Archives for posts with tag: The Green Leopard Plague

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The Story Collection Storybundle is ends today June 2 at Midnight Eastern Time, 9 p.m. Pacific Time, at https://storybundle.com/storycollection!

You’ll receive:

Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner

The extensive and multi-genre collection was prepared as an ebook for Storybundle, includes forty-one stories, and has an Introduction by Karen Joy Fowler. Shiner was a finalist for the Philip K Dick Award, the Hugo Award, and the Nebula Award.

Errantry: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand

Hand won the World Fantasy Award four times, the Nebula Award twice, the Shirley Jackson Award twice, the Mythopoetic Award, and was a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book Author.

The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories by Walter Jon Williams

Two stories in this collection won the Nebula Award. Williams was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist and placed numerous times for the Nebula and Hugo Awards.

The bonus books, which complete your bundle, are:

What I Didn’t See: Stories by Karen Joy Fowler

The collection won the World Fantasy Award and the title story won the Nebula. Fowler wrote The Jane Austen Book Club, a New York Times Bestseller made into a film, and won the 2013 PEN/Faulkner for We are all completely beside ourselves.

6 Stories by Kathe Koja

The collection was created by the author exclusively for Storybundle. Koja won the Bram Stoker Award and was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist.

Strange Ladies: 7 Stories by Lisa Mason

The collection received five stars from the San Francisco Review of Books. Mason was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist, a San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book Author, and a New York Times Notable Book Author.

Women Up to No Good by Pat Murphy

Two stories in the collection were nominated for the Nebula. Murphy won the Nebula Award twice, the World Fantasy Award, and the Philip K Dick Award.

Wild Things by C. C. Finlay

The collection is an ebook exclusive for Storybundle and has a new Afterword. A multi-award-nominated author, Finlay is the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

It’s difficult to locate some of the stories in anthologies and magazines that have gone out of print. The authors of the Story Collection Storybundle have done the work of assembling their collections. All you have to do is enjoy!

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to stock up your ereader with world-class, award-winning reading for summer vacation and beyond!

Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever! Download yours right now at https://storybundle.com/storycollection. Thank you for your readership!

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The Story Collection Storybundle is ends today June 2 at Midnight Eastern Time at https://storybundle.com/storycollection!

At StoryBundle, you the reader name your price—whatever you feel the books are worth. You may designate a portion of the proceeds to go to a charity. For The Story Collection Storybundle, that’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (“SFWA”). SFWA champions writers’ rights, sponsors the Nebula Award for excellence in science fiction, and promotes numerous literacy groups.

For $5 (or more, if you wish), you’ll receive the basic bundle of three books in any eBook format worldwide. For $12 (or more, it’s up to you), you’ll receive five bonus books as well. That’s eight stellar ebooks to add to your e-library.

The basic bundle includes:

Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner

The extensive and multi-genre collection was prepared as an ebook for Storybundle, includes forty-one stories, and has an Introduction by Karen Joy Fowler. Shiner was a finalist for the Philip K Dick Award, the Hugo Award, and the Nebula Award.

Errantry: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand

Hand won the World Fantasy Award four times, the Nebula Award twice, the Shirley Jackson Award twice, the Mythopoetic Award, and was a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book Author.

The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories by Walter Jon Williams

Two stories in this collection won the Nebula Award. Williams was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist and placed numerous times for the Nebula and Hugo Awards.

The bonus books, which complete your bundle, are:

What I Didn’t See: Stories by Karen Joy Fowler

The collection won the World Fantasy Award and the title story won the Nebula. Fowler wrote The Jane Austen Book Club, a New York Times Bestseller made into a film, and won the 2013 PEN/Faulkner for We are all completely beside ourselves.

6 Stories by Kathe Koja

The collection was created by the author exclusively for Storybundle. Koja won the Bram Stoker Award and was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist.

Strange Ladies: 7 Stories by Lisa Mason

The collection received five stars from the San Francisco Review of Books. Mason was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist, a San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book Author, and a New York Times Notable Book Author.

Women Up to No Good by Pat Murphy

Two stories in the collection were nominated for the Nebula. Murphy won the Nebula Award twice, the World Fantasy Award, and the Philip K Dick Award.

