The Dead Letters Office: the final repository of the undelivered. Love missives unread, gifts unreceived, lost in postal limbo. Dead Letters: An Anthology features new stories from the masters of horror, fantasy and speculative fiction, each inspired by object from the Dead Letters Office. Featuring original stories by:Joanne Harris * Maria Dahvana Headley & China Miéville * Michael Marshall Smith * Lisa Tuttle * Ramsey Campbell * Pat Cadigan * Steven Hall * Alison Moore * Adam LG Nevill * Nina Allan * Christopher Fowler * Muriel Gray * Andrew Lane * Angela Slatter * Claire Dean * Nicholas Royle * Kirsten Kaschock Views: 14
A child of the 1950s from a small New England town, "perfect Paul" earns straight A's and shines in social and literary pursuits, all the while keeping a secret -- from himself and the rest of the world. Struggling to be, or at least to imitate, a straight man, through Ivy League halls of privilege and bohemian travels abroad, loveless intimacy and unrequited passion, Paul Monette was haunted, and finally saved, by a dream of "the thing I'd never even seen: two men in love and laughing."Searingly honest, witty, and humane, Becoming a Man is the definitive coming-out story in the classic coming-of-age genre.Amazon.com ReviewPaul Monette first made a name for himself in 1978 with his debut novel, Taking Care of Mrs. Carroll, a comic romp with serious overtones. He established himself as a writer of popular fiction with three more novels before he and his lover were both diagnosed with HIV. In 1988 he wrote On Borrowed Time, a memoir of living with AIDS and of his lover's death. The passion and anger that fueled On Borrowed Time surfaces again in 1992's Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story, his National Book Award-winning autobiography. Although it follows the traditional structure of the autobiography and bildungsroman--early family life, education, reflections on how art influenced the subject's view of life--Becoming a Man also filters Monette's story through two central facts: the closet and AIDS. Monette writes of the pain of being closeted, the effect it had on his writing, and how it shaped (and often destroyed) his relationships. Monette's fear and fury at AIDS and homophobia heighten the same skill and imagination he put into his fiction. This vision--poetic yet highly political, angry yet infused with the love of life--is what transforms Becoming a Man from simple autobiography into an intense record of struggle and salvation. Paul Monette did not lead a life different from many gay men--he struggled courageously with his family, his sexuality, his AIDS diagnosis--but in bearing witness to his and others' pain, he creates a personal testimony that illuminates the darkest corners of our culture even as it finds unexpected reserves of hope. From Publishers WeeklyMonette responds to readers of his first memoir, Borrowed Time, by providing the flip-side expository of his life in the closet until he met his soul mate--the laughing man, Roger Horwitz. This memoir (which might more aptly have been titled Wasted Time ) is a bitter reproach of the 27 years Monette spent searching for himself. He explains that it took him years to realize that the homophobe is the deviant. Reading this beautifully written book, one feels as trapped by its dark mood as the author was by the closet. The writing is occasionally marred, however, by repetitive phrases, such as "playing courtier," "the closet" and the endless search for "the laughing man." The story also unfolds choppily due to frequent references to the future. Nevertheless, the book is a heartfelt illumination of how a gay person overcame the self-reproach that societal condemnation enacts. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 14
Determined to overcome her difficult past, Anna Starr lands a coveted job at the nation's biggest celebrity magazine in the center of the New York City power scene. She learns early on to make it on her own, and through sheer force of will she does. But frustration sets in when the dark side of tabloid journalism starts to poke through, and she gets duped while dating slicker-than-thou city boys. Amidst a sea of cocktail parties, Anna meets rising art star Damien Wolfe. Their connection is dangerous, intense, and passionate beyond her imagination. He sees her in a way that she has never seen herself, setting her on a journey toward self-discovery—understanding what it means to be truly loved for the first time in her life. But she may lose it all when her blind ambition and his dark past lead to a crisis that changes everything. Views: 14
A collection of short stories featuring Detective Randy Detweiler and Sarah Tucker from Finding Sarah and Hidden Fire. Previously published individually, Finding Fire gathers them in one volume. Stories include A Winter's Day; Coping Mechanisms; A Summer's Eve; and The Other Side of the Page. Views: 14
The 10th story in the life of Nathaniel Drinkwater. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, it takes the eponymous hero from the stews of London's dockland to the island of Heligoland on a daring mission to flout Napoleon's Continental System and drive a wedge between him and his ally the Tsar.** Views: 14
Escaping into the countryside to nurse his wounded pride and heart, Simon Hurst encounters the lovely but eccentric Mimi (half English, half Indian and all mischief) who promises him three favors—then only grudgingly doles them out. If he can capture that last one—that kiss—before she learns the truth about his identity, he should transform into an earl once again. Regency Romance by Carola Dunn; originally published by Walker Views: 14
Nix was a gunrunner and a killer. He turned Frank Angel's sidekick loose—naked and unharmed—into the Valley of Death. Nix promised to come after him some time.Angel's mission was to find his friend's killer—but history repeated itself, and it was Angel who was alone in the desert. The hunter became the hunted. Views: 14
Detective Mitch Tanner's life hangs in the balance. He clings to the daughter in his care. He agonizes over the disappearance of his son and estranged wife. Twelve months has yet to turn up a solid lead.While investigating the apparent accidental death of Dusty Anne Miller, Mitch and his partner Sam Foster find themselves in the middle of a fiendish plan that strikes too close to home. Running out of time, he plummets into the depths of darkness. And from there, he vows to bring the masterminds down, no matter the consequences.The Depth of Darkness is a dark, fast-paced suspense thriller featuring L.T. Ryan's new dark hero, Mitch Tanner. Once you start toward the darkness, you can't turn back. Views: 14
Love, longing, and gripping suspense are set among the sensuous flowers and lush summer evenings of Seattle in this atmospheric, page-turning novel. Themes of gardens and forgotten secrets bring to mind the novels of Kate Morton, while the importance of home and family is reminiscent of Maeve Binchy. When Miranda's two children leave home, her sense of loss is intensified by a void in her own life journey. She has set aside her dreams of becoming an artist for far too long. In an attempt to rekindle the beauty and passion of her youth, she fixes up the garden house as a studio—only to discover her husband has rented it out for the summer to a shy, mysterious young man. Soon after his arrival, Miranda begins to have disturbing dreams. Her friends dismiss them. Her husband blames them on the teen shelter Miranda has recently visited. Is she simply experiencing a mid-life crisis? Perhaps empty-nest syndrome? But Miranda is convinced her dreams have meaning,... Views: 14
After assisting in taking down a Mafia operated porn and sex ring using underage girls in Toronto, Palatini Knight, Walter Eloy Goe, needs to kick back and wind down. How better than with a "little more than" friend, Joyce Farmer, in sleepy little Shell Knob, Missouri where headlines of the weekly paper are comprised of simple news like birthdays, vegetable gardens, and too much or too little rain. Shortly after checking into Miss Farmer's Lakeside Resort a disturbing 911 call comes into the local sheriff, "I've's got me a body layin' out here, and she's a-lookin' deader 'n' hell." News of a young girl, dead and laid out naked in a patch of blackberry brambles, spreads like wildfire and panics the community. No one can remember such a brutal, cold-blooded murder ever occurring in this quiet little town. Just like that, Walter, a stranger to the community and newly arrived guest of Miss Farmer, becomes a person of interest to the Barry County Sheriff. Walter must solve the case... Views: 14