Download or read book Strange Magic written by Catherine Jordan and published by Sunbury Press, Incorporated. This book was released on 2016-12-17 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the late 1980s, I wrote a nifty little novel and signed on with a veteran agent who peddled it all over New York City. I papered the wall of my office with scores of rejection letters, licked my wounds, and went on to other pursuits. But I always wondered why my story went nowhere. Fast forward thirty years. In collaboration with the Perry County Council of the Arts, author Don Helin assembled a stellar faculty of successful, published authors to teach A Novel Idea, a year-long class for aspiring novelists. I signed on for that first year, half to represent PCCA, and half hoping I might learn what I did wrong three decades ago. A Novel Idea did not disappoint. I learned many reasons why my book never got out of the starting blocks, all the time wishing I could have avoided these pitfalls by taking such a course before I ever started writing. But there was an unanticipated bonus. My 18 classmates demonstrated a gift for the written word that made each session a joy. As they read aloud the fruits of their writing exercises, I marveled at their talent and inspiration. They made me laugh, pulled hard at my emotions, or transported me to places that I had never been. That is why I was so excited when author and facilitator Catherine Jordan and publisher Lawrence Knorr approached us with the idea of this anthology. I wanted to read the tales that my peers, and those from the class that followed, had to spin. Please relish them with the knowledge that they were written by ordinary people who believed they had a story to tell and had the courage to start writing. --Rog Smith, executive director Perry County Council of the Arts Stories from the Perry County Council of the Arts Writer's Workshop: Paint by Numbers, Maria V. Snyder On a Full Moon Night, Rachel Sink The Dragon's Eye, Samantha Coons Haunting in Shipoke, Lori M. Myers The Lollipop Angel, Brenda Tadych The Black Dress, Donna Leiss The Candy Factory, Catherine Jordan The Light of Night, Mark Boerma A Logical Man, Sandy Nork Breakfast, Interrupted, Ann Elia Stewart Scent and Scentability, Angela Binner Feral, Lynne Reeder Murder in the Upper Galery, Don Helin Little Whirlpools, Carrie Jacobs Angel in the Midst, Laurie J. Edwards Petrus of Aldrintown, Tom Galvin Terra's Eyes, Teddy Maurer Aphrodite, J. A. Thomas

Download or read book These Strange Magic Things Short Stories written by Peter M. Ball and published by Brain Jar Press. This book was released on with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For fans of the weird and enchanting, Peter M Ball returns with a third collection of speculative fiction stories that dance along the borders between horror, fantasy, and science fiction. These Strange and Magic Things collects fifteen tales showcasing why he’s among the finest writers of the strange and fantastic working in Australia right now. A zombie survival kit started as a private joke takes on new meaning in a failing marriage. A trip to the moon goes wrong when dinosaurs attack the anti-grav train in transit. The difficulties of high school prove much worse when Mike learns he’s a werewolf. A drunken party trick goes wrong when a boy with bats in his head decides to show everyone he can catch a bullet with is bare hands. Hit man to the supernatural, Keith Murphy, comes up against a demon who draws power from the wrestling ring. He’s too tough to gun down and impervious to magic, which means Keith’s only got one option - step up, play by the rules of the ring, and accept the possibility he might just be the local hero the Gold Coast needs. In These Strange and Magic Things Ball spins magic, horror, and pop culture together into an unforgettable collection of tales featuring rogue jinn, uncanny rock bands, magic bees, flying crocodiles, laundromat ghosts, haunted coins, cyberpunk gangs, and lost loves.

Download or read book Stranger Magic written by Marina Warner and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-03 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our foremost theorist of myth, fairytale, and folktale explores the magical realm of the imagination where carpets fly and genies grant prophetic wishes. Stranger Magic examines the profound impact of the Arabian Nights on the West, the progressive exoticization of magic, and the growing acceptance of myth and magic in contemporary experience.

Download or read book Strange Magic written by Syd Moore and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-05-04 with total page 475 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rosie Strange doesn't believe in ghosts or witches or magic. No, not at all. It’s no surprise therefore when she inherits the ramshackle Essex Witch Museum, her first thought is to take the money and run. Still, the museum exerts a curious pull over Rosie. There’s the eccentric academic who bustles in to demand she help in a hunt for old bones, those of the notorious Ursula Cadence, a witch long since put to death. And there’s curator Sam Stone, a man about whom Rosie can’t decide if he’s tiresomely annoying or extremely captivating. It all adds up to looking like her plans to sell the museum might need to be delayed, just for a while. Finding herself and Sam embroiled in a most peculiar centuries-old mystery, Rosie is quickly expelled from her comfort zone, where to her horror, the secrets of the past come with their own real, and all too present, danger as a strange magic threatens to envelope them all.