Wild Things by C. C. Finlay

The collection is an ebook exclusive for Storybundle and has a new Afterword. A multi-award-nominated author, Finlay is the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

But never mind the authors’ accolades and accomplishments. The collections are a feast for the mind—amazing, far-ranging, thought-provoking, dark, disturbing, witty, and—dare I say it?—just a damn good read.

It’s difficult to locate some of the stories in anthologies and magazines that have gone out of print. The authors of the Story Collection Storybundle have done the work of assembling their collections. All you have to do is enjoy!

If you love short stories as much as I do, you’ll find a delightful cornucopia of literary riches. The Story Collection Storybundle is unique and diverse. Browse selections among them or devour an author’s entire offering. That’s what I love about stories. The choice is yours!

So there you have it, my friends. The Story Collection Storybundle ends today, June 2, 2016, at Midnight Eastern Time, 9 p.m. Pacific Time. Load up your ereader for summer vacation and beyond!

Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever! Download yours today at https://storybundle.com/storycollection and enjoy world-class, award-winning reading right now and through the summer months. Thank you for your readership!

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The Story Collection Storybundle
Curated by Lisa Mason

I love short stories. There’s nothing like a good story to satisfy your fiction fix in the course of a busy day, a tiny universe savored over a lunch hour, on a train commute, with a glass of wine at the end of the day.

Because of its compression, its fewer moving parts, a story may be more highly crafted than a novel. A famous story may represent an author’s style and vision more succinctly than any one of his or her books. Think of “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Ernest Hemingway, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allen Poe. Or how about “What I Didn’t See” by Karen Joy Fowler, “The War At Home” by Lewis Shiner, “Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates” by Pat Murphy . . .

But wait a minute! We’ve got those last three stories in the Story Collection Storybundle. And we’ve got more than stories, we’ve got multi-award-winning and award-nominated story collections.

The authors have assembled their short fiction written over a decade—sometimes over two or three decades—of their careers. Stories published in wide-ranging and diverse magazines and anthologies, many which may be difficult to find now, some of which may have gone out of print. The authors have done the hard work of gathering up these amazing stories and all you, the reader, need to do is enjoy!

But never mind the authors’ accolades and accomplishments. The collections are a feast for the mind—amazing, far-ranging, tragic, disturbing, thought-provoking, witty, and—dare I say it?—just a damn good read.

Oh, the places you’ll go! Trek to Africa in search of gorillas in Karen Joy Fowler’s “What I Didn’t See.” Journey to Paris in search of an antique spool of recording wire in Lewis Shiner’s “Perfidia.” Explore the mysteries of a little boy’s life in Walter Jon Williams’ “Daddy’s World.” Search for the Folding Man in Elizabeth Hand’s “Errantry.” Embark on a cross-country car trip with three mysterious strangers in Lisa Mason’s “Destination.” Defy conventional society in Pat Murphy’s “A Flock of Lawn Flamingos.” Learn the dark powers of a voodoo doll in Kathe Koja’s “Baby.” Search for resources on asteroids in C.C. Finlay’s “The Frontier Archipelago.”

As always at Storybundle.com, you the reader name your price—whatever you feel the books are worth. You may designate a portion of the proceeds to go to a charity. For the Story Collection Storybundle, that’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (“SFWA”). SFWA champions writers’ rights, sponsors the Nebula Award for excellence in fantasy and science fiction, and promotes numerous literacy groups.

The basic bundle (minimum $5 to purchase, more if you feel the books are worth more) includes:

  • Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner

This extensive and multi-genre collection was prepared as an ebook for Storybundle, includes forty-one stories, and has an Introduction by Karen Joy Fowler. Shiner was a finalist for the Philip K Dick Award, the Hugo Award, and the Nebula Award.

  • Errantry: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand

Hand won the World Fantasy Award four times, the Nebula Award twice, the Shirley Jackson Award twice, the Mythopoetic Award, and was a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book Author.

  • The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories by Walter Jon Williams

Two stories in this collection won the Nebula Award. Williams was a New York Times Bestseller, placed as a Philip K Dick Award Finalist and numerous times for the Nebula and Hugo Awards.

To complete your bundle, beat the bonus price of $12 and you’ll receive another five amazing, award-winning books:

  • What I Didn’t See: Stories by Karen Joy Fowler

The collection won the World Fantasy Award and the title story won the Nebula. Fowler wrote The Jane Austen Book Club, a New York Times Bestseller made into a film, and won the 2013 PEN/Faulkner for We are all completely beside ourselves.

