An Elizabethan espionage thriller in which playwright Christopher Marlowe spies on Mary, Queen of Scots while navigating the perils of politics, theater, romance—and murder. England, 1585. In Kit Marlowe's last year at Cambridge, he is approached by Queen Elizabeth's spymaster offering an unorthodox career opportunity: going undercover to intercept a Catholic plot to put Mary, Queen of Scots on Elizabeth's throne. Spying on Queen Mary turns out to be more than Kit bargained for, but his salary allows him to mount his first play, and over the following years he becomes the toast of London's raucous theater scene. But when Kit finds himself reluctantly drawn back into the world of espionage and treason, he realizes everything he's worked so hard to attain—including the trust of the man he loves—could vanish in an instant. Pairing modern language with period detail, Allison Epstein brings Elizabeth's lavish court, Marlowe's colorful theater troupe, and the squalor of sixteenth-century London to vivid, teeming life. At the center of the action is Kit himself—an irrepressible, irreverent force of nature.

An urgent, immersive alternate history set in an imperial Russia on the brink of disaster, following a surprising cast of characters seeking a better future as Saint Petersburg struggles in the wake of Napoleon’s failed invasion. Saint Petersburg, 1812. Sasha, a captain in Russia’s imperial army, returns home in the wake of Napoleon’s defeat to his lover, Grand Duke Felix, the disgraced second son of the tsar. Their reunion is interrupted by the arrival of Sofia, a mysterious outsider Sasha suspects may possess strange powers. Felix, insisting that Sasha's old-fashioned superstitions belong in fairytales, takes Sofia into his confidence. On her incendiary advice, Felix confronts his father about the people’s suffering in the war’s aftermath, to disastrous results, setting him on a collision course with a vocal group of dissidents: the Koalitsiya. Meanwhile, the Koalitsiya plot to gridlock Saint Petersburg with a citywide strike. One of their lieutenants, Marya, also falls under Sofia's spell and, allied with Felix, finds herself in the middle of a battle. As Sofia’s beguiling influence grows and rising tensions threaten the tsar’s peace, Sasha, Felix, and Marya must choose between their ideals and the people they love. Allison Epstein intercuts this exuberant alternate history with fractured retellings of Eastern European folk stories that are equal parts deadly dark and slyly illuminating. Vividly written and deeply immersive, Let the Dead Bury the Dead reminds us that the concerns of the past aren't quite as far behind us as we like to believe.

A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London’s most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue. "Fagin the Thief takes one of literature's greatest rogues and gives him a soul, a backstory, and a spotlight. Layered and clever, Epstein's story is as ambitious as it is deeply satisfying." --Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of I Have Some Questions for You Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob's whole world is his open-minded mother, Leah. But Jacob’s prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream. Striking out on his own, Jacob familiarizes himself with London's highest value neighborhoods while forging his own path in the shadows. But everything changes when he adopts an aspiring teenage thief named Bill Sikes, whose mercurial temper poses a danger to himself and anyone foolish enough to cross him. Along the way, Jacob’s found family expands to include his closest friend, Nancy, and his greatest protégé, the Artful Dodger. But as Bill’s ambition soars and a major robbery goes awry, Jacob is forced to decide what he really stands for—and what a life is worth. Colorfully written and wickedly funny, Allison Epstein breathes fresh life into the teeming streets of Dickensian London--reclaiming one of Victorian literature’s most notorious villains in an unforgettable new adventure.

Timeworn is a biannual literary journal based in Buffalo, NY, focused on historical fiction with a splash of the speculative.

The sea is a dark and mysterious place. What lurks within the deepest caverns, unseen by those above? A haunting melody drifts across the waves, a beautiful figure floats in the shallows. Do you follow? Do you answer the sea's hypnotic call? An anthology featuring 18 stories about mermaids, sea goddesses, sirens, and other mysterious creatures of the deep.

Secrets of the sea, mysterious spirits, supernatural creatures, futuristic technology and more await in this special collection compiling the top stories published by Fantasia Divinity in 2018! Featuring 16 thrilling stories, there is something for everyone to love.Including stories by: Allison Epstein, R.A. Goli, DC Diamondopolous, Zoey Xolton, Vonnie Winslow Crist, Madeleine McDonald, Ezekiel Kincaid, Matthew McAyeal, Sara Codair, Dan Rice, Christine Morgan, Kelly A. Harmon, KA Masters, Amber M. Simpson, Josh Dygert, and Janel Brubaker.