Download or read book Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell written by Susanna Clarke and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2010-06-05 with total page 1162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Hugo-award winning, epic New York Times Bestseller and basis for the BBC miniseries, two men change England's history when they bring magic back into the world. In the midst of the Napoleonic Wars in 1806, most people believe magic to have long since disappeared from England - until the reclusive Mr. Norrell reveals his powers and becomes an overnight celebrity. Another practicing magician then emerges: the young and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell's pupil, and the two join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wild, most perilous forms of magic, and he soon risks sacrificing his partnership with Norrell and everything else he holds dear. Susanna Clarke's brilliant first novel is an utterly compelling epic tale of nineteenth-century England and the two magicians who, first as teacher and pupil and then as rivals, emerge to change its history.

Download or read book Doctor Strange The Book of the Vishanti written by Marvel Entertainment and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An immersive in-world guide to all things magical in the Marvel Universe One of the most formidable and powerful items in the Marvel Universe, the sacred Book of the Vishanti contains an infinite number of potent spells, incantations, and lore from fantastic realms. Created thousands of years ago in the ancient city of Babylon to combat demons and those who wield dark magic, this tome has been passed down by the greatest sorcerers of the ages, each adding their own discoveries into its ever-expanding pages. Now in the possession of Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme and Earth’s foremost protector against mystical threats, the Book of the Vishanti acts as his first line of defense. The greatest source of magical knowledge in our dimension, the Book of the Vishanti is the ultimate collection of spells, history, and personal accounts recorded by practitioners over centuries, including notes from Doctor Strange himself. Featuring detailed inscriptions, mind-bending illustrations, and everything you need to know about the heroes, villains, artifacts, creatures, and worlds that make up the mystical and supernatural side of the Multiverse, this book is a must-have for all Marvel fans.

Download or read book The Face in the Frost written by John Bellairs and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2014-04-01 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fantasy classic by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls—basis for the Jack Black movie—and “a writer who knows what wizardry is all about” (Ursula K. Le Guin). A richly imaginative story of wizards stymied by a power beyond their control, A Face in the Frost combines the thrills of a horror novel with the inventiveness of fairy tale–inspired fantasy. Prospero, a tall, skinny misfit of a wizard, lives in the South Kingdom—a patchwork of feuding duchies and small manors, all loosely loyal to one figurehead king. Along with his necromancer friend Roger Bacon, who has been on a quest to find a mysterious book, Prospero must flee his home to escape ominous pursuers. Thus begins an adventure that will lead him to a grove where his old rival, Melichus, is falsely rumored to be buried and to a less-than-hospitable inn in the town of Five Dials—and ultimately into a dangerous battle with origins in a magical glass paperweight. Lin Carter called The Face in the Frost one of “the best fantasy novels to appear since The Lord of the Rings . . . Absolutely first class.” With a unique blend of humor and darkness, it remains one of the most beloved tales by the Edgar Award–nominated author also known for the long-running Lewis Barnavelt series.

Download or read book The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales written by Eric Larocca and published by . This book was released on 2021-09 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales collects eight stories of literary dark fiction. Tense and terrifying, these masterful stories by Eric LaRocca explore the shadow side of love. You Follow Wherever They GoBodies Are for BurningThe Strange Thing We BecomeThe Trees Grew Because I Bled ThereYou're Not Supposed to Be HereWhere Flames Burned Emerald as GrassI'll Be Gone by ThenPlease Leave or I'm Going to Hurt You

Download or read book Strange Candy written by Laurell K. Hamilton and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of short fiction features "The Girl Who Was Infatuated with Death," an Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter story, as well as "House of Wizards," "Stealing Souls," and "Those Who Seek Forgiveness," a never-before-published Anita Blake tale.

Download or read book The Cultural Gutter written by Carol Borden and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2011 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science fiction, fantasy, comics, romance, genre movies, games all drain into the Cultural Gutter, a website dedicated to thoughtful articles about disreputable art-media and genres that are a little embarrassing. Irredeemable. Worthy of Note, but rolling like errant pennies back into the gutter. The Cultural Gutter is dangerous because we have a philosophy. We try to balance enthusiasm with clear-eyed, honest engagement with the material and with our readers. This book expands on our mission with 10 articles each from science fiction/fantasy editor James Schellenberg, comics editor and publisher Carol Borden, romance editor Chris Szego, screen editor Ian Driscoll and founding editor and former games editor Jim Munroe.

Download or read book Wild Magic written by Tamora Pierce and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-12-08 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover a land of enchantment, legend, and adventure in this first book of the Immortals series, featuring an updated cover for longtime fans and fresh converts alike, and including an all-new afterword from Tamora Pierce. Thirteen-year-old Daine has always had a special connection with animals, but only when she’s forced to leave home does she realize it’s more than a knack—it’s magic. With this wild magic, not only can Daine speak to animals, but she can also make them obey her. Daine takes a job handling horses for the Queen’s Riders, where she meets the master mage Numair and becomes his student. Under Numair’s guidance, Daine explores the scope of her magic. But she encounters other beings, too, who are not so gentle. These terrifying creatures, called Immortals, have been imprisoned in the Divine Realms for the past four hundred years—but now someone has broken the barrier. And it’s up to Daine and her friends to defend their world from an Immortal attack.

