Part sword and sorcery, part extreme horror, King of the Bastards is wild adventure across seas, beaches, and mountains full of horrifying monstrosities, dark magic, and demonic entities.

Rogan has been many things in his life as an adventurer — a barbarian, a thief, a buccaneer, a rogue, a lover, a reaver, and most recently, a king.

Now, this prehistoric bane of wizards and tyrants finds himself without a kingdom, lost in a terrifying new world, and fighting for his life against pirates, zombies, and the demonic entity known as Meeble. And even if he defeats his foes, Rogan must still find a way to return home, regain his throne, save his loved ones, and remind everyone why he’s the KING OF THE BASTARDS.

Savannah is under siege.

For 20 years the minions of the Wyrm have threatened the Coastal Empire, checked only by the courage and cunning of the Shadow Lords. Every year, the septs of the Southern Protectorate send young warriors to aid in the defense and to prove their mettle in the pressure cooker of the port city.

It’s not enough.

Every night, the Wyrm grows stronger, its forces more bold. Now, young cubs are dead and a hidden foe reaches out its claws to exact revenge against Savannah’s Garou.

Ingrid Stormwalker, war chief of the Coastal Empire, must defy her sept’s law, her family, and her pack to uncover the root of the rotten vine that chokes her beloved caern.

Time is running out for the historic city — and the entire Southern Protectorate.

I don’t do research for any of my novels or stories.

A part of me, as I typed the above, felt a sense of guilt. It’s the received wisdom these days – and, for all I know, always has been – that a fiction writers must assiduously research the background to their works in order to present a credible ‘world’ to their readers. After all, if you’re writing about a World War II fighter pilot, isn’t it wise to have read up on what it’s like to be a fighter pilot? And that goes for any other specialist profession or area of expertise, of course. To lend greater fidelity to one’s visions, research is essential.

Filmscope Entertainment is pleased to announce that they have signed an exclusive deal with New York Times best selling and acclaimed author, Margaret Weis, for the film and television rights to her Sci Fi book series Star of the Guardians.

Margaret Weis has written over 60 published books and sold more than 35 million copies including Star of the Guardians, co-authoring the Dragonlance book series and co-creating the Dragonlance game world for RPG game play.

When Liz Drake’s best friend vanishes, nothing can stop her nightmares. Driven by the certainty he needs her help, she crosses a continent to search for him. She finds Blake comatose in a Vancouver hospital, victim of a mysterious accident that claimed his lover’s life – in her dreams he drowns.

Blake’s new circle of artists and mystics draws her in, but all of them are lying or keeping dangerous secrets. Soon nightmare creatures stalk the waking city, and Liz can’t fight a dream from the daylight world: to rescue Blake she must brave the darkest depths of the Dreamlands.

Even the attempt could kill her, or leave her mind trapped or broken. And if she succeeds, she must face the monstrous Yellow King, whose slave Blake is on the verge of becoming forever.

Normally, it can be difficult for me to talk about my day job and/or part-time gig as a freelancer here on Flames Rising due to any number of reasons. However, after learning so much over the past few years I wanted to start talking about various aspects of what I do.

Today, I want to address what it means to work with everyone…

There are thousands of active titles on the sites I manage for DriveThruRPG.com, DriveThruComics.com, and DriveThruFiction.com. I’ve had the pleasure of working with publishers and creators that are beyond awesome. I’ve also worked with publishers and creators who say and do things I disagree with in any number of different ways.

Something dark sleeps deep in the ocean, emanating a power darker and more destructive than anything imaginable. And there are those that would wish to wake it…

From Fantasy Flight Games comes a gripping tale of mystery, suspense, and horror! Set in the popular world of the Arkham Horror board game, Ghouls of the Miskatonic is the first book of The Dark Waters Trilogy. Following the mysterious deaths of several young ladies, a wide cast of familiar faces from the Arkham Horror board game begin an exciting and terrifying new investigation.

From the pen of New York Times Bestselling author Graham McNeill, Ghouls of the Miskatonic begins a thrilling story in the renowned setting created by H.P. Lovecraft. Fans of games and literature alike will be immersed in the frightening secrets that lie beneath The Dark Waters.

Can’t get enough spooks, spirits, and specters? Now you’ll never have to go a day without your ghoulish fix.

This ghastly collection features some of the scariest stories of murder, revenge, and suicide ever told, and the spirits that haunt their resting place for all time. As a truly unique convention, each story directly relates to the specific day on which it’s found.

It has been six hundred years since Imoshen the First, Causare of the T’En, brought her beleaguered people across the seas to Fair Isle. The magical folk mixed with the natives, bringing culture and sophistication, and made the island one of the wealthiest, most powerful nations in the known world.

In one night, all is lost. Imoshen, namesake of the first Empress, is the last pure-blooded T’En woman, left behind when her kinfolk went to die in defence of their homeland. The savage Ghebites, barbarians from the warm north, have conquered Fair Isle, and their general, Tulkhan, claims her as his right of conquest.

Proud and fierce, trained in arts of war and possessed of extraordinary healing gifts, Imoshen must choose to submit to the barbarian soldier and save her people’s heritage… or to die in a futile gesture of defiance.

Apex is proud to present the first book in Grand Master Award winner Brian Keene’s long-awaited new series, a loving ode to lost world classics like Burroughs’s PELLUCIDAR, Howard’s ALMURIC, and Lansdale’s THE DRIVE-IN, but with a thoroughly modern twist that only Brian Keene could conceive.

