When Max and the gang are hired by an art forging ghost to find a lost painting, he thinks it'll be easy money. But villains old and new come out, and the race is on for the painting and the secrets it contains. Since his partner, the ghost of 1940s detective Marshall Drummond, is now free to roam around North Carolina, Max has an ally stronger than ever before. Along with Max's wife, they will follow the clues into a mess of magic spells, haunted houses, ancient curses, and even Blackbeard the Pirate. The only question: Are they prepared for what they'll find?

When 16-year-old Gillian Boone discovers that a secret message has been etched into her soul, her world of normal teenage life is destroyed. Now, bizarre monstrosities try to kill her so they can read this message as her soul departs and use its information to escape back to the world they came from. Though she has the aid of her father and some new friends, there is only one who has the real power to help. A rogue monster named Jackhammer Jack. But he might want her secret, too, even as he helps her evade the clutches of those pursuing her. With threats surrounding her, Gillian will have to...

Duncan Rose hustles his way through life, taking advantage of the foolish and overindulged. His weapon of choice - a deck of cards. Despite the dangers, he uses his skills with sleight-of-hand tricks to cheat at poker and tilt life in his favor. But when Duncan steps through a strange door and emerges in the Depression-ravaged world of 1934, he discovers a dark underworld of magicians and card cheats who use their skills simply to survive another day. Swindling his way through this bizarre new world, he searches for a doorway home, until a ruthless mobster takes notice - a man also looking...

"Southern Bound gets it right A great blend of ghosts and gumshoes. If you like haunting mysteries you'll love Southern Bound " - Edgar-nominated author, Joel Goldman When Max and Sandra moved down to North Carolina, they thought they were getting a new beginning. A good job, good pay, and a lovely little place in Winston-Salem. But Max discovers that his office is haunted by Marshall Drummond, PI - a ghost from the 1940s. While his mysterious employer pressures him to research the city for unknown reasons, Drummond pressures Max to investigate his last case. Soon Max is neck-deep in a world...

The Writers for Relief anthology series feature collections of short fiction by top talents in the realms of fantasy and science fiction writing. The first and second volumes have brought help to Hurricane Katrina survivors through the Red Cross and Bay Area Food Bank, respectively. This third volume turns the focus to those who suffered in Oklahoma and features some of today's best known speculative fiction authors: Kevin J. Anderson, Ben Bova, Stephen Euin Cobb, Jason Sandford, Bobby Nash, Todd McCaffrey, A.H. Sturgis, John Hartness, Edmund Schubert, Mike Resnick, Danny Birt, Jaym Gates,...

After defeating an army of Callers, Gillian Boone wants nothing more than to return to the life of a normal teenager. But when her new boyfriend is abducted by something even worse than a Caller -- a Proxy of Spirit -- she has no choice but to jump back into the crazed world of the Marked, the Bound, and Spirit. Now, the race is on to get her boyfriend back and in one piece. With the help of Pops and some new allies, Gillian has a good chance to succeed. But then, she's also got Jackhammer Jack on her side -- at least, she hopes he's on her side. Fast-paced and action-packed, Pathway to...

Stuart Jaffe returns with ten more stories from his unique and boundless imagination. Apocalyptic madness, pirates, blues music, murder, and steampunk are just a little of the wonders you'll uncover in these pages. Strange and beautiful, action-packed and deadly, lovely and romantic, Stuart covers it all and more in what promises to be a fun-filled journey you won't soon forget