Exquisite revenge and knitted doppelgängers; heartbreak and happy endings; unicorns, doomed dogs, and penitent frogs; steampunk fairies, conflicted stepmothers, and baseball--you'll find it all here. Our literary alchemists weave a spell of fascination, drawing you deeper and deeper, tale by tale, until escape is impossible. But you'll enjoy every minute of the plunge. These sixteen deft and delightful stories involving witches, stitches, and bitches run the gamut from darkly disturbing to just plain fun. They will each take you out of the ordinary and into the world of magic, where older, weirder, or merely other rules apply. And just when you think things are all sewn up... some bitch may have a surprise for you. Includes stories by Gabrielle Harbowy, Caren Gussof, Kodiak Julian, and Christine Morgan, among others.

A mercenary discovers ancient horrors made flesh beneath the surface of a long-gone antediluvian ocean; an all-female submariner crew on a water world fall prey to sirens that sing of their deepest desires; and a selkie, held against her will in marriage, seeks to be reunited with her people. These are but a few of the stories featured in The Sea, offered up by Alex Hughes, Amy Lee Burgess, Andrea Jones, Anna Reith, Barry King, Benjamin Knox, Camille Griep, Diane Awerbuck, Don Webb, J.C. Piech, Rob Porteous, Simon Dewar, Steve Jones, Toby Bennett, and Wayne Goodchild. Plunge into watery worlds where mystery, horror or wonder await.

We kick off this issue with A. B. Robinson’s amazing “Sonnet Crown for Third Officer Ripley.” Then there are stories of beasties and strange places and stranger people; long, long journeys; and questions, so many questions. Also: Nicole Kimberling’s lovely food column looks at white asparagus.

An anthology of action-packed, science fiction adventure tales featuring pirates, strong women, soldiers, horrors, vagabonds, and deadly battles in space. The Full-Throttle Space Tales series collected action-packed, high octane, science fiction stories across the full potential of the genre. Here, the original editors have teamed up to pick the very best of Full-Throttle Space Tales, eighteen stories collected here for the first time. Stories by David Boop, C. J. Henderson, W. A. Hoffman, Julia Phillips, David Lee Summers, Carol Hightshoe, Irene Radford, Bob Brown, Scott Pearson, Alan L. Lickiss, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Dayton Ward, Anna Paradox, Ivan Ewert, Erik Scott de Bie, Shannon Page, Mark Ferrari, Gene Mederos, Jean Johnson, Mike Resnick, and Brad R. Torgersen Buckle your seatbelts, because we’re going to accelerate to Maximum Velocity!

This off-beat anthology will entice both poetry lovers and haters, as well as the noncommitted. As with a train wreck, you won't be able to divert your eyes. You may never think the same of poems ever again. Enjoy.

When her father dies, May Dearborne and her three older brothers all ask the same question: who is going to take care of Kipp? Kipp being their forty-five-year-old autistic brother. Who are they kidding? Since May is widowed, childless, and Kipps twin to boot, of course it will be her. May, an art professor at the University of Chicago, gives up her comfortable, independent life to move back into the family home with Kipp. But living with her quirky twin isnt easy. He makes grilled cheese sandwiches in a sideways-turned toaster, sings in an Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks falsetto, and pesters May relentlessly for a dog and a girlfriend. As May juggles teaching and preparing for the gallery show she hopes will lead to a coveted promotion, she finds herself besieged by men. Theres her narcissistic brother Sal who moves in when his wife kicks him out.And her teenage nephew who needs some space from his infatuated father. Theres Dilly, her smitten childhood friend who shows his love for her through gourmet cupcakes. And then theres Mr. Do-It-Right, the flirty painter she hires to renovate the old house. Throw in a mystery woman, a puppy, and a girlfriend for Kipp, and now everybody and their brother is clamoring for Mays attention. At its heart, Karla Clarks third novel is an endearing story about the connectedness of adult siblings and how they inextricably link each other to the world long after their parents are gone.