  • 6 Stories by Kathe Koja

The collection was created by the author exclusively for Storybundle. Koja won the Bram Stoker Award, won the io9.com award for one of the ten best first novels that shook the world, and was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist.

  • Strange Ladies: 7 Stories by Lisa Mason

The collection received five stars from the San Francisco Review of Books. Mason was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist, a San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book Author, and a New York Times Notable Book Author.

  • Women Up to No Good by Pat Murphy

Two stories in the collection were nominated for the Nebula Award. Murphy won the Nebula Award twice, the World Fantasy Award, and the Philip K Dick Award.

  • Wild Things by C. C. Finlay

The collection was prepared exclusively as an ebook for Storybundle and has a brand-new Afterword. A multi-award-nominated author translated in over two dozen languages, Finlay is the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

So there you have it! A super-collection from some of the most talented storywriters in any genre. Devour an author’s entire offering or browse stories from collection to collection. The choice is yours with the Story Collection Storybundle!

Stock up your ereader with award-winning fiction that’s perfect for your summer vacation. The Story Collection Storybundle is both historic and unique, an excellent addition to your elibrary providing world-class, award-winning reading right now, through the summer, and beyond.

–Lisa Mason, Curator

The Story Collection Storybundle ends June 2, 2016 at Storybundle. The bundle is easy to read on computers, smartphones, and tablets, as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub and .mobi) for all books.

When the bundle is gone, it’s gone. So act now and download yours today!

It’s super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.

Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.

  • Get quality reads: We’ve chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
  • Pay what you want (minimum $5): You decide how much these fantastic books are worth to you. If you can only spare a little, that’s fine! You’ll still get access to a batch of thrilling titles.
  • Support authors who support DRM-free books: StoryBundle is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their list. Supporting authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there’s nothing wrong with ditching DRM.
  • Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to charity. The Story Collection Storybundle forwards your donations to Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
  • Receive bonus books to complete your bundle. When you beat our bonus price of $12, you’re not just getting three books, you’re getting eight!

StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.

For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, Twitter us at @storybundle, Like us on Facebook, and Plus us on Google Plus. For press inquiries, please email press@storybundle.com.

The Green Leopard Plague Cover Final

The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories by Walter Jon Williams

Walter explores such far-future themes as the uploading of human consciousness into a computer-generated environment, AI, and cloning (among other amazing things). But he sympathetically grounds his tales in family relationships—parents and children, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives—so the reader experiences the dilemmas and resolutions in a satisfying way. His vigorous, vivid, multi-award-winning style in The Green Leopard Plague is a treat to read in The Story Collection Storybundle.

–Lisa Mason

From a STARRED REVIEW in Publisher’s Weekly: “In this provocative, entertaining collection of nine reprints, Williams (Implied Spaces) brings together tales of the College of Mystery as well as other explorations of the gray region where psyche and technology meet. Standouts include the Nebula-winning Daddy’s World, in which a young boy finds himself trapped in a nightmare not of his making; The Last Ride of German Freddie, an alternate history in which Friedrich Nietzsche meets Wyatt Earp; Incarnation Day, wherein humanity raises its children as computer programs; and the title story, another Nebula winner, about a utopian society’s birth and psychological effects. Coupled with extensive notes from the author, these stories invite readers to share and enjoy Williams’s extensive knowledge of history, psychology, and culture.”

For more about Walter, his books and stories, and his expert advice and opinions about writing, visit him at http://www.walterjonwilliams.net

So there you have it, my friends. The Story Collection Storybundle is live! You the reader name your price—whatever you feel the books are worth. You may even designate a portion to go to a charity. Savor traditionally published, multi-award-winning stories from diverse and varied publications which the authors have collected for you.

The Bundle includes What I Didn’t See (a World Fantasy Award Winner) by Karen Joy Fowler (the New York Times bestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club), Collected Stories by Philip K. Dick Award Finalist Lewis Shiner, Errantry by four-time World Fantasy Award-winning Elizabeth Hand, The Green Leopard Plague by two-time Nebula Award-winning Walter Jon Williams, Women Up to No Good by multi-award-winning Pat Murphy, Strange Ladies: 7 Stories by New York Times Notable Book Author Lisa Mason, Wild Things by C. C. Finlay, the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and 6 Stories by Bram Stoker Award-winning Kathe Koja.

