DUSK DEFENDS THE LIGHT FROM THE DARK. SOMETIMES… Life is nothing if not constant change. And these changes force us to make terrifying choices that will lead us into either the light or the dark. Dusk is this tipping point, where things go well, or where they go very, very bad. Suspended in Dusk II continues the legacy of editor Simon Dewar's anthology series. Volume II includes the disturbing work of seventeen extremely diverse voices from the horror and speculative fiction genres. -- Teenage boys navigate the Dark Web where diabolical games of life and death await… -- A woman stalked by shadows gets answers she doesn't want to hear… -- Ghost hunters commune with malevolent spirits seeking vengeance on the living... -- A family confronts a Maori legend that's less myth and far more terrifying truth… -- A young man explores a love that continues to gnaw long after it's gone… -- A group of adults encounter childhood fears that will not die… -- And so much more. Suspended in Dusk II is introduced by Angela Slatter and includes fiction from Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Graham Jones, Bracken MacLeod, Damien Angelica Walters, Alan Baxter, Paul Tremblay, Sarah Read, Christopher Golden, Nerine Dorman, Dan Rabarts, Gwendolyn Kiste, Benjamin Knox, Annie Neugebauer, J.C. Michael, Letitia Trent, Paul Michael Anderson and Karen Runge. Confront your change. But you must first survive dusk. Praise for Suspended in Dusk II: "Simon Dewar's second installment of the series really delivers. This collection has thrown together a multitude of quality writing that begs to be read. There is darkness in the margins of each page, smudges of black ink threatening to swallow the reader when they aren't expecting," – Brian Bogart, Kendall Reviews "Suspended in Dusk II grabs you by the throat from the very first story and does not let go. I honestly can't overstate how good this anthology was. There are some very heavy topics in the stories but…not a single one is played merely for shock value or cheap emotion." – Gracie Kat, Sci-Fi & Scary "I appreciated the large amount of diversity in this book; from the foreword it became clear that individuals of all shapes of life were given the chance to contribute, and I feel that's largely absent in anthologies these days." – Red Lace Reviews Proudly presented by Grey Matter Press, the home of multiple Bram Stoker Award-nominated volumes of horror. Grey Matter Press: Where Dark Thoughts Thrive

Leave the lights on tonight. So you'll see them coming. 27 New Zealand and American authors delve into the strange, the unexpected, and the downright terrifying things that kids say in this collection of all new flash fiction. From the mouths of babes come 37 stories, from the haunting to the hilarious to the horrific.

On the verge of losing her laboratory, her savings, and all respect for herself, Pandora (Penny) Yee lands her first contract as scientific consult to the police department. And with seventeen murder cases on the go, the surly inspector is happy to leave her to it. Only she’s going to need to get around, and that means her slightly unhinged adopted brother, Matiu, will be doing the driving. But something about the case spooks Matiu, something other than the lack of a body in the congealing pool of blood in the locked room or that odd little bowl. Matiu doesn’t like anything about this case, from the voices that screamed at him when he touched that bowl, to the way his hateful imaginary friend Makere has come back to torment him, to the fact that the victim seems to be tied up with a man from Matiu’s past, a man who takes pleasure in watching dogs tear each other to pieces for profit and entertainment. Hounds of the Underworld blends mystery, near-future noir and horror. Set in New Zealand it’s the product of a collaboration by two Kiwi authors, one with Chinese heritage and the other Māori. This debut book in The Path of Ra series offers compelling new voices and an exotic perspective on the detective drama.

Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come. This volume includes: All That Glitters by Dan Rabarts Agents Lachlan King and Barry Ferguson are called to an isolated mining town to investigate the disappearance of a young Chinese girl. They found the town all but abandoned, and as they descend into the realm of Ruaumoko, the Maori god of earthquakes they find an explosive situation that will test both agents and their equipment sorely. Under Oak Island by K T Bryski Agent Brandon Hill is called in to investigate strange happenings in Nova Scotia. The location is an isolated stretch of land called Oak Island, a truly peculiar place with mystery and peril surrounding it. At the Money Pit, a man-made excavation site at the island’s heart, Hill meets up with Agent Anouk Tremblay, le Ministère Officiel d’Occurrences Sans Explication, the Québec counterpart to the Ministry. Struggling against the dark claustrophobia lingering around them in their descent of the Money Pit, Hill and Tremblay navigate hydrological systems and digging technology to discover what has taken refuge under Oak Island. Those Dark Satanic Mills by Suna Dasi Agent Imogen Feaveryear finds herself investigating a mysterious panic overcoming a mill in the countryside of Manchester, England. The unassuming mystery, dismissed by other agents of the Ministry, leads her to India, the approval of Doctor Sound on granting the young agent the latest in R&D technology. This case only twists and turns harder as Imogen confronts an enigmatic intruder, obviously aware of her clandestine work. Blessings of Baalsheim by Nobilis Reed In the Spring of 1869 Mrs Isabel Burton begins a correspondence with the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Director, Woodruff Spring, on a strange device she has run across in her travels. Ministry agents are dispatched and a soon enough the Burtons, both Isabel and her husband Sir Richard, are deep in a very peculiar occurrence and dashing through the wilderness to prevent untold horror occurring. The Black Empress by Katharina Bordet When two agents from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences are called to Vienna to investigate disturbances at the palace, what they discover could threaten the Austro-Hungarian Empire and shatter the fragile peace in Europe. Who is the mysterious man who has pulled diplomatic strings to enlist the help of a foreign agency and how is the Empress Elisabeth herself involved? To Hide in Plain Sight by K T Bryski Elizabeth Sinclair, working on the fringes of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, is called in to find a thief. Her unusual set of skills means she is particularly suited to this task, but she is not the only one able to hide in plain sight, and the museum of the University of Toronto has many secrets and dangers within its walls.

