Showing results by author "Carrie Vaughn" in All Categories

Fall under the intoxicating spell of their hex appeal…In the magical world that lies hidden beneath our own, witches and conjurers play deadly games. They know just the right spell to kill a man with one kiss—or raise him back again. And they’re not afraid to exact sweet revenge on those who dare to cross them. But what if you’re the unlucky soul who falls victim to a conjurer’s curse? And if you had the power to cast a magic spell of your own, would you use it?

Famine. Death. War. Pestilence. These are the harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, of the end of the world. In science fiction the end is triggered by less figurative means: nuclear holocaust, biological warfare/pandemic, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm.

The year is 1902, and the world is changing with the new century. Twenty-one-year-old Ava Stanley, the daughter of two celebrated Arcane Taxonomists, has much to live up to—however scarce her magical abilities may be. While her parents draw power from spectacular birds and megafauna, Ava’s connection to the natural world is much smaller, stemming from the microscopic. This is useful in her quest to become a doctor, as she studies the burgeoning links between bacteria and disease, but it means Ava’s power itself is also smaller.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...except when it doesn't. Kitty and Ben return to their werewolf pack in Denver only to discover an invisible evil that smells of brimstone and plays with fire has followed them home. Stalking the whole pack, it leaves a charred trail of ashes and death across the city. Kitty seeks help from Rick, the master vampire of Denver, as well as from the paranormal investigators on a popular reality television show.

In the summer of 1880, the death of Beth Stanley’s husband puts her life’s work in jeopardy. The magic of Arcane Taxonomy dictates that every natural thing in the world, from weather to animals, can be labeled, and doing so grants the practitioner some of that subject’s unique power. But only men are permitted to train in this philosophy. Losing her husband means that Beth loses the name they put on her work—and any influence she might have wielded.

Sam has been a vampire for 15 years, and now he's having a midlife crisis. That is, if he were still human, he'd be turning 40 and having a midlife crisis. He's just met exactly the kind of woman he's always wanted - but these days, all he really wants is blood. Maybe he could work through it, but his vampire roommates just don't understand. Wasn't unlife supposed to get easier?

When Evie Walker goes home to spend time with her dying father, she discovers that his creaky old house in Hope’s Fort, Colorado, is not the only legacy she will inherit. Hidden behind the basement door is a secret and magical storeroom, a place where wondrous treasures from myth and legend are kept safe until they are needed again.

A mysterious murder in a dystopian future leads a novice investigator to question what she's learned about the foundation of her population-controlled society. Decades after economic and environmental collapse destroys much of civilization in the United States, the Coast Road region isn't just surviving but thriving by some accounts, building something new on the ruins of what came before.

Already the alpha pair of Denver's werewolf pack, Kitty and Ben now plan to tie the knot human-style by eloping to Las Vegas. Kitty is looking forward to sipping froufrou drinks by the pool and doing her popular radio show on live television, but her hotel is stocked with werewolf-hating bounty hunters.

Cormac, a former bounty hunter of supernatural creatures, and Amelia, the essence of a Victorian wizard who survived her own execution and now shares his body, have settled down to a quiet life in the country. Or so they think. On a proverbial dark and stormy night, a visitor in trouble lands on their doorstep: Odysseus Grant, a magician with secrets. A dangerous demon has escaped his control, and he needs their help capturing it. Reluctantly, Cormac and Amelia agree.

Literature Professor Dr. Addie Cox is living a happy, if sheltered, life in her ivory tower when Harris Lang, the famously eccentric billionaire tech genius, offers her an unusual job. He wants her to guide a mercenary strike team sent to infiltrate his island retreat off the northwest coast of the United States. Addie is puzzled by her role on the mission until she understands what Lang has built: Insula Mirabilis, an isolated resort where tourists will one day pay big bucks for a convincing, high-tech-powered fantasy-world experience, complete with dragons, unicorns, and magic.

Polly Newton has one single-minded dream: to be a starship pilot and travel the galaxy. Her mother, the director of the Mars Colony, derails Polly's plans when she sends Polly and her genius twin brother, Charles, to Galileo Academy on Earth. Homesick and cut off from her plans for her future, Polly cannot seem to fit in to life on Earth. Strange, unexplained, dangerous coincidences centered on their high-profile classmates begin piling up.

Robin of Locksley and his one true love, Marian, are married. It has been close on two decades since they beat the Sheriff of Nottingham with the help of a diverse band of talented friends. King John is now on the throne, and Robin has sworn fealty in order to further protect not just his family, but those of the lords and barons who look up to him - and, by extension, the villagers they protect.

Horsetooth Reservoir is an artificial body of water in land-locked Colorado. So how did a mermaid end up there? Cormac, former bounty hunter turned supernatural problem solver, doesn't much care how she got there. But he's determined to get her home, no matter who tries to stop him. And a surprising number of people are trying to stop him.

A century after environmental and economic collapse, the people of the Coast Road have rebuilt their own sort of civilization. Enid of Haven is an investigator who, with her new partner, Teeg, is called on to mediate a dispute between households over an old building in a far-flung settlement at the edge of Coast Road territory. The investigators' decision seems straightforward - and then the body of a young woman turns up in the nearby marshland. Enid wants to find out who killed her, even as Teeg argues the murder isn't their problem.

Behind the Mask is a multi-author collection with stories by award-winning authors Kelly Link, Cat Rambo, Carrie Vaughn, Seanan McGuire, Lavie Tidhar, Sarah Pinsker, Keith Rosson, Kate Marshall, Chris Large, and others. It is partially a prose nod to the comic world - the bombast, the larger-than-life, the save-the-worlds and the calls-to-adventure. But it’s also a spotlight on the more intimate side of the genre. The hopes and dreams of our cape-clad heroes. The regrets and longings of our cowled villains. That poignant, solitary view of the world that can be experienced only from behind the mask.

The latest civil war in England has come and gone, King John is dead, and the nobility of England gather to see the coronation of his son, 13-year-old King Henry III. The new king is at the center of political rivalries and power struggles, but John of Locksley - son of the legendary Robin Hood and Lady Marian - only sees a lonely boy in need of friends.

Discover holistic and natural healing practices for a happier, healthier, more abundant & purposeful life with author, speaker,& coach, Carrie Marie Vaughn. Learn how to incorporate these techniques into your own wellness journey. Visit HolisticMamaSpeaks.com & MomMantras.com.

Connie Willis, the multiple Hugo Award-winning author of Blackout, and Carrie Vaughn, the author of the Kitty Norville paranormal fantasy series, discuss speculative fiction and the art of writing.