The Rose Queen was a fantasy finalist for 2019 IAN Book of the Year, and also a finalist for the 2019 Literary Classics Book Award. In addition, it was named as one of the best books of 2018 by the reviewer website Bookshine and Readbows. What makes it so intriguing? Perhaps it's because the Beast doesn't always wait for Beauty. Sometimes, Beauty IS the Beast. Princess Mirabella is betrothed to a repulsive old man a year after her mother's death. She refuses the marriage, only to find out her betrothed is a sorcerer as well. He takes his revenge by transforming her into a savage and frightening beast, giving her an ultimatum: she has three years to solve the mystery of her curse—or die. Exiled to her mother's estate to hide the scandal, Mirabella learns that the sorcerer was not alone in keeping secrets. Her grandfather was murdered before Mirabella was born, and her mother's death is looking less and less as if it came from natural causes. The only point in common to all their ruined lives: her father, the king. Faced with a conflict between saving her family and saving her own life, the choices Mirabella makes will change the future of the kingdom—and magic—forever.

The Rose Queen: Book 1 of the Rose Trilogy

Science Fiction & Fantasy

McBain, Alison

Fantasy

Fairfield Scribes

From the first popularization of H.G. Wells' THE TIME MACHINE, time travel has long fascinated readers of science fiction and fantasy. WHEN TO NOW: A TIME TRAVEL ANTHOLOGY carries on this tradition with short stories in a wide array of genres to interest every reader. "Ruby's Paradox" by Cynthia C. Scott: A young girl's life changes when a stranger appears and offers her knowledge of the future. "The Service Call" by Edward Ahern: Bryce kills his wife, but he is subscribed to a "Do Over" service that lets him take it back—if only technical support can help him figure out how to make it work! "Ten Minutes Past Teatime" by Elizabeth Chatsworth: A Victorian spinster-scientist and a Viking shield-maiden find passion and danger in dark-age Ireland. "Misconception" by Gabi Coatsworth: Marcia wonders about the son she gave up for adoption many years ago . . . until a stranger shows up on her doorstep and causes her to revisit her past choices. "Dinosaurs and Oats" by B.T. Lowry: Cynthia dreams about the past and doesn't realize that others can, too. "Disjointed" by Alison McBain: Carson finds a strange machine in a junk shop and soon discovers there might be good reason why time travel is illegal. "Turns of Fate" by Teresa Richards: Cressida is a teenager down on her luck. But that doesn't mean she wants to break the rules about time traveling. Sometimes, things just happen. "Miss Princott's Time Travel Agency" by Barbara Russell: Priscilla's time travel business lets scholars study the past, but one client's good intentions might cause a terrible snafu with the timeline. "The Swing" by Abhishek Sengupta: A poetic and surrealist story where a girl uses death to live. "Reality Zero" by Nikki Trionfo: Chloe is part of a government organization that protects the timeline from terrorist attack. But what happens if the timeline itself becomes a threat? And there are many, many more amazing stories! If you enjoy well-written genre fiction ranging from literary to speculative, adventure to horror, then it’s about time for you to pick up a copy of WHEN TO NOW.

When to Now: A Time Travel Anthology

Coatsworth, Gabi

Russell, Barbara

Chatsworth, Elizabeth

Trionfo, Nikki

Ahern, Edward

Richards, Teresa

Scott, Cynthia C.

Lowry, B.T.

Sengupta, Abhishek

A collection of fantasy short stories by award-winning author Alison McBain. What happens when Cinderella makes a deal with her devil of a godmother? Or when a princess has to face being rescued by a completely unsuitable hero? Or when a living body of water becomes a woman and falls in love? Find out in this new collection of fantasy short stories by Alison McBain. This book contains fourteen of Ms. McBain's most popular flash fiction and short stories, including her award-winning short "Grandmother Winter." Also included are five brand-new stories, including "Enchantress of Books," inspired by the collection's beautiful cover art created by the talented Richard Ong. So wave a wand, make a wish on the moon, and prepare to delve into these nineteen fantastical adventures

Enchantress of Books and other stories

Literature & Fiction

Short Stories & Anthologies

The Fairfield Scribes worked with WestportWRITES to release an anthology of short stories written by authors local to Fairfield County, Connecticut. These pieces are in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley's classic novel. The original challenge to the authors for this collection was to follow in Shelley's legendary footsteps, when Lord Byron told his guests in the summer of 1816 to "each write a ghost story." Authors include Edward Ahern, Elizabeth Chatsworth, Gabi Coatsworth, Cody Daigle-Orians, Dave D’Alessio, Alex Giannini, Roman Godzich, Sheryl Kayne, P.C. Keeler, Alison McBain, V.P. Morris, Marc Sirkin, Corrine "Mitzy Sky" Taylor, and D.J. Whitney. The stories range in theme from literary reimaginings of Mary Shelley’s life, to a horror story about a woman transforming herself into a termite queen, and everything else in between. These stories are truly haunting! So crank up your alchemical machines and look out for the next thunderstorm...

Imagining Monsters: A Collection of Short Stories Inspired by Frankenstein

Giannini, Alex

Godzich, Roman

D'Alessio, Dave

Kayne, Sheryl

Daigle-Orians, Cody

Keeler, P.C.

What is War? Nobody can really say.“Everybody was in a different War. Nobody's War is quite the same as anyone else's.”These words were from a Vietnam Veteran counselor.Truer words have never been spoken, so in this book we don't try to answer the question. Instead we bring you thoughtful stories not only of War, but the people affected, and the aftermath.In this book you'll find stories of alternative Wars as imagined by 26 authors of speculative fiction. Perhaps some of them will provide some insight into why we keep repeating what simply seems like a really bad idea.

Alternative War (Alternatives)

Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann

Wright, Jim

Hogan, Liam

Gerrold,David

Brown, Bob l

GOLDEN, BRUCE

Alexander, Gwyndyn T.

Thackray, Jeremy

B Cubed Press

About the Author\nAlison McBain is an award-winning author with more than seventy short stories and poems published. Once in a while, she puts on her Book Reviews Editor hat for the magazine Bewildering Stories or draws all over the walls of her house with enthusiastic help of her kids.\nFire. Blood. His brother's hand smashing his face to the ground. These are Jiangxi's final memories of Beijing from 1751. In the alternate history novel The New Empire, a bloody coup imprisons the emperor's youngest son in the bowels of a cargo ship, headed to a much different America than we've read about in history books. When Jiangxi arrives in the distant city of Wacharon, a trading hub for a powerful tribal confederacy, he is sold upon his arrival. As he begins to learn about the influential man who bought him, he's caught between the two worlds of his past and present, forced to choose between following the law of the land or striking out on his own to find a new and bold path to freedom. But Jiangxi's journey of self-discovery has a steep price. The choices he makes will change not only the course of his own life, but also the future of the two most powerful nations in the world.

The New Empire

United States

Woodhall Press

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