Dead of Winter brings together eight established crime authors in a collection of intriguing, surprise-filled short stories full of buried secrets, back-stabbing and revenge— all set against the chilling backdrop of winter, the cruelest season of all.

Author Sarah Shaber brings back historian Simon Shaw in the intriguing Flesh Upon the Mountains, while Kate Flora's Bone China offers up a deceptively innocent account of a loyal wife. Feathersmith’s Excellent Plan by L.A.-based crime writer Gary Phillips examines what happens when two seeming strangers cross paths and turn out to have shared a strange past indeed.

In The Honey Trap, Rory Tate (a.k.a. Lise McClendon) gives us reporter Mimi Raynard in a Seattle snowstorm, a story of secrets and the stilettos that inspire the spilling of them. In Iced, Taffy Cannon writes about Aunt Betty, a beloved icon in a family beset by tragedy, raising the question of whether we ever truly know anyone. Acclaimed EQMM short story master Brynn Bonner offers up High Postage, the story of a naïve young woman fighting to free the convicted murderer she loves. But is everything as it seems?

Southern noir thriller writer J.D. Rhoades weighs in with the unforgettable I’ll Be Home for Christmas, a holiday tale that will have you turning on all the lights before you enter your house and checking the bottom of your Christmas stocking for a concealed .38. Finally, in Library of Souls, Katy Munger (a.k.a. Chaz McGee) gives us another fascinating glimpse into the world of dead detective Kevin Fahey, who encounters another ghost at the funeral of a young girl and recognizes him as a career pedophile he busted long ago. Fahey soon discovers that, just like the living, the undead are not always what they seem.

This anthology of all new, original stories is edited by Katy Munger and Lise McClendon.

INDIAN SUMMER is the story of a ranch woman from Montana at the end of her rope. Her philandering bronc-riding husband has driven her just a little too far. Time to take matters into her own hands.

Twelve Short Stories of Murder and Mayhem written by an eclectic group of writers. Ranging from tough and gritty to light and comic and every landscape in between, DEADLY BY THE DOZEN promises to entertain, chill, thrill and inspire. Edited by award-winning thriller author Mark Terry.

"This book was the perfect read for a week of appointments, sitting in waiting rooms and whipping out my Kindle for ten minutes at a time! ...the absolute stand out for me was `Indian Summer' by Lise McClendon. It was just fabulous - a great mix of good writing, good characters and a strong element of mystery. That story would stand out anywhere."

-- Amazon reviewer

The collection includes:
A HARD LINE DRIVE TO WRONG by Jude Hardin
I DIED, I DID by Natasha Fondren
IDENTITY THEFT by Robert Weibezahl
LIVING ON THE BLOOD OF OTHERS by Betsy Dornbusch
INDIAN SUMMER by Lise McClendon
FLAT-FOOTED by Mark Terry
INTO STONE by Keith Snyder
MARIGOLD MOURNING by Merry Monteleone
LITTLE SIBERIA by Erica Orloff
A BREAK IN THE OLD ROUTINE by Simon Wood
WHEREBY IGNORANT PEOPLE ARE FREQUENTLY DELUDED AND DEFRAUDED by Mary Reed & Eric Mayer
PLUNDERED BOOTY by Travis Erwin

Sin City. An artificial oasis of pleasure, spectacle, and entertainment, the gambling capital of America has reinvented itself so many times that it's doubtful that anyone knows for sure what's real and what isn't in the miles of neon and scorching heat. Las Vegas is considered the ultimate player's destination, no matter what your game. Almost anything is available - for a price, mind you - and sometimes losers will walk away from the tables with even less than just an empty wallet or purse; sometimes they don't walk away at all.

Las Vegas is the true city that never sleeps, where fortunes are made and lost every day, and where snake-eyes aren't found just on a pair of dice.

A collection of 22 short stories. Contributors include: James Swain, S. Z. Rozan, Wendy Hornsby, Michael Collins, T. P. Keating, J. Madison Davis, Sue Pike, Joan Richter, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Tom Savage, Edward Wellin, K.j.a. Wishnia, Linda Kerslake, John Wessel, Lise McClendon, Ronnie Klaskin, Ruth Cavin, A. B. Robbins, Gay Toltl Kinman, Micki Marz, Rick Mofina, and Jeremiah Healy.

I knew he’d lost a couple thou. He couldn’t stop whining about it. I didn’t know how my sister put up with his incessant carping: the pool was too cold, the room was too small, I left hair in the sink, the drinks were watered down and weren’t delivered fast enough. I knew he’d lose at the tables, and I knew he’d complain about it. But the telegram was the last straw.
“Send Lawyers Guns Money Stop Shit hitting fan Stop Herb”