FlamesRising.com is pleased to present an exclusive preview of a new anthology put together by Kerrie Hughes and Martin Greenberg. THE GIRL’S GUIDE TO GUNS AND MONSTERS includes several of your favorite urban fantasy and paranormal romance authors including: Lilith St. Crow, Anton Strout, Tanya Huff, Jim C. Hines, Mickey Zucker Reichert and Elizabeth A. Vaughan.

Featuring several new heroines that aren’t afraid to do the “rescuing,” this collection of thirteen short stories is all about empowered female characters. Now, you can read an excerpt from three of these stories.

The Girl’s Guide to Guns and Monsters is available now at Amazon.com and DriveThruHorror.com.

In just a few weeks, A DARK MATTER will officially debut. FlamesRising.com is able to not only give you an inside look into this new horror novel by New York Times Bestseller Peter Straub, but we’ve got a few other goodies in store for you, too.

The blue dragon, Lazuli, lives to torment the villagers of Sandon’s hometown, Hartfall. He demands more and more riches until the Baron, Sandon’s father, has only one thing left to give: himself. Lazuli will arrive at midnight to take the Baron away. Sandon has only one hope left: the gold dragon that sits atop a ledge above the village, silently watching. In one legendary battle Lazuli magically petrified the gold dragon, once Hartfall’s sworn protector. But Sandon is sure he can find a way to awaken the beast. In the dead of night, he sneaks out onto the gold dragon’s ledge. And there he stumbles onto a secret that throws everything he thought he knew about his home and his family into question. Can Sandon unlock the secret of the gold dragon in time to save his village–and his dad?

This next installment of the series inspired by The New York Times best-seller A Practical Guide to Dragons shows just how much a young boy can do when he realizes that the strength of a gold dragon may lie inside himself.

Flames Rising is pleased to offer our readers an excerpt from this book by R.D. Henham. Gold Dragon Codex is available now at Amazon.com.

FlamesRising.com is proud to present you with an in-depth look into A DARK MATTER. Written by New York Times bestselling author Peter Straub, this novel is already getting rave reviews from places like Publisher’s Weekly well before its official release date of February 9, 2010. Over the next, few weeks we’re going to share with you more about this modern horror novel which has been billed as “powerful” and “brilliantly terrifying.”

To kick off our in-depth look at this new horror novel, we’d like to share with you Peter’s answers to a few of our questions.

A Tale of The Darkness!

Go back to the turn of the 20th Century and read a tale of lost love, the depravity of man and powers beyond our understanding in the tradition of H.P. Lovecraft!

Salvador Gomes is a broken man. He has lost his beautiful wife and young daughter in a fire and now spends restless days and sleepless nights looking for solace. In desperation, he makes a bargain with “The Shadow God,” but every bargain has its price…

Flames Rising is pleased to offer our readers a five page preview of The Darkness: Shadows & Flame one-shot, which will arrive in stores this Wednesday, January 20.

First published in 1999, This is My Blood is David Niall Wilson’s first and most important novel. It is a retelling of the gospel from a very different perspective. When jesus goes into the desert and is tempted by the devil, there is one temptation added. One of the fallen is raised as a woman to tempt him with the flesh. Instead, the woman, named Mary, falls in love with Jesus and his promise of returning her to Heaven.

Cursed to follow him and drink the blood of his followers, Mary walks a fine line between her desire to love and support the Christ, and her burning need to return to Heaven. This novel takes the world of faith, which was the world of men, and of the apostles, and shows it through the eyes of a fallen angel – one who has, in her own words, walked the roads of both Heaven, and Hell. She doesn’t believe there is a God…she knows.

Flames Rising is pleased to offer our readers an excerpt from this dark tale. This is My Blood is available now at DriveThruHorror.com.

FlamesRising.com is pleased to present you with the first chapter of a book entitled THE MERMAID’S MADNESS, which was written by acclaimed author Jim C. Hines.

THE MERMAID’S MADNESS is the second in the series, and features a trip to the land of the mermen and mermaids.

The Mermaid’s Madness is available now at Amazon.com and DriveThruFantasy.com.

Flames Rising is pleased to present you with another exciting fiction preview for the dark fantasy novel DARK KNOWLEDGE. Written by Keith Pyeatt, this dark fantasy e-book is about a struggle between good and evil.

Chapter One

You are my punishment.

The memory stood clear and complete, beautiful in its sharp definition against the fog of Wesley’s mind. He waited for it to dissolve, like memories always did, but this one remained solid.

Wesley’s body tingled as if particles of energy raced through him. He’d braved this journey inside himself many times recently, certain something wonderful waited behind the swirling fog but unable to catch even a glimpse. Now his greatest desire–a clear thought–offered itself. He absorbed his prize quickly, hungrily.

Larry Hama, the legendary mastermind behind G.I. JOE, makes his debut at Archaia! In this standalone tale presented in a graphic novella format, renowned treasure hunters Alaric Moebius and Basil Fox embark on an adventure that takes them from the deepest jungles of New Guinea to the deserts of Libya in search of a mysterious hidden pyramid that contains the power to end the world!

Featuring breathtaking art by Adam Archer (Spooks) and Lizzy John (Rest, Halloween), this unforgettable one-shot introduces readers to a terrifying, exciting new world created by Ryan Schifrin (Spooks)!

