Uncollected Anthology, Issue 8: Out of the Woods

What a great lineup we have this time! Not only do we have as our guest author the phenomenal writer Ron Collins, but former guest author Rebecca Senese has joined the team as a full-time member, so we have a new story from her, too!

Our theme this quarter is Out of the Woods. Urban fantasy normally takes place in cities, but what happens when the city encroaches on the forest, or vice versa…when creatures come out of the forest or we humans go in…?

“Tendrils, Twining”

Widowed Penny ponders selling the beautiful Victorian home she and her late husband shared. After all, the yardwork is more than she can handle…this spring, it looks as though the forest is encroaching.

Surely it’s an illusion.

But what if it isn’t?

And when myth and magic collide with urban development, who will win and who will lose…and who will get caught in the crossfire?

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!

“Primitive Area,” Kristine Kathryn Rusch

By the time Sara finds herself in the middle of the Idaho Primitive Area, she knows she made a huge mistake. Her decision clouded by the blush of new love, she agrees to accompany Travis on a weeklong hike. Sara, the city girl, in the woods, camping. And just when she thinks things can’t possibly get worse, she discovers just how wrong they can turn—but in ways she never expected. Magical ways…

“Rusch’s short fiction is golden.”
—Kansas City Star

“Paulaleena,” Leah Cutter

Pauli, the most recent of the Paulaleena fairies, must creep out of the woods and renew the pact with the human mayor of the nearby city.

The pact that keeps the world safe from the Dark Ones.

The pact forged by blood.

When this human mayor insists on seeing the Dark Ones herself, they both get more than they bargained for.

“Lights! Camera! Action?” Annie Reed

Private detectives Diz and Dee have worked for some pretty odd clients. Leprechauns. Fairies. The occasional Greek God.

Even Dee’s mother.

But their newest client could be the oddest yet.

Horror movie director Morte (as in death; he had it legally changed) can’t find the star of his latest B-movie flick, currently filming in the woods outside Moretown Bay. The guy’s a method actor who needs to “live the part,” and he occasionally takes off to do a little research. Only this time he’s playing a werewolf, and the full moon is right around the corner.

Hollywood invades the offices of D & D Investigations in this latest addition to the Diz & Dee mystery series.

“The Reveal Within,” by Rebecca M. Senese

Marnie waited too long to sign up for a painting course and ends up in a wood carving class. What the heck does she know about carving wood? She manages to make it through the first session without gouging her arm but has to drop the class. Her learning to carve? No way. But something in the wood calls to her, urging her to reveal…what? Marnie wants nothing to do with the class but the wood has ideas of its own.

“Peculiar Magic, ”Leslie Claire Walker

Death. Resurrection. Hope.

Beth died at seventeen, helping to save the world. Her boss, Malek—the serpent from the Garden of Eden in human form—brought her back.

She hasn’t been the same since. She can’t recall the details of her death. The missing memory haunts her.

When the supernatural creature who killed her hunts her down once again, Beth must face the mystery of her death head-on. If she can’t solve the puzzle of her hidden memory, she may lose something infinitely more valuable than her life.

If you enjoy mystical YA urban fantasy with an apocalyptic twist, you’ll love “Peculiar Magic.”

“Peculiar Magic” is a stand-alone story set in THE FAERY CHRONICLES series. For more FAERY CHRONICLES magic, visit leslieclairewalker.com.

Guest Author

“The Bridge to Fae Realm,” Ron Collins

Jonathan Hale is a delivery guy by day, and an underground music critic by night. He’s on his own and just getting his life back together when he runs across Micaela Alandari. She’s a kick-ass fae woman with an interesting bloodline that includes a half-brother mired in a losing war effort on the fae side of the tracks.

While Jon’s worried about keeping his job, Micaela’s got bigger problems for him to deal with. If he can’t get his act together, it could mean the end of civilization on both sides of the Bridge to Fae Realm.

Want More?

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Uncollected Anthology, Issue 7: Happily Ever Afters

I love stories and books that mash several of my favorite genres together…which means I love urban fantasy that speaks to my mushy romantic self. This issue of Uncollected Anthology, Happily Ever Afters, satisfies my cravings very well!

What happens when magic and romance collide? Any number of things…but they can only be, in the end, wonderful…happily ever after.

We are delighted to have USA Today bestselling fantasy author Anthea Sharp as our guest author this quarter. Anthea’s work is just amazing, as is her fiddle playing and her infectious smile. Her story will tug at your heartstrings.

All the stories are listed below—happy reading!

“Rhapsody in Blue

Liza feels psychic vibrations from used clothing—which serves her well in her job as a Hollywood costumer. A stunning midnight-blue 1920s flapper dress tells her Shawn is The One, but in her experience, most actors are cads…and even the nice guys will break your heart in their quest for fame and fortune.

Therein lies the question: Run away screaming? Or trust the dress and go with the dress…and her heart?

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!

“After the Wedding,” Kristine Kathryn Rusch

When Keisha married Ruben, she planned the perfect wedding—and the perfect wedding cake. But when an uninvited guest ruins the reception, it unravels not only Keisha and Ruben’s perfect day, but everything about their relationship.

Keisha’s mother always said Keisha led a cursed life, but she never believed in magic. So, when an unexpected event brings Keisha and Ruben back together again, Keisha must make a choice: hold on to her beliefs or place her trust in Ruben once and for all.

“Rusch is a great storyteller.”
—RT Book Reviews

“Lost Stars,” Leah Cutter

Wilson’s house is infested by pesky stars that dive-bomb him when he’s cooking or trying to relax.

Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. Possibly it’s only one star. And kinda friendly, at that.

But it keeps coming at him. Disrupting his orderly life. Distracting him while he’s cooking.

He just has to deal with it. Make it behave.

He never considers the possibility that maybe it’s a sign…

Set in the same world as “The Midnight Gardner.”

Guest Author

“Guinevere’s Guest,” Anthea Sharp

Guinevere Gaunt (Gwen to her friends) is one of the last humans to carry the blood of the old bards. Half-trained and barely making a living playing the Celtic harp, she can’t afford to turn down her latest wedding gig, even though it means returning to the Fae Realm. It doesn’t hurt that the hot elf lord offering her the job also promises to be her personal guard. Unfortunately for both of them, old enemies lurk in the shadows, and the upcoming fae wedding is the perfect place to set a trap…

—USA Today Bestselling Author of fantasy & romance

Final Info

As a reminder, we do have a website and a newsletter, for the sole purpose of telling you when the next batch of stories is available. Check them out!

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Uncollected Anthology, Issue 6: Enchanted Emporiums

It’s time for another magical trip into the minds of the Uncollected Anthology authors! Check out our new cover design, by the immensely talented Allyson Longueira…it’s perfect.

This quarter, the theme is Enchanted Emporiums: magic shops of all types. From a Manhattan bodega run by a two-thousand-year-old djinn to a magic shop that can cure a Halloween hangover, this issue gives you places to spend your hard-earned money—urban fantasy style.

Rebecca Senese is our Guest Author this issue. I can’t wait to read her story about a magical coffee shop! (Aren’t all coffee shops kinda magical when you need that hit of caffeine?)

All the stories are listed below—happy reading!

“What You Wish For”

Why does a two-thousand-year-old djinn own a convenience store and spice shop in Manhattan?

The world has changed, for one thing, and Wadid isn’t proud of some of the things he’s done in the past. But really, he loves that he can help the magical community—and enhance the cooking skills and palates of some of his customers.

That’s all well and good until two gunmen burst through the front door and threaten him and one of his customers. Wadid breaks his personal code and uses his darkest ability to make them go away.

Not that it matters. Because the next person who walks through the door is the last person he would wish for.

“What You Wish For” is kind of a sequel to my story “These Chains,” which appeared in Uncollected Anthology, Issue 5: Magical Libraries.

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!

“Fear’s Mirror,” Michele Lang

Viv Levy, owner of the Sacred Circle magic store in New York City, knows she runs a big risk in her job. All kinds of supernatural currents, including quite dangerous ones, run under, through and above the streets where regular people walk. And evil often seeks a place of power…

A mysterious stranger seeks Viv’s help in dealing with a sinister magic mirror, and another stranger arrives when all appears lost. But will Viv herself have the courage to look into Fear’s Mirror?

An urban fantasy short story set in the world of the Ms. Pendragon series!

“All Hallows’ Hangover,” Annie Reed

Teddy woke up the day after Halloween with the mother of all hangovers. The kind that comes complete with wagging tail and a lack of opposable thumbs.

Tabby owns a magic shop that carries just what Teddy needs, but Tabby’s dealing with her own brand of post-holiday hangover. The last thing she wants in her life is another complication.

Even if this particular complication has the cutest grin and the most soulful brown eyes she’s ever seen.

“When Gods Hunger,” Leslie Claire Walker

Beth embraces her new, immortal life and forever job as apprentice to Malek, the serpent from the Garden of Eden cursed into human form. Neither immortality nor her magical gig changes her essential curious, risk-taking nature. In fact, the power Malek passes to her opens the door to greater risk—and more disastrous consequences.

When she takes a short cut with her new magic, she finds herself in Hell—or a hell, anyway. She comes under the watchful gaze of a new enemy—a power of Biblical proportions whose unrivaled skill at temptation threatens to trap Beth forever. Finding a way out—a way home—becomes Beth’s priority number one, but there are more lives and souls at stake than her own.

“For more than a decade now,
I have adored the work of Leslie Claire Walker.”
— Kristine Kathryn Rusch

“The Sweet Shop,” Leah Cutter

Tong Yi waits for something to happen—for his brother to return from the war zone, for his boss to trust him again, for his magical training to be expanded.

Something. Anything.

Then powerful wizard Uncle Bei takes him to The Sweet Shop—a magic shop more special and strange than Tong Yi has ever imagined.

Tong Yi finally returns to the war zone as well, delivering a message to a client he’d never expected.

But he must now make a decision about the war, about his place in it, about his magical training.

And everything, everything, has a price.

“The Sweet Shop” is a sequel to “Dancing with Tong Yi” and “War on all Fronts,” both also available from Uncollected Anthology.

Guest Author

“The Magic Bean,” Rebecca M. Senese

After a safe life, an inheritance affords George the chance to leap for his dream: his own coffee shop. He even finds the perfect spot: a small, rundown shop.

Soon George is planning and polishing. Every day the shop looks cleaner, feels newer. Flaws melt away.

But every night strange images haunt him and threaten his sanity.

Is George’s desire to run a coffee shop a dream or a nightmare?

Final Info

As a reminder, we do have a website and a newsletter, for the sole purpose of telling you when the next batch of stories is available. Check them out!

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Uncollected Anthology, Issue 5: Magical Libraries

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

As a reminder, we do have a website and a newsletter, for the sole purpose of telling you when the next batch of stories is available.

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