Big or small, apartment or house, they’re all home. Come inside one boy’s high-rise apartment complex, where his backyard is the space between his neighboring apartment buildings, and his basketball net is tucked into a bedroom. His parents sometimes complain their home is too small, but the boy’s balcony view of the city and the extended play space of the hallways are a few ways that make the boy’s house feel just the right size. Our Big Little Place is a charming child’s-eye-view tribute to the power of imaginative play and the diversity of the living spaces we call home.

When young, inexperienced but very ambitious female reporter, Emily Strauss, blags her way into newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer's office, she comes away with a treacherous assignment: to discover what happened to Anna Zemeckis, one of many women who have disappeared during the 1893 World's Fair. With the support of a young man who is just venturing into the burgeoning trade of news photography, Emily soon finds herself in a race against time to save Anna's life and to bring her story back to New York before Pulitzer's tough deadline expires. Chicago is a place of dangerous contrasts. Among all the glitz and razzmatazz of the Fair itself and the spectacular wealth and influence of a new middle class elite, Emily comes face to face with rival ethnic groups, the sinister underworld of pornography and prostitution, as well as the ruthless meatpacking giants of the Union Stock Yard, who control the lives and destinies of so many of Chicago's immigrant poor.

April, 1894 -- one man has just eight days to stop the outbreak of war. As a wave of anarchist violence sweeps through Europe's capitals, royal circles believe that revolution may be imminent. But an international meeting of security chiefs in London decides such a thing is inconceivable. Complacently, they reject The Coburg Conspiracy, the one report that predicts the inevitable course of events. Its author is Thomas Ryder, former soldier and special political agent with the British Army in India. Ryder has dared think, and describe, the unthinkable: the simultaneous assassination of twenty-nine members of Europe's most powerful extended royal family -- the Saxe-Coburgs -- including Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, the Tsar of Russia and Queen Victoria herself. If it happens, he argues, a world war will inevitably follow. When a bizarre murder desecrates the Royal Mausoleum at Windsor, Ryder is convinced that his nightmare scenario will become reality -- in just eight days' time. But he's about to discover that the bigger the conspiracy the fewer the people who want to believe it. With Thomas Ryder, James Conan has created a most charismatic new character. Ryder is driven and dangerous: a hunter trained to track and kill, a loyal friend pursued by demons, a seeker of truth and liberty, an enemy who never gives up whatever the cost. A hero for all times.

ISSUE 2 (December 2016) Superbly crafted tales of science fiction and fantasy from around the world. Previously unpublished short stories that will take you to new realms, experience mystic sorcery, meet strange creatures, travel through time and visit distant galaxies! Turn the pages and let your journey begin today. In this issue: FROSTFIRE-James Edward O'Brien Mystery, murder, conspiracy and, of course, magic all await you in this intricate tale. COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION-Calvin Demmer Humankind is always trying to enhance the world around itself, but does it ever stop and ask if it should? DEVIATIONS-Anthony Marchese The problem with time travel is this: if you actually ended up changing something, would you be able to tell? LOST SOULS-Ben Howels Humans believe that they are the only species afflicted with drug addiction. They are wrong. Just ask a demon. THE RELUCTANT PIRATE-Tom Howard We don't always choose to live the life we lead, especially when life sets us on a path of intergalactic piracy. FINDING PURPOSE-Daniel Swindlehurst The tricky thing about an Artificial Intelligence is that once unleashed, you never know what its endgame will be. SEASON'S GREETINGS-Edward Ahern 'tis the season to be visited by something strange... BITTER PILL-James A. Conan Have you ever considered the medical perils of living on another world? WAKE UP, MR. CHEN-Kenneth A. Rupp When it comes to corporate scientific experimentation, there is a point when you stop being an employee and actually become part of the experiment. DAMSEL IN DISTRESS-L.S. Engler The most important part of going on an adventurous quest is to make sure that you pay attention to all the details before departing... CIRCLING THE BRAIN-Brian Koukol If you think life is difficult, try living it as a disembodied head for a while. COVER ART: Carol Heyer

Mutant cephalopods, inter-species disease transmission, squabbling scientists. These are but some of the strange tales to be found in this book. Mad Scientist Journal: Summer 2016 collects twelve tales from the fictional worlds of mad science. For the discerning mad scientist reader, there are also pieces of fiction from Freya Marske, Maureen Bowden, and Samantha Cross. Readers will also find other resources for the budding mad scientist, including an advice column, horoscopes, and other brief messages from mad scientists. Authors featured in this volume also include Jacqueline Bridges, Amandeep Jutla, Tamoha Sengupta, Joshua Steely, Zach Bartlett, Alanna McFall, James Stephen, Simon Kewin, Luke McKinney, Franko Stephens, Braddock Gaskill, Judith Field, David Wing, Loria Chaddon, Rick Tobin, Shane Landry, Kate Elizabeth, and Sean Frost. Cover art by Matt Youngmark.

Octobre 1893. Les visiteurs affluent à Chicago où se tient l’Exposition universelle. Derrière les gratte-ciel et la fête, un monde de violence, de pornographie et de xénophobie que tente de dissimuler le maire pour ne pas nuire à l’image de la capitale de l’Illinois. Des femmes disparaissent dans l’indifférence. Un cadavre est repêché dans la Bouillonne : son signalement correspond à celui d’Anna Zemeckis une New-Yorkaise de vingt et un ans. Emily Strauss, une jeune et ambitieuse journaliste, convainc Joseph Pulitzer, le magnat de la presse propriétaire du New York World, de l’envoyer enquêter sur l’affaire. Un polar historique sanglant et glacial, dont la plupart des épisodes se situent dans les fameux abattoirs de Chicago...Ça fait froid dans le dos, c’est palpitant et on en redemande ! Florence Dalmas, Le Dauphiné libéré.

Die junge New Yorker Journalistin Emily Strauss sucht in Chicago ein verschwundenes Mädchen. Dabei deckt sie die dunklen Geheimnisse der mächtigsten Männer der Stadt auf und gerät in Lebensgefahr.