It’s time, don’t delay. Really, you must act now. The Story Collection Storybundle lasts only five more days until June 2, 2016 at https://storybundle.com/storycollection

AllCoversLarge

The Story Collection Storybundle is ends June 2, 2016 at Midnight Eastern, 9 p.m., Pacific, at https://storybundle.com/storycollection!

At StoryBundle, you the reader name your price—whatever you feel the books are worth. You may designate a portion of the proceeds to go to a charity. For The Story Collection Storybundle, that’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (“SFWA”). SFWA champions writers’ rights, sponsors the Nebula Award for excellence in science fiction, and promotes numerous literacy groups.

For $5 (or more, if you wish), you’ll receive the basic bundle of three books in any eBook format worldwide. For $12 (or more, it’s up to you), you’ll receive five bonus books as well. That’s eight stellar ebooks to add to your e-library.

The basic bundle includes:

Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner

The extensive and multi-genre collection was prepared as an ebook for Storybundle, includes forty-one stories, and has an Introduction by Karen Joy Fowler. Shiner was a finalist for the Philip K Dick Award, the Hugo Award, and the Nebula Award.

Errantry: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand

Hand won the World Fantasy Award four times, the Nebula Award twice, the Shirley Jackson Award twice, the Mythopoetic Award, and was a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book Author.

The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories by Walter Jon Williams

Two stories in this collection won the Nebula Award. Williams was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist and placed numerous times for the Nebula and Hugo Awards.

The bonus books, which complete your bundle, are:

What I Didn’t See: Stories by Karen Joy Fowler

The collection won the World Fantasy Award and the title story won the Nebula. Fowler wrote The Jane Austen Book Club, a New York Times Bestseller made into a film, and won the 2013 PEN/Faulkner for We are all completely beside ourselves.

6 Stories by Kathe Koja

The collection was created by the author exclusively for Storybundle. Koja won the Bram Stoker Award and was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist.

Strange Ladies: 7 Stories by Lisa Mason

The collection received five stars from the San Francisco Review of Books. Mason was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist, a San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book Author, and a New York Times Notable Book Author.

Women Up to No Good by Pat Murphy

Two stories in the collection were nominated for the Nebula. Murphy won the Nebula twice, the World Fantasy, and the Philip K Dick Awards.

Wild Things by C. C. Finlay

The collection is an ebook exclusive for Storybundle and has a new Afterword. An award-nominated fantasy author, Finlay is the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

But never mind the authors’ accolades and accomplishments. The collections are a feast for the mind—amazing, far-ranging, thought-provoking, witty, and—dare I say it?—a damn good read.

It’s difficult to locate some of the stories in anthologies and magazines that have gone out of print. The authors of the Story Collection Storybundle have done the work of assembling their collections. All you have to do is enjoy!

If you love short stories as much as I do, you’ll find a delightful cornucopia of literary riches. The Story Collection Storybundle is unique and diverse. Browse selections among them or devour an author’s entire offering. That’s what I love about stories. The choice is yours!

So there you have it, my friends. The Story Collection Storybundle ends in five days on June 2, 2016, at Midnight Eastern Time. Once it’s gone, it’s gone! Download yours today at https://storybundle.com/storycollection and enjoy world-class, award-winning reading right now and through the summer months.

AllCoversLarge

The Story Collection Storybundle is Live at https://storybundle.com/storycollection but you must act now! Only week left until June 2, 2016, after which it’s gone!

At StoryBundle, you the reader name your price—whatever you feel the books are worth. You may designate a portion of the proceeds to go to a charity. For The Story Collection Storybundle, that’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (“SFWA”). SFWA champions writers’ rights, sponsors the Nebula Award for excellence in science fiction, and promotes numerous literacy groups.

For $5 (or more, if you wish), you’ll receive the basic bundle of three books in any eBook format worldwide. For $12 (or more, it’s up to you), you’ll receive five bonus books as well. That’s eight stellar ebooks to add to your e-library.

The basic bundle includes:

Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner

The extensive and multi-genre collection was prepared as an ebook for Storybundle, includes forty-one stories, and has an Introduction by Karen Joy Fowler. Shiner was a finalist for the Philip K Dick Award, the Hugo Award, and the Nebula Award.

Errantry: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand

Hand won the World Fantasy Award four times, the Nebula Award twice, the Shirley Jackson Award twice, the Mythopoetic Award, and was a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book Author.

