situations can be fun and help them grow. Not only is it a hopeful story about friendship, but the book has been designed to help young children learn early patterning skills. It shows that things using different colors or shapes can still have the same pattern, building off lessons taught in Birthday Beeps and Boops, the first book in the series. Sleepover Similarities also has questions built onto each page to help adults expand on the conversation and introduce early math concepts to children.

Since the 1970s, FantasticLand has been the theme park where “Fun is Guaranteed!” But when a hurricane ravages the Florida coast and isolates the park, the employees find it anything but fun. Five weeks later, the authorities who rescue the survivors encounter a scene of horror. Photos soon emerge online of heads on spikes outside of rides and viscera and human bones littering the gift shops, breaking records for hits, views, likes, clicks, and shares. How could a group of survivors, mostly teenagers, commit such terrible acts? Presented as a fact-finding investigation and a series of first-person interviews, FantasticLand pieces together the grisly series of events. Park policy was that the mostly college-aged employees surrender their electronic devices to preserve the authenticity of the FantasticLand experience. Cut off from the world and left on their own, the teenagers soon form rival tribes who viciously compete for food, medicine, social dominance, and even human flesh. This new social network divides the ravaged dreamland into territories ruled by the Pirates, the ShopGirls, the Freaks, and the Mole People. If meticulously curated online personas can replace private identities, what takes over when those constructs are lost? FantasticLand is a modern take on Lord of the Flies meets Battle Royale that probes the consequences of a social civilization built online. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Design and build cutting-edge video games with help from video game expert Scott Rogers! If you want to design and build cutting-edge video games but aren’t sure where to start, then this is the book for you. Written by leading video game expert Scott Rogers, who has designed the hits Pac Man World, Maxim vs. Army of Zin, and SpongeBob Squarepants, this book is full of Rogers's wit and imaginative style that demonstrates everything you need to know about designing great video games. Features an approachable writing style that considers game designers from all levels of expertise and experience Covers the entire video game creation process, including developing marketable ideas, understanding what gamers want, working with player actions, and more Offers techniques for creating non-human characters and using the camera as a character Shares helpful insight on the business of design and how to create design documents So, put your game face on and start creating memorable, creative, and unique video games with this book!

Experience the Star Wars saga reimagined as an Elizabethan drama penned by William Shakespeare himself, complete with authentic meter and verse, and theatrical monologues and dialogue by everyone from Rey to Chewbacca. As the noble Resistance clashes with the vile First Order, Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren, and BB-8 are pulled into a galaxy-wide drama. The romance of Han Solo and Leia Organa takes a tragic turn that Shakespeare would approve of. Authentic meter, stage directions, reimagined movie scenes and dialogue, and hidden Easter eggs throughout will entertain and impress fans of Star Wars and Shakespeare alike. Every scene and character from the film appears in the play, along with twenty woodcut-style illustrations that depict an Elizabethan version of the Star Wars galaxy.