INSTANT ANTAGONISTS are systemless creatures or beings designed for use in modern supernatural/horror games. Many will be supernatural in nature; some will be (at least nominally) human. Some are truly evil, others simply selfish or immoral, others may be victims themselves.

Perfect for modern horror gaming that might need a new twist on old legends. The INSTANT ANTAGONISTS line offers details on each monsters origins, powers and plenty of story hooks to include them in your modern horror games.

The Selfish Succubus is available today at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

Edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes, ZOMBIE RACCOONS AND KILLER BUNNIES is a collection of anthologies that explore the darker side of your favorite woodland creatures like raccoons, bunnies, snakes, bats and more! For this collection, the short stories range from humorous to gory and everything in between. Additionally, the stories explore multiple genres like modern horror and science fiction. Before we offer you a few samples of select short stories from this horror anthology, we’d like to highlight the titles in this book, which was published by DAW in October 2009.

As the player characters plan for All Hallows Eve, they suddenly find themselves embroiled into a deadly fight with a pyrokinetic named Gabriella who has lost control of her ability. Several buildings around the city are on fire; this offers the player characters plenty of options to find and determine the best way of dealing with an “innocent” teenage pyrokinetic.

Description
Normally you’d ignore the vandals creating havoc on Devil’s Night, because you have better things to do. Only this time, they’re not just jumping on cars or bullying kids out of their Halloween candy. This time, they’re trying to burn the entire city to the ground – and they don’t care who gets caught in the flames. That old place on Seventieth Street. A grocery store. Some hospital. You follow the trail of burning flesh and glowing embers straight to a single girl who’s looking right at you with a confused look in her eye.

September 19th, 2008. The Large Hadron Super Collider in Cern, Switzerland is about to go operational. Humanity is poised to re-create the very same conditions that resulted in the Big Bang and the birth of the universe. Physicist and Cern team member Kate Prosper notices something in one of the tests, a temporal anomaly with no reasonable scientific explanation. Meanwhile, truck driver Alain Murais would do anything to save his dying son, who is suffering from leukemia. But he’s out of money, insurance and time. Kate and Alain’s paths will end up on a collision course not only with one another, but also the mysterious Steward. Before the Day is over, no one will ever be the same…

As part of our continued efforts to bring you the best horror content for Halloween, FlamesRising.com teamed up with Ryan Macklin from The Master Plan.

Ryan Macklin is a veteran podcaster, producing Master Plan: The People’s Podcast About Game Design, The Voice of the Revolution and This Just In…From GenCon! He has also worked with Evil Hat Productions on various projects, including the Silver ENnie award-winning DON’T LOSE YOUR MIND and the upcoming DRESDEN FILES RPG.

*cue ominous music*

They’re creepy and they’re kooky… Mysterious and spooky…

My first nomination for the Girls of Gore series went to Eve from THE MENAGERIE, the world’s first female (and vampire). In this edition of Girls of Gore, I’d like to turn your attention to the lovely Morticia Addams, who is definitely more than what she seems. Now, you might think that Morticia is just another pretty goth that’s all dressed up with nowhere to go, but you’d be wrong. Dead wrong. She may dress in the finest, black gowns and take extra care of her appearance, but Morticia is definitely a Girl of Gore. Why? Well, read on.

Welcome to the thirteenth and final installment of 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #13: Closing the Door

Last Thursday, I received a package in the mail. It was small, about 7×10, and around an inch thick. I peeled back the perforated strip and unfolded the cardboard with little regard for ceremony. Inside, sitting before me, was the culmination of months of hard work, late nights, long discussions, and a lot of called-in favors. 192 pages of blood, sweat, tears, wood pulp, and ink. It was my proof copy of Little Fears Nightmare Edition.

Our game design series continues with a new essay from Bill White telling us about his fantasy RPG, Ganakagok.

Ganakagok is a fantasy where characters are members of a tribe that lives in a night-time world on an island of ice who must deal with the coming of the Dawn and the changes it brings. Play involves the use of a deck of cards to generate situation, prompt narration, and inspire characters; each session produces an authentic-seeming myth of an imaginary people.

Designing Ganakagok

When people ask me what my game Ganakagok is about, I say, “It’s a fantasy.” I tell them that it’s about a people called the Nitu, who live on a starlit island of ice in a world where the sun has never risen. They live in darkness, revering the Stars, honoring their Ancestors, and marveling at the handiwork of the Forgotten Ones, who long ago wrought Ganakagok into its current form.

Welcome to the twelfth of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #12: Turning the Pages

I hope you all enjoyed last week’s PDF preview of Little Fears Nightmare Edition. Because, this week, we have another excerpt from the book. The following seven pages are from Chapter Three: Someone to Watch Over Me, the game moderator chapter. Click the link below to download the PDF.

Just in time for Halloween, we have come up with a special treat for all you horror authors and storytellers out there. We’ve put our heads together and came up with a random horror plot generator for you to have fun with.

What does it do? Randomizes horror plots, silly! Right now, we have well over 1,000 words and phrases that we’ve put into our bubbling cauldron to come up with some interesting horror plot ideas.

Welcome to the eleventh of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #11: Hiding Under the Covers

This week we’re going to take a cue from last week’s preview and show you something directly from the book. But instead of a cut and paste, let’s check pages straight from the book.

The following seven pages are from Chapter Two: To Be Young Again, the character creation chapter. Click the image below to download the PDF.