Crystal Doors #2: Ocean Realm


Book Description

Gwen and Vic are still celebrating their victory in the battle with the merlons when they learn that Vic's father has finally made it through the crystal doors to the magical island of Elantya. However, their victory is short-lived when they and their friends are kidnapped by their underwater enemies and taken beneath the sea. They soon learn of a scheme that could bring Elantya to ruins. Can they escape in time to save the island from destruction?




Crystal Doors


Book Description

Gwen and Vic are still learning magic and science on the island of Elantya when they learn that Vic's father has finally made it through the crystal doors to Elantya. But their excitement is short-lived when they and their friends are kidnapped by their underwater enemies and taken beneath the sea. Imprisoned there, forced to witness battles among sea monsters and face the dark sage Azric, they learn of a scheme that could bring Elantya to ruins. Can they escape in time to save the magical island from destruction?




Ocean Realm


Book Description

Will their new allies help Gwen and Vic survive, or will fate balance the scales in a war between sea and land? From New York Times bestselling authors Rebecca Moesta and Kevin J. Anderson Gwen and Vic are still learning magic and science on the island of Elantya, when they learn that Vic’s lost father has finally made it through the crystal doors to their new world. However, their excitement is short-lived when they are kidnapped by their underwater enemies and taken beneath the sea. Imprisoned there, forced to witness battles among sea monsters and face the dark sage Azric, they discover a scheme that could bring Elantya to ruins. Can they escape in time to save the magical island from destruction? Or will their enemies finally win?




Hopscotch


Book Description

An “ingenious” science-fiction fantasy about a man who body swaps, and the lengths he must go to get his life back, from a New York Times–bestselling author (Kirkus Reviews). For a fee, Eduard Swan will swap bodies with people in distress—those facing surgeries, emotional crises, moments of unpleasantness, or discomfort they can’t or would rather not deal with. Eduard will experience the suffering for them. It’s a lucrative business, and in a society in which you can hopscotch from body to body, there is no end of clients seeking to avoid pain. But someone doesn’t want to play by the rules. Someone doesn’t want to return Eduard’s body. And, unfortunately for Eduard, that someone is one of the world’s most powerful men. Now Eduard has no choice but to steal back his life. He has the perfect alibi, or so he thinks. On the run with the only friends he can trust—Eduard struggles to find the meaning of identity in a culture in which appearances mean everything—and nothing. Where everything is relative . . . even murder. “Hopscotch is cracking good—swift, sure storytelling, with more plot twists than a snake and twice the bite.” —Gregory Benford, author of Eater “Kevin J. Anderson is in top form in Hopscotch, a rousing tale that charges hard into territory where nobody has gone before. This one may be the most original book of the year.” —Jack McDevitt, author of Infinity Beach




Tastes Like Chicken


Book Description

A zombie detective faces feral chickens, a serial-killer demon, redneck vampires, and more, in this humorous mystery by a New York Times–bestselling author. Dan Shamble, zombie PI faces his most fowl case yet, when a flock of murderous feral chickens terrorizes the Unnatural Quarter. Also in the caseload, Dan deals with the sinister spokesman for Monster Chow Industries, a spreading contamination that drives vampires berserk, a serial-killer demon from the Fifth Pit of Hell, a black-market blood gang led by the nefarious Ma Hemoglobin, a ghost fighting a hostile takeover of his blood bars . . . and a cute little vampire girl who may, or may not, be his daughter. With his ghost girlfriend Sheyenne, his bleeding-heart lawyer partner Robin, and his best human friend Officer Toby McGoohan, Dan Shamble is back from the dead and back on the case. The feathers will fly as he goes face-to-beak with the evil peckers. Bonus: Includes the short story “Road Kill.” Praise for Tastes Like Chicken “A rollicking detective yarn, with villains galore, and a story you can sink your teeth into. While this Dan Shamble, Zombie PI series doesn’t have the same level of brutality as The Walking Dead, some of the things in Tastes Like Chicken are truly horrific. The humor and fun characters help balance the horror with great storytelling.” —Fresh Fiction




Bats in the Belfry


Book Description

Ace Ventura meets the Addams Family! A shambling horde of new cases hits Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. in the Unnatural Quarter. Dan and his gang—including his ghost girlfriend, feisty lawyer partner, cop best friend, and little vampire half-daughter Alvina—are out to seek justice, solve mysteries, and keep their heads on straight ... or at least attached. Alvina’s singing lessons for the Banshee Tabernacle Choir end on a sour note when the troll choir director plunges to her death from a high belfry, and the only witness is a deaf-as-a-post gargoyle who sits too close to the loud bells. A frustrated imp, woefully unsuccessful in betting on the nightmare races, is dead certain that his bookie BatGN (GN for “gender neutral” to avoid copyright issues) is cheating him. Francine, the salty bartender at the Goblin Tavern, is worried when One Fang the vampire—her on-again, off-again suitor—disappears without a trace. A shady vendor discovers a market for living shrunken heads that are conversational as well as decorative, but the demand by far exceeds the supply. A heartless therapist has ulterior motives when she counsels zombies, distracting them from their woes to concentrate not just on brains, but on self-improvement as well. There is much at stake in the Unnatural Quarter, and it’s up to Dan Shamble to keep the streets dark and safe for monsters and humans alike. After all, the cases don’t solve themselves! This zombie detective puts the P.I. back in R.I.P.