The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories by Walter Jon Williams

Two stories in this collection won the Nebula Award. Williams was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist and placed numerous times for the Nebula and Hugo Awards.

The bonus books, which complete your bundle, are:

What I Didn’t See: Stories by Karen Joy Fowler

The collection won the World Fantasy Award and the title story won the Nebula. Fowler wrote The Jane Austen Book Club, a New York Times Bestseller made into a film, and won the 2013 PEN/Faulkner for We are all completely beside ourselves.

6 Stories by Kathe Koja

The collection was created by the author exclusively for Storybundle. Koja won the Bram Stoker Award and was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist.

Strange Ladies: 7 Stories by Lisa Mason

The collection received five stars from the San Francisco Review of Books. Mason was a Philip K Dick Award Finalist, a San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book Author, and a New York Times Notable Book Author.

Women Up to No Good by Pat Murphy

The collection includes two stories nominated for the Nebula Award. Murphy won the Nebula twice, the World Fantasy Award, and the Philip K Dick Award.

Wild Things by C. C. Finlay

The collection is an ebook exclusive for Storybundle and has a new Afterword. A multi-award-nominated author, Finlay is the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

But never mind the authors’ accolades and accomplishments. The collections are a feast for the mind—amazing, far-ranging, thought-provoking, disturbing, witty, and—dare I say it?—a damn good read.

It’s difficult to locate some of the stories in anthologies and magazines that have gone out of print. The authors of the Story Collection Storybundle have done the work of assembling their collections. All you have to do is enjoy!

If you love short stories as much as I do, you’ll find a delightful cornucopia of literary riches. The Story Collection Storybundle is unique and diverse. Browse selections among them or devour an author’s entire offering. That’s what I love about stories. The choice is yours!

So there you have it, my friends. The Story Collection Storybundle runs only until June 2, 2016, only eight more days! Load up your ereader for summer vacation and way beyond! Once it’s gone, it’s gone! Download yours today at https://storybundle.com/storycollection and enjoy world-class, award-winning reading right now and through the summer months.

The Green Leopard Plague Cover Final

Here are the stories you’ll find in Walter Jon Williams’ collection, The Green Leopard Plague:

Lethe
Asimov’s Science Fiction, September 1997
Daddy’s World
Not of Woman Born, ed. Constance Ash, Roc, 1999
The Last Ride of German Freddie
Worlds That Weren’t, ed. Laura Anne Gilman, Roc, 2002
The Millennium Party
Infinitematrix.net, August 2002
The Green Leopard Plague
Asimov’s Science Fiction, October-November 2003
The Tang Dynasty Underwater Pyramid
Scifiction.com, August 4, 2004
Incarnation Day
Escape from Earth, ed. Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois, SFBC, 2006
Send Them Flowers
The New Space Opera, ed. Jonathan Strahan and Gardner Dozois, Harper Eos, 2007
Pinocchio
The Starry Rift: Tales of New Tomorrows, ed. Jonathan Strahan, Viking, 2007

For more about Walter, his books and stories, and his expert advice and opinions about writing, visit him at http://www.walterjonwilliams.net

So there you have it, my friends. The Story Collection Storybundle is live! You the reader name your price—whatever you feel the books are worth. You may even designate a portion to go to a charity. Savor traditionally published, multi-award-winning stories from diverse and varied publications which the authors have collected for you.

The Bundle includes What I Didn’t See (a World Fantasy Award Winner) by Karen Joy Fowler (the New York Times bestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club), Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner, Errantry by Elizabeth Hand, The Green Leopard Plague by Walter Jon Williams, Women Up to No Good by Pat Murphy, Strange Ladies: 7 Stories by Lisa Mason, Wild Things by C. C. Finlay, and 6 Stories by Kathe Koja.

But you must act now. The Story Collection Storybundle lasts only until June 2, 2016 at https://storybundle.com/storycollection. Once it’s gone, it’s gone!

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There, I said it.

You buy a novel, maybe out of love for the author, maybe because you read a book review somewhere and you’re curious.

You, the reader, now have a commitment. You must devote time, sometimes a lot of time, to reading that novel. You must be supportive, you must be loyal, you must forsake all other books while you read. You must see the book through till the last page, till The End do you part. It’s a marriage, right?

But a short story? This tiny universe may be consummated over a lunch hour, during a train commute, at the end of your day with a glass of wine. It’s disturbing, dark, witty, beautiful, done, no strings attached. The perfect fantasy affair.

