From the mesmerizing Carniepunk anthology, a vampire short story from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine—the author who brought you the immensely popular Morganville Vampires series. When Kiley learns firsthand what evil lurks in the heart of her boyfriend, he’ll learn about the Cold Girl, and her penchant for retribution.

A star-studded urban fantasy anthology starring bestselling authors Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and including Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells, whose stories explore the creepy, mysterious, and, yes, sometimes magical world of traveling carnivals. Come one, come all! The Carniepunk Midway promises you every thrill and chill a traveling carnival can provide. But fear not! Urban fantasy’s biggest stars are here to guide you through this strange and dangerous world. . . . RACHEL CAINE’s vampires aren’t child’s play, as a naïve teen discovers when her heart leads her far, far astray in “The Cold Girl.” With “Parlor Tricks,” JENNIFER ESTEP pits Gin Blanco, the Elemental Assassin, against the Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns. SEANAN McGUIRE narrates a poignant, ethereal tale of a mysterious carnival that returns to a dangerous town after twenty years in “Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea.” KEVIN HEARNE’s Iron Druid and his wisecracking Irish wolfhound discover in “The Demon Barker of Wheat Street” that the impossibly wholesome sounding Kansas Wheat Festival is actually not a healthy place to hang out. With an eerie, unpredictable twist, ROB THURMAN reveals the fate of a psychopath stalking two young carnies in “Painted Love.”

Come one! Come all! Witness Gin Blanco—aka the Elemental Assassin, aka the Spider—go toe to toe against the Esmerelda the Amazing's Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns! Only at The Carnival of Wondrous Wonders! A story from the forthcoming Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology starring bestselling authors Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and also includes Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells. Samples of all fourteen tales are included to tantalize and to tease. Come to the Carniepunk midway and explore the creepy, mysterious, magical world of traveling carnivals today!

Dive into A Brush of Darkness, the first book in the Abby Sinclair trilogy. The man of her dreams might be the cause of her nightmares. Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there’s no one she can trust to save her.

Urban fantasy author Hillary Jacques spins a mesmerizing tale of investigation and gods for the Carniepunk anthology—a collection of darkly supernatural short stories you won’t be able to put down! Olivia Locke, formerly the Greek titan Mnemosyne, has built a nice little life for herself. She’s bound her ancient powers, has a steady job performing inspections for an insurance company, and even goes to the dentist. But when Olivia is sent to a traveling carnival, she discovers that the claims she’s reviewing aren’t accidents at all but rather symptoms of a depraved bargain struck to keep the operation afloat. And, at the heart of the carnival is a force intent on capturing her very soul. If there’s one thing that will make a retired goddess fight back, it’s the threat of imprisonment. Been there. Got the metaphorical T-shirt. Not going back.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Hounded—“a superb urban fantasy debut” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)—comes an Iron Druid Chronicles short story in the captivating Carniepunk anthology. The ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan gets more than greasy corn dogs and flat soda when he visits a carnival in Kansas to which his apprentice, Granuaile, drags him. He runs across a barker with a strange power over the crowd: attractive women leave their men and disappear into an unmarked tent, never to be seen again, and the men wander away, forgetting that they ever had girlfriends or wives. When Granuaile falls under the barker’s influence and enters the tent, Atticus isn’t about to forget it and move on. He and his Irish wolfhound, Oberon, pursue her and discover the horrifying secret to the carnival’s success.

Kelly Meding, author of the Dreg City and Metas series, delivers a wickedly fun short story in the Carniepunk anthology—a collection of urban fantasy tales that put a supernatural spin on all things carnival. Sheltered and raised by her gypsy mother, Shiloh Harrison has never explored the djinn heritage of her absentee father—until she learns he’s been captured by a man whose underground paranormal freak show is the latest rage among the rich and elite.

Chills and thrills abound in this wild story of marital discord and fuzzy threats from USA TODAY bestselling author Jaye Wells—from the Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology. One week after she is bitten by the dog-faced boy at a traveling carnival, a mild-mannered housewife gets a sudden, unrelenting craving for raw meat. She doesn’t remember eating the cat or running naked through the park under the full moon, but her husband’s getting strange calls from concerned neighbors. When he takes her back to the carnival a year later, looking for a cure, it’ll either get better…or a whole lot worse.

Our goal is to uncover the best young adult short fiction of the year published in the anthologies dedicated to the form, the occasional special edition of a magazine, and individual pieces appearing in otherwise “adult” anthologies and magazines, and bring them together in one accessible collection. Fans of Kaleidoscope will find more tales of wonder, adventure, diversity, and variety in this collection devoted to stories with teen protagonists. Table of Contents Selkie Stories Are For Losers - Sofia Samatar By Bone-Light - Juliet Marillier The Myriad Dangers - Lavie Tidhar Carpet - Nnedi Okorafor I Gave You My Love by the Light of the Moon - Sarah Rees Brennan 57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides - Sam J. Miller The Minotaur Girls - Tansy Rayner Roberts Not With You, But With You - Miri Kim Ghost Town - Malinda Lo December - Neil Gaiman An Echo in the Shell - Beth Cato Dan's Dreams - Eliza Victoria As Large As Alone - Alena McNamara Random Play All and the League of Awesome - Shane Halbach Mah Song - Joanne Anderton What We Ourselves Are Not - Leah Cypess The City of Chrysanthemum - Ken Liu Megumi's Quest - Joyce Chng Persimmon, Teeth, and Boys - Steve Berman Flight - Angela Slatter We Have Always Lived on Mars - Cecil Castellucci

From New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire, a haunting urban fantasy short story in the Carniepunk anthology—for fans of all things circus, supernatural, and mysterious… It’s been seventeen years since the last time Ada’s carnival passed through her father’s hometown in Alabama—and no one is expecting the reception she gets.