Unnatural Hairy, Zomnibus Edition


Book Description

Together in one volume, two frighteningly hilarious Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. adventures! UNNATURAL ACTS To be dead, or not to be dead... In the Unnatural Quarter, golems slave away in sweatshops, necromancers sell black-market trinkets to tourists, and the dead rise up—to work the night shift. But zombie detective Dan Shamble is no ordinary working stiff. When a local senator and his goons picket a ghostly production of Shakespeare in the Dark—condemning the troupe’s “unnatural” lifestyles—Dan smells something rotten. And if something smells rotten to a zombie, you’re in serious trouble.... Before his way of life, er, death is destroyed, Dan wants answers. Along the way, he needs to provide security for a mummified madame, defend a mixed-race couple (he’s a vampire, she’s a werewolf) from housing discrimination, and save his favorite watering hole, the Goblin Tavern, from drying up. Throw in a hairy hit-man and a bank robber who walks through walls, and Dan Shamble’s plate is full. Maybe this time the zombie detective has bitten off more than he can chew... HAIR RAISING The fur really flies when a serial scalper stalks the supernatural citizens of the Unnatural Quarter, targeting werewolves—and what's sadder than a bald lycanthrope? Dan Shamble, zombie P.I., is on the case, trying to stop an all-out gang war between full-time and full-moon werewolves. As he combs through the tangled clues to hunt down the bald facts, things get hairy fast. Shamble lurches through a loony landscape of voodoo tattoo artists, illicit cockatrice fights, body builders assembling make-your-own human kits, and perhaps scariest of all, crazed fans in town for the Worldwide Horror Convention. Yet the reign of hair-raising terror grows longer. If Shamble can't snip this off at the roots, the whole world could end up howling mad.




Assemblers of Infinity


Book Description

Earth’s thriving lunar colony faces a mysterious, growing threat on the far side of the Moon . . . an alien invasion or nanotechnology run amuck. The crew of Moonbase Columbus makes an amazing discovery on the far side of the Moon—a massive alien structure is erecting itself, built up atom by atom by living machines, microscopically small, intelligent, and unstoppable, consuming everything they touch. The mysterious structure begins to expand and take shape, and its creators begin to multiply. Is this the first strike in an alien invasion from the stars? Is it an attempt at first contact? Or has human nanotechnology experimentation gone awry, triggering an unexpected infestation? As riots rage across a panicked Earth, scientists scramble to learn the truth before humanity’s home is engulfed by the voracious machines. Praise for Assemblers of Infinity Nebula Award Nominee “The authors have a fine grasp of character and a slick writing style.” —Science Fiction Review “Anderson and Beason are the heavyweight tag-team of hard science fiction!” —Allen Steele, author of Labyrinth of Night “Wonderfully vivid, Terrifying, and worse yet . . . realistic!” —David Brin, author of Startide Rising




Zomnibus


Book Description

Meet Dan Chambeaux—a.k.a. Dan Shamble—zombie detective, a persistent hardboiled gumshoe (or maybe that’s something more sinister on the bottom of his shoe…) Even being murdered doesn’t keep a good detective down, and in the Unnatural Quarter—inhabited by ghosts, vampires, werewolves, mummies, and all sorts of creatures that go bump (or thud!) in the night—a zombie P.I. fits right in. Dan Shamble solves a string of madcap cases with his ghost girlfriend Sheyenne, his Best Human Friend Officer Toby McGoohan, and his firebrand lawyer partner Robin Deyer. And first on the list: finding out who murdered him. This Zomnibus contains the complete first Dan Shamble novel, Death Warmed Over, plus the seven individual cases showcased in the collection Working Stiff, together in one volume. It’s a perfect way to dig up the dirt on a lot of things that would rather stay buried. Dan Shamble puts the PI in RIP.




Writing as a Team Sport


Book Description

Two New York Times–bestselling authors use personal experiences to teach how to work with a writing partner and what problems you may encounter. In a creative project, are two heads better than one? Writing partnerships can produce a remarkable synergy, building on each other’s talents to create work unlike anything the individual authors could do alone. On the other hand, unsuccessful collaboration can be disastrous and has ruined many a friendship. Kevin J. Anderson has worked on numerous novels and stories with dozens of collaborators, and many of those projects have become bestsellers and award winners. Rebecca Moesta has written books and stories with numerous other writers. In this in-depth book Anderson and Moesta describe various collaboration methods with frank recollections of their own experiences. You’ll learn collaborative techniques that will suit any sort of writer, as well as the pitfalls you may encounter. Includes a sample collaboration agreement to adapt to your own needs.