And then you move on. No commitment unless you want one. You can search for another story by a different author, or return to the same author and sample more of whatever you desire.

So there you have it, my friends. The Story Collection Storybundle is live! You the reader name your price—whatever you feel the books are worth. You may even designate a portion to go to a charity. Savor traditionally published, multi-award-winning stories from diverse and varied publications which the authors have collected for you.

The Bundle includes What I Didn’t See (a World Fantasy Award Winner) by Karen Joy Fowler (the New York Times bestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club), Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner, Errantry by Elizabeth Hand, The Green Leopard Plague by Walter Jon Williams, Women Up to No Good by Pat Murphy, Strange Ladies: 7 Stories by Lisa Mason, Wild Things by C. C. Finlay, and 6 Stories by Kathe Koja.

But you must act now. The Story Collection Storybundle lasts only until June 2, 2016 at https://storybundle.com/storycollection. Poof! Once it’s gone, it’s gone!

We’re pleased to present Pat Murphy’s Introduction to Women Up To No Good:

“I love writing short stories.

It is, I freely admit, a foolish vice. As a career strategy, writing short stories is just barely better than being a poet. There’s no money in it. If you want to make a living, better write a novel or two—or better yet, a series of fat books with similar themes. Short stories get no respect. Novels are reviewed; short stories, not so much.

But I love reading short stories. When I have fifteen minutes to spare, I can dive into a short story—experience another world, live another life—and emerge in plenty of time to get back to my real life.

And I really do love writing short stories. I can carefully examine every word and nuance of a short story, polishing each one. I can keep the entire piece in mind at once—no sprawling plot lines and extra bits that dangle off the edges. I can take risks and experiment—it’s only a short story; why not try something daring?

In many ways I think short stories are like the first little mammals in the days of the dinosaurs, way back in the Mesozoic Era. Short stories are hot-blooded little beasts, packing a lot of energy into a very small space. These furtive critters are always looking nervously over their furry shoulders at great hulking novels that could accidentally stomp them flat with one enormous reptilian foot.

Until recently, the life of a short story has usually been wretchedly short. Most of the stories reprinted here first appeared in magazines, enjoying a brief moment of glory when the magazine came out, then vanishing with publication of the magazine’s next issue. Short stories are the mayflies of the literary world—appearing briefly only to vanish again, ephemeral, a flash of light in the darkness.

But that’s changing.

With ebooks like this one, a short story can have a new life in electronic form. This, I think, suits the nature of the short story—ephemeral, experimental, a flash of light in the darkness.

Untreed Reads, the publisher of this collection, has been publishing some of my early short stories as ebooks. New readers and reviewers have been discovering and appreciating work that was unavailable for years.

As a lover of short stories (my own and those of others), I celebrate this wonderful new world. I say leave the bookshelves to the novels, those great and lumbering beasts. Let the short stories, small and agile, occupy the new spaces as they quietly plan world domination.”

See an interview with Pat Murphy on Cartographic Analysis of the Dream State, one of the stories in Women Up To No Good at http://openbooksociety.com/article/pat-murphy-author-of-a-cartographic-analysis-of-the-dream-state-exclusive-intervie/

So there you have it, my friends. The Story Collection Storybundle is live! You the reader name your price—whatever you feel the books are worth. You may even designate a portion to go to a charity. Savor traditionally published, multi-award-winning stories from diverse and varied publications which the authors have collected for you.

The Bundle includes What I Didn’t See (a World Fantasy Award Winner) by Karen Joy Fowler (the New York Times bestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club), Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner, Errantry by Elizabeth Hand, The Green Leopard Plague by Walter Jon Williams, Women Up to No Good by Pat Murphy, Strange Ladies: 7 Stories by Lisa Mason, Wild Things by C. C. Finlay, and 6 Stories by Kathe Koja.

But you must act now. The Story Collection Storybundle lasts only until June 2, 2016 at https://storybundle.com/storycollection. Once it’s gone, it’s gone!

“Daddy’s World”

By Walter Jon Williams

One day Jamie went with his family to a new place, a place that had not existed before. The people who lived there were called Whirlikins, who were tall, thin people with pointed heads. They had long arms and made frantic gestures when they talked, and when they grew excited threw their arms out wide to either side and spun like tops until they got all blurry. They would whirr madly over the green grass beneath the pumpkin-orange sky of the Whirlikin Country, and sometimes they would bump into each other with an alarming clashing noise, but they were never hurt, only bounced off and spun away in another direction.

