Showing results by publisher "Audible Studios" in Anthologies

In 1990—after the Iron Curtain has lifted but before East and West Germany become one—an uneasy truce exists between the spy agencies of Berlin’s two halves. As the governments of the divided state negotiate reunification, espionage continues quietly. That calm is about to explode. An English agent, on a routine collection of microfilm on the other side of Checkpoint Charlie, is arrested for spying, and all hell threatens to break loose.

Mystery sensation Pelecanos pens the lead story and edits this groundbreaking collection of stories detailing the seedy underside of the nation's capital. This is not an anthology of ill-conceived and inauthentic political thrillers. Instead, in D.C. Noir, pimps, whores, gangsters, and con-men run rampant in zones of this city that most never hear about.

The stories in this reissued version of Cara Bruce's popular anthology explore the irresistible lure of the sexual fetish, from leather and lingerie to shoes and shaving accessories. Nearly two dozen of today's top erotica authors feature characters getting in and out of corsets and girdles, cross-dressing, giving or enduring spankings, playing with knives and rubber balls, and engaging in a host of other taboo yet tantalizing activities.

"The dull ones would never understand Cass. To the men she was simply a sex machine and they didn't care whether she was crazy or not." Bukowski's alter ego finds himself in a slow dance with the most beautiful girl in town, who also happens to be its saddest; a tale of loss and what might have been.

Carrie unravels her life the way her grandma used to unravel the sweater she was knitting, to make it again, better and more meaningful. A ghost story with politics and blue bunny slippers.

New York Times best-selling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, Carrie Vaughn, and Karen Chance - along with ten other masters of the genre - offer stories on werewolves and the holidays, a fresh variation on the concept of birthdays and vampires found in Many Bloody Returns. The holidays can bring out the beast in anyone - particularly lycanthropes.

OK, Reg. You’re a bouncer who’s barely eking out a meager existence in the decaying Wilds outside Detroit. So a little job tracking the Eddies on their patrols seems like easy money. Well, think again, Reg. Because a riot’s about to happen… and you’re going to be the cause…

This story was originally published in the Hugo Award-nominated METAtropolis.

What is it about firemen that rings the bell for gay men? Could it be the strong arms and chiseled jaw, the bulging muscles under sweaty tees and tight red suspenders, or the cool calm as they use their hoses to put out the flames? Or is it the hot red fire engine, the yellow slickers, the black boots, and even the firehouse dog? Maybe it's all of these? or maybe there's something more organic that starts the fire.

Showcasing the work of literary giants like Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, and authors whom listeners may be surprised to learn were "in the life", Black Like Us is the most comprehensive collection of fiction by African American lesbian, gay, and bisexual writers ever published.

"Perfect deadpan marks the opening of Ali Simpson’s The Monster'" writes Susan Merrell of The Southampton Review in her introduction to this issue of Recommended Reading.

"...I managed to open the door and get up inside the cab. It had a soft leather seat and the seat felt so good that I knew if I didn't fight it I would soon be asleep." A brutal personal treatise on the need for work, even the most menial - and the need for dignity.

Bukowski goes off the rails as the best man at a wealthy Hollywood "zen wedding" with his singular viewpoint and sharp insights. He's the only one to bring a gift, and the only one to demand the Zen Master's ears in return. "The rich understand; they just don't do anything about it."

The Last Stair into Darkness is a collection of 20 horrifying tales by author Cliff R. Barlow. Contained within are 20 stories to consume your days in fear and enfold your nights in restless nightmares. From a demon hiding under the basement stairs to the most terrifying specter of all, the monster within, Cliff brings a fresh and unique take to the genre that you won't soon forget. Just remember to sleep with the lights on....

Thrones of Desire: Erotic Tales of Swords, Mist and Fire is a place where lust and legend abound, and adventure, passion and danger entwine. Think mystical lands and creatures, kings and queens, knights and renegades, heroes and villains, warlords, maidens and princesses. Think battles and danger, honor and dishonor, good and evil. Most of all, think hearts filled with passion and secret desire.

Elizabeth Haynes' new psychological thriller is a brilliantly suspenseful and shocking story in which nothing is at it seems, but everything is at stake. Sarah Carpenter lives in an isolated farmhouse in North Yorkshire, and for the first time after the death of her husband some years ago and her children, Louis and Kitty, leaving for university, she's living alone. But she doesn't consider herself lonely. She has two dogs, a wide network of friends and the support of her best friend, Sophie.

"Public Transportation" is a short story from the collection Phoenix Noir. Brand-new stories by: Diana Gabaldon, Lee Child, James Sallis, Luis Alberto Urrea, Jon Talton, Megan Abbott, Charles Kelly, Robert Anglen, Patrick Millikin, Laura Tohe, Kurt Reichenbaugh, Gary Phillips, David Corbett, Don Winslow, Dogo Barry Graham, and Stella Pope Duarte.Patrick Millikin is a bookseller at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale.

Even with a successful career as a lawyer and a beautiful wife, Tony Greto is tormented by his secrets - secrets that finally begin to surface at his 25th high school reunion. An impromptu speech in front of his entire class and an encounter with a former classmate's son begin to unravel the threads of Tony's seemingly settled life.

Rich in characters both whimsical and deeply poignant, humorous and real, the stories of Goli Taraghi have made her one of the world’s most beloved contemporary writers from Iran. Drawing on childhood experiences in Tehran during the reign of the Shah, her exile in Paris, and her subsequent visits to Tehran after the revolution, Taraghi develops characters and tales that linger in one’s mind. In the title story, a woman traveling from Tehran to Paris is obliged to help an old woman - the Pomegranate Lady - find her way to her fugitive sons in Sweden.

The realms of the Forelands are in turmoil as a result of the machinations of a powerful conspiracy of sorcerers, members of a race called the Qirsi, pale-skinned folk feared by those in power. Though many refuse to acknowledge the possibility of a conspiracy, a handful of Qirsi and nobles realize that the time has come to take action, even at the cost of their loves, their honor, and even their lives.

In stories like "A Night in the Cemetery," "Night of Horror," and "Murder," not only will Chekhov's dark humor and twisted crimes satisfy even the most hardboiled of mystery fans, but readers will again appreciate the penetrating, absurdist insight into the human condition that only Chekhov can bring. Whether it is the death of a young amateur playwright at the hands of an editor who hates bad writing, or a drunken civil servant who ends up trapped in a graveyard, these stories overflow with the unforgettable characters and unique sensibility that will forever make Chekhov one of the most fascinating figures in literature.