Scientific consultant Penny Yee has barely drawn breath before Detective Inspector Tanner assigns her another suspicious death, with Matiu tagging along for the ride. That's fine as long as he stays outside the crime scene tape, but when one of Matiu's former cronies turns up dead, Penny wonders if her brother might be more than just an innocent bystander. While she's figuring that out, the entire universe conspires against her, with a cadaver going AWOL, her DNA sequencer spitting the dummy, and the rent due any day. Even the weather has it in for her. But that's not the worst of it; Penny's parents have practically announced her nuptials to Craig Tong! Still spitting the taste of sand from his mouth, Matiu's back on the case with Penny, and wouldn't you know it, his big sister is in over her head again, not that she has a clue. There's a storm brewing dark through the heat-haze on the horizon, and Makere isn't the only one of Matiu's friends from another life dogging his steps. Is this all because of what Mārama was trying to tell him earlier? About his heritage? Meanwhile, Cerberus is only making things worse by losing his rag every time they cross paths with the elusive killer. Can the dog taste the hot sour reek of something trying to push through the veil and run its tongue and teeth across this world? What's calling them? What has changed? Matiu should probably check that out, if only his probation officer would quit calling...

Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror anthology with stories chosen from the best of the best at WilyWriters.com.

"This is a collection of short stories from around the world featuring the derring-do of secret agents cut from different cloth. These original short stories feature the imagination and voices of ..."--Cover.

Akmenos only ever wanted to bake a perfect souffl , but the murder of an elvish prince at his banquet table sweeps him into a spiral of intrigue, deception and betrayal which is bigger than even his biggest casserole dish.Caught in a desperate struggle between warring nations and shadowy organisations, Akmenos must stay one step ahead of the sinister figures intent on hunting him down ‒ his own brothers among them ‒ while he tries to clear his name, unmask the true killer, and find a decent cup of tea. Stumbling from one misadventure to another across continents and planes as the world and his family crumble around him, Akmenos will need to be stronger than he ever thought he could be ‒ stronger even than the blue cheese down the bottom of the larder that should've been thrown out months ago.

It's not every day you meet the sisters your dad never told you about, and the first thing they do is criticise your cooking. But even if they are rogues and smugglers without a whit of culinary appreciation, if Aralea and Kaia can help Akmenos find a heart for Cordax and bring her back to life, that's a fish he's willing to fry. Armed with little more than a recipe for success and the hope that he can trust these sisters more than his murderous, treacherous brothers, Akmenos sets off across the Aetheric Plane, while all the enemies he's been trying to avoid close in around him. Not to mention his other sisters, the real pirates, who seem awfully keen to meet him, though not in a friendly way. Because the universe has a way of balancing out its flavours. Can Akmenos and the strange new friends he meets along the way outwit the guest list of foes who want him served up on their menu? For this family dinner, Akmenos is going to need to really cook up a storm if he wants to make it as far as the dessert trolley.

There's been a gang massacre on Auckland's Freyberg Wharf. Body parts everywhere. And with the police's go-to laboratory out of action, it's up to scientific consult Pandora (Penny) Yee to sort through the mess. It's a hellish task, made worse by the earthquake swarms, the insufferable heat, and Cerberus' infernal barking. And what's got into her brother Matiu? Does it have something to do with the ship's consignment? Or is Matiu running with the gangs again? Because if he's involved, Penny will murder him herself... Matiu can taste the chaos in the air. All they've done so far is keep it at bay, but now the streets are shuddering in protest. Things are pushing up against the veil like floodwaters. The coming days promise to be dark, but there's a bright side. He's got this flash new car, Penny's been too busy working to bug him, and Erica keeps scheduling their probation meetings over her lunch hour... Join Penny and Matiu Yee for the family reunion to end all family reunions, as the struggle between light and dark erupts across Auckland's volcanic skyline.