I can’t believe we’re starting Year 2 of this project. Time definitely does fly when you’re having fun!
This issue’s theme is Magical Libraries, and what more can I say about that? Even the most mudane of libraries is magical simply for the worlds of wonders it holds in its books. Add some urban fantasy to the mix, and the sky’s the limit! I know I had a blast writing my story, and I get the sense all the other authors in this issue did, too.
Our guest author this month is USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith, who wrote for us a story set in his supremely popular (and supremely fun!) Poker Boy universe. All the stories are listed below—happy reading!
“These Chains”
Madeleine works at a secret library beneath the New York Public Library, serving her final magical-juvie sentence. If she keeps her head down and does her time, she’ll finally be free. But when the most prized—and most dangerous books—are stolen, the ancient ones affixed with chains, all eyes turn on her.
Because her girlfriend—the girl she thought was her girlfriend—clearly had her fingers all over the job.
The Magical Council tells Madeleine to sit tight; they’ll handle it. Madeleine, however, isn’t any good at waiting for someone else to solve a problem. She has to get involved, even if she ends up being found guilty for doing the wrong thing for the right reasons…yet again.
Buy it at any of these fine online retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Omnilit | Smashwords | iBooks
The other incredibly fabulous authors—go check out their stories!
“Kitty of Death,” Michele Lang
When you lose a Library Cat, the late fees are murder…
Corrie the Cat Librarian leads an orderly life in the strange little town of New Castle, Connecticut. As Keeper of Feline Deities, Corrie lends her cats out to magicworkers who need a familiar to complete their spells.
A safe and rather boring existence…
But when Idris, a minor Egyptian deity, goes missing, Corrie and the formidable litigomancer Elizabeth Royall must battle an evil, medieval necromancer bent on capturing death itself. And in the process, Corrie discovers the deadly power of a quiet magic.
“Lang is a writer to watch.” — Booklist
“The Library of Orphaned Hearts,” Annie Reed
The books in Gretta’s library contain something far more precious than words. Something she lost herself in her youth and thought gone forever until a stranger made of shadows and smiles handed her a key and a book she couldn’t read.
The books in Gretta’s library can never be purchased, only loaned, and only to those truly in need.
The books in Gretta’s library can change your life.
If you’re brave enough to ask.
“All the Words in All the Worlds,” Leslie Claire Walker
When Chris Garcia reads the magical morning Metro section of the newspaper, one and only one article stands out: a girl named Alice must find something precious she’s lost before nightfall or go to Hell. Chris figures his newfound magical skill of finding the lost will save her. Instead, he walks straight into a trap. If he fails to find a way out before the sun sets, he dooms Alice—and himself—forever.
“For more than a decade now,
I have adored the work of Leslie Claire Walker.”
— Kristine Kathryn Rusch
“The Midbury Lake Incident,” Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Mary Beth Wilkins knows she made a mistake the moment she sees her beloved library burn. She also knows what she must do next to protect herself and her secret. And although she failed to save this library, she has a more important purpose to fulfill—a magical purpose. If she acts fast.
“Rusch is a great storyteller.”
—RT Book Reviews
Guest Author
“The Library of Atlantis,” Dean Wesley Smith
Poker Boy specializes in asking stupid questions. But sometimes even stupid questions need answers.
To save the fabric of all things from unraveling, whatever that means, Poker Boy must go to the Library of Atlantis and do something that no one ever accomplished before.
Poker Boy saves all things. Again!
“[The Poker Boy] series is unlike anything else out there.
It’s quirky and a lot of fun.”
—Amazing Stories
Final Info
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