Download or read book All the Ugly and Wonderful Things written by Bryn Greenwood and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Struggling to raise her little brother Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star-gazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold. By the time Wavy is a teenager, her relationship with Kellen is the only tender thing in a brutal world of addicts and debauchery"--

Download or read book Strange Happenings written by Avi and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2006 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Five original stories where strange changes occur, from a boy and a cat changing places and a young man learning the price of selfishness to an invisible princess finding herself.

Download or read book The Mostly True Story of Jack written by Kelly Barnhill and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2011-08-02 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Newbery Medal-winner Kelly Barnhill's debut novel is an eerie tale of magic, friendship, and sacrifice. Enter a world where magic bubbles just below the surface. . . . When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his strange aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for quite a long time. When he arrives, he begins to make actual friends for the first time in his life-but the town bully beats him up and the richest man in town begins to plot Jack's imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It's up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically... invisible. The Mostly True Story of Jack is a stunning debut novel about things broken, things put back together, and finding a place to belong. "There's a dry wit and playfulness to Barnhill's writing that recalls Lemony Snicket and Blue Balliett...a delightfully unusual gem." --Los Angeles Times

Download or read book The Miracle Man Eats written by Peter M. Ball and published by GenrePunk Books. This book was released on with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Miracle Man: Stitched together from seven different cadavers, and back from the dead with a living brain instead of the undead hunger everyone’s born with. He hits the local diner looking for a meal, all too aware of the looks he attracts. Nobody else wants to serve him, so Megan steps up. She recommends dishes and brings the Miracle Man his food, and for all her instincts tell her to put a bullet in his skull, she tries to remember that she’s a professional. Serving a living zombie is the hardest thing she’s ever done, but it just might awaken something Megan’s never realised about herself. The Miracle Man Eats by Peter M. Ball is part of the Red Rain Collection, a fiercely weird series of short stories which blends the dirty realism of Raymond Carver with the absurdity of the zombie apocalypse. Snack on these delicious morsels of fiction between longer reads or devour the entire series in a single sitting.

Download or read book The Birdcage Heart Other Strange Tales written by Peter M. Ball and published by Brain Jar Press. This book was released on 2017-11-30 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 12 short stories those who love strange, heartbreaking, and unforgettable fantasy. What if kaiju decimated your hometown, but only half the population could see them? What if mermaids unleashed their wrath against Copenhagen using mechanoid war-machines? What if the man you loved wanted nothing more than running away to live with the faeries, but you were the one they wanted to take with them? The Birdcage Heart & Other Strange Tales gathers together twelve wild and genre-bending fantasy tales from the pen of Peter M Ball, the Ditmar and Aurealis Award-winning author of the cult hit Horn and the Keith Murphy urban fantasy thrillers. These scintillating tales draw inspiration from myth, pop-culture, magic realism and Lovecraftian horrors, showcasing Peter M. Ball’s talent for blurring the line between genres and finding the sublime in both the everyday and the extraordinary. Come meet a man with a birdcage where his heart should be, the resident of Isla Tortuga’s most dangerous bordello, clockwork goats and smokestack magi, dragonkeepers, vengeful musicians, and frustrated public servants. Walk paths through briar-choked cities, deceptively ordinary towns, and an endless stairwell populated by tourists. Prepare yourself for the wickedly inventive magic and startlingly human moments. Whether you’re already a fan of Peter M. Ball, or you’re just about to become one, The Birdcage Heart & Other Strange Tales is a debut collection that shouldn’t be missed. PRAISE FOR PETER M. BALL "Only Peter M. Ball's fiction makes falling down the rabbit hole feel like flying. Funny and surprising, with moments of extraordinary grace." Angela Slatter, Author of the World Fantasy Award-winning The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings TABLE OF CONTENTS - The Last, Great House of Isla Tortuga - On the Destruction of Copenhagen By the War-Machines of the Merfolk - The Seventeen Executions of Signore Don Vashta - It’s Not A Bad Job, Really - The Dragonkeeper’s Wife - On the Finding Of Photographs Of My Former Loves - The Clockwork Goat & The Smokestack Magus - The Birdcage Heart - On the Cliffs, By The Sea - Briar Day - L’esprit de L’escalier - On the Arrival of the Paddle-Steamer on the Docks of V—

Download or read book About Town written by Ben Yagoda and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2000 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Illuminated by interviews with more than fifty people, including the late Joseph Mitchell, William Steig, Roger Angell, Calvin Trillin, Pauline Kael, John Updike, and Ann Beattie, About Town penetrates the inner workings of the New Yorker as no other book has done."--BOOK JACKET.