When modern-day occultist Aaron Pace discovers the secrets of inter-dimensional travel via a mystical pathway called The Labyrinth, he wastes no time in exploring a multitude of strange new worlds and alternate realities. But then, Aaron finds himself trapped in the most bizarre dimension of all — a place where dinosaurs coexist with giant robots, where cowboys fight reptilian lizard people, and where even the grass can kill you. This is a world populated by the missing and the disappeared, a world where myth is reality and where the extinct is reborn. Now, side-by-side with his new companions Kasheena and Bloop, Aaron must learn to navigate its dangers and survive long enough to escape… THE LOST LEVEL.

Louie “Fitz” Fitzsimmons is getting out of the drugs business. It was never what you might call a career, anyway; he’s got problems – strange, violent, vivid hallucinations that have plagued him since he was a kid – and what with one thing and another, this is where he’s ended up. So he’s been cooking Hollywood gangster Blake Kaplan’s books, and putting a little aside for a rainy day – fifteen million, give or take – and he figures it’s time to cut and run. Until a vision hits at the worst possible moment, and now he’s in hospital and looking at a stretch in County on a possession charge.

Roll the Bones!

In a world ruled by chance, one rash decision could bring down the house, one roll of the dice could bring untold wealth, or the end of everything. The players have gathered around the table, each to tell their story – often dark, always compelling. Within you will find tales of the players and the played, lives governed by games deadly, weird, or downright bizarre.

Multi-award winning editor Jonathan Oliver (The End of the Line, House of Fear, Magic, End of the Road) brings together new stories featuring a diverse collection of voices.

Margaret Weis Productions has just released two novellas based on the Dragon Brigade series by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes in eBook formats!

Dragon Brigade: The Day Is Ours

Read the novella that started the latest series by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes – Dragon Brigade.

When the magically reinforced flying fortress refuses to surrender after many days of shelling, the Rosian Royal Navy calls in the famed Dragon Brigade to help defeat the stubborn enemy.

Lord Captain Stephano de Guichen and his dragon, Lady Cam, brace themselves to face enemy fire, but soon discover that court intrigue is dangerous than cannon balls.

Three acclaimed Dredd writers – Carroll, Ewing and Smith – take you back to Judge Dredd’s first year on street in this collected edition of novellas, which marks the start of a brand new series from Abaddon Books that follows the beginning of the infamous Judge’s career: Judge Dredd: Year One

Mega-City One, 2080. Judge Joe Dredd’s first year as a full-eagle Judge. Bred for justice, trained in law, Dredd’s no helpless rookie, but he’s not the seasoned veteran we know either. Three tales follow the first adventures of the future city’s greatest lawman. With an introduction by the Mighty Tharg!

On the subway, during lunch, or even under the fluorescent glow of your cubical there is no escape! Now your slow descent into madness can follow you through the day, as well as the night.

The WHISPERS FROM THE ABYSS ANTHOLOGY is the first ever H.P. Lovecraft inspired collection created specifically for readers on the go.

Fairy tales are fantastical tales in which anything—absolutely anything—can happen. Most fairy tales don’t involve fairies. Some have morals, some don’t. Some are for kids, some aren’t. The oldest were told by adults to adults.

Fairy tales are populated by the weird and the bizarre. Elves and dragons, bridge trolls and deep-sea mermaids, sprites and goblins, talking animals and talking trees and sometimes, even fairies. There are no limits to what can be used in a fairy tale, or to what a fairy tale can be about.

Once Upon an Apocalypse contains fairy tales about zombies. Or, in some cases, zombie stories with fairies, or even fairy tales in which zombies also appear.

War is everywhere. Not only among the firefights, in the sweat dripping from heavy armor and the clenching grip on your weapon, but also wedging itself deep into families, infiltrating our love letters, hovering in the air above our heads. It’s in our dreams and our text messages. At times it roars with adrenaline, while at others it slips in silently so it can sit beside you until you forget it’s there.

“It is an early American horror story…And that’s why people know it. Because it’s got the kind of symbolism that good fairy tales or horror stories have.” —Tim Burton

Perhaps the marker of a true mythos is when the stories themselves overshadow their creator. Originally published under a pseudonym as The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories gave America its own haunted mythology. This new collection of larger-than-life tales contains Washington Irving’s best-known literary inventions—Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman, and Rip Van Winkle—that continue to capture our imaginations today, and features an introduction and notes by Elizabeth L. Bradley, author of Knickerbocker: The Myth Behind New York and literary consultant to Historic Hudson Valley, the caretakers of Irving’s Tarrytown, New York home.

Award-winning author and game designer Matt Forbeck is partnering with Outland Entertainment to produce a tabletop roleplaying game based upon his fantasy noir Shotguns & Sorcery novels, as well as enhanced ebook editions of those popular books. Fans of the series will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world, meet the characters from the books, create their own heroes, and play though brand-new adventures developed exclusively for the game.

“I’d long thought about trying to publish a Shotguns & Sorcery game myself,” Forbeck says, “but I could never manage to find the time. Then Jeremy Mohler came to me with so much love for both games and these books—and he’s such a talented artist to boot. I couldn’t ask for more dedicated publishing partners than Outland.”

Privateer Press has recently begun uploading a number of eBook novels and anthologies based on their Iron Kingdoms and Warmachine games to DriveThruFiction.com. Previously Privateer Press had made the PDFs of the Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy RPG and select supplements available at DriveThruRPG.com.

This represents Privateer Press’ first foray into selling their Skull Island Expeditions imprint’s fiction titles on the DriveThru sites.