Potterversity: Essays Exploring the World of Harry Potter presents a written companion to the popular, "Hermione-Approved" MuggleNet podcast by the same name. Selected from the top Potter Studies scholars in the field, the diverse authors in the volume provide a range of interpretations of wizarding world stories. Essays include analysis of genre conventions, literary and religious symbolism, the role of games in the series, pedagogical approaches, and politically challenging issues like U.S. race relations, colonialism, and gender and sexuality--including direct attention to J.K. Rowling's controversial statements about trans people. Grouped into the sections "Occult Knowledge," "Ancient Magic," "A Question of Character," "Self and Other," "Playing Potter," and "Teaching, the Hogwarts Way," partnered essays precede transcripts of podcast conversations, led by the hosts of Potterversity. The book's essays and conversations aim to engage not only the mind but the spirit as well--the emotional, personal, and moral responses the Potterverse has evoked in so many people around the world. Fundamentally, this book demonstrates that the characters, stories, and situations of the magical realm promote thinking that helps us navigate our more mundane but no less dangerous world. Perhaps even more importantly, they help us to recognize the magic amid our everyday Muggle realities.

A laugh out loud fairy tale featuring modern-day princesses with attitude. The Bitches are back and they're royally pissed off. Newly awakened and hell bent on reclaiming their crowns, their magic and their people, the queens are determined to break the curse of Everafter and save the United Kingdom of Enchantment from total destruction. Their allegiance solidified once more, they prepare for a battle like they've never fought before. With a little help from some unlikely heroes, the queens look to their leader, Snow White, who must determine friend from foe as they race against time to reclaim their happily-ever-afters. But the clock is ticking. Enemies are everywhere. And they really have to pee. Can five fierce women build an army, break a spell and defeat a diabolical villain before all is lost? Find out in The Bitches of Enchantment. ★★★★★ "If you ever wanted to see how Snow White and the other "Disney" Princesses could be when all the glitter has vanished, this series if for you!" ★★★★★ "It is fun, it is clever, it is wild and original. Everyone who has a sense of humor should check this story out." ★★★★★ "This was everything I could want in a reimagined princess story." ★★★★★ "I loved this book. Every character from Grimm's Fairy Tales is mentioned. Every character from Alice in Wonderland is here too. Enjoy a rollicking good time as you read about fairy tale characters as they have never been written before." ★★★★★ "This is such a good book, it has action, adventure, love and kick ass women. It's lots of fun to read."

In this enchanting debut novel, Galen Beckett weaves a dazzling spell of adventure and suspense, evoking a world of high magick and genteel society—a world where one young woman discovers that her modest life is far more extraordinary than she ever imagined. Of the three Lockwell sisters—romantic Lily, prophetic Rose, and studious Ivy—all agree that it’s the eldest, the book-loving Ivy, who has held the family together ever since their father’s retreat into his silent vigil in the library upstairs. Everyone blames Mr. Lockwell’s malady on his magickal studies, but Ivy alone still believes—both in magic and in its power to bring her father back. But there are others in the world who believe in magick as well. Over the years, Ivy has glimpsed them—the strangers in black topcoats and hats who appear at the door, strangers of whom their mother will never speak. Ivy once thought them secret benefactors, but now she’s not so certain. After tragedy strikes, Ivy takes a job with the reclusive Mr. Quent in a desperate effort to preserve her family. It’s only then that she discovers the fate she shares with a jaded young nobleman named Dashton Rafferdy, his ambitious friend Eldyn Garritt, and a secret society of highwaymen, revolutionaries, illusionists, and spies who populate the island nation of Altania. For there is far more to Altania than meets the eye and more to magick than mere fashion. And in the act of saving her father, Ivy will determine whether the world faces a new dawn—or an everlasting night. . . .

In "Blood for Honey", Erin Suurkoivu invites you to explore an alternate universe. Discounting today's celebrity worship and city life, she retreats within and reflects on love, beauty, and what it means to be truly free. In a unique voice that is both haunting and alluring, she writes of California and Europe, nature and regret, and ultimately confronts her demons. Alternately both witty and insightful, poignant and cruel, her poems provide an intriguing journey through the landscape of her imagination.