Sometimes one of them would spin so hard that he would dig himself right into the ground, and come to a sudden stop, buried to the shoulders, with an expression of alarmed dismay.

Jamie had never seen anything so funny. He laughed and laughed.

His little sister Becky laughed, too. Once she laughed so hard that she fell over onto her stomach, and Daddy picked her up and whirled her through the air, as if he were a Whirlikin himself, and they were both laughing all the while.

Afterwards, they heard the dinner bell, and Daddy said it was time to go home. After they waved goodbye to the Whirlikins, Becky and Jamie walked hand-in-hand with Momma as they walked over the grassy hills toward home, and the pumpkin-orange sky slowly turned to blue.

The way home ran past El Castillo. El Castillo looked like a fabulous place, a castle with towers and domes and minarets, all gleaming in the sun. Music floated down from El Castillo, the swift, intricate music of many guitars, and Jamie could hear the fast click of heels and the shouts and laughter of happy people.

But Jamie did not try to enter El Castillo. He had tried before, and discovered that El Castillo was guarded by La Duchesa, an angular, forbidding woman all in black, with a tall comb in her hair. When Jamie asked to come inside, La Duchesa had looked down at him and said, “I do not admit anyone who does not know Spanish irregular verbs!” It was all she ever said.

Jamie had asked Daddy what a Spanish irregular verb was—he had difficulty pronouncing the words—and Daddy had said, “Someday you’ll learn, and La Duchesa will let you into her castle. But right now you’re too young to learn Spanish.”

That was all right with Jamie. There were plenty of things to do without going into El Castillo. And new places, like the country where the Whirlikins lived, appeared sometimes out of nowhere, and were quite enough to explore.

The color of the sky faded from orange to blue. Fluffy white clouds coasted in the air above the two-story frame house. Mister Jeepers, who was sitting on the ridgepole, gave a cry of delight and soared toward them through the air.

“Jamie’s home!” he sang happily. “Jamie’s home, and he’s brought his beautiful sister!”

Mister Jeepers was diamond-shaped, like a kite, with his head at the topmost corner, hands on either sides, and little bowlegged comical legs attached on the bottom. He was bright red. Like a kite, he could fly, and he swooped through in a series of aerial cartwheels as he sailed toward Jamie and his party.

Becky looked up at Mister Jeepers and laughed from pure joy. “Jamie,” she said, “you live in the best place in the world!”

At night, when Jamie lay in bed with his stuffed giraffe, Selena would ride a beam of pale light from the Moon to the Earth and sit by Jamie’s side. She was a pale woman, slightly translucent, with a silver crescent on her brow. She would stroke Jamie’s forehead with a cool hand, and she would sing to him until his eyes grew heavy and slumber stole upon him.

The birds have tucked their heads

The night is dark and deep

All is quiet, all is safe,

And little Jamie goes to sleep.

Whenever Jamie woke during the night, Selena was there to comfort him. He was glad that Selena always watched out for him, because sometimes he still had nightmares about being in the hospital. When the nightmares came, she was always there to comfort him, stroke him, sing him back to sleep.

Before long the nightmares began to fade.

Are you starting to get nervous about Jamie? I sure am! You’ll have to acquire The Story Collection Storybundle and read this Nebula Award winning story to find out.

For more about Walter, his books and stories, and his expert advice and opinions about writing, visit him at http://www.walterjonwilliams.net. Visit him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/walter.j.williams.54.

So there you have it, my friends. I told you we were lucky! The Story Collection Storybundle is live! You the reader name your price—whatever you feel the books are worth. You may even designate a portion to go to a charity. Savor traditionally published, multi-award-winning stories from diverse and varied publications which the authors have collected for you.

The Bundle includes What I Didn’t See (a World Fantasy Award Winner) by Karen Joy Fowler (the New York Times bestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club), Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner, Errantry by Elizabeth Hand, The Green Leopard Plague by Walter Jon Williams, Women Up to No Good by Pat Murphy, Strange Ladies: 7 Stories by Lisa Mason, Wild Things by C. C. Finlay, and 6 Stories by Kathe Koja.

But you must act now. The Story Collection Storybundle lasts only until June 2, 2016 at https://storybundle.com/storycollection