Author: jmstine

Annie Mae is seven years old, cute as a button and—when she's mad, a cross between Carrie and Chucky...

Kaylynn Silva has just been hired as a tutor by the very wealthy Reilly family. The salary is generous , her bedroom is luxurious, she has her own bathroom—with a jacuzzi—and only one student: their young daughter, Annie Mae. Kaylynn thinks she has landed her dream job—but it may be a nightmare from which she can't wake up.

At first, everything seems to be going great. Annie May is an adorable child and very bright. But soon, Kaylynn begins to notice disturbing things about her pupil that defy logical explanation. If Annie Mae gets mad at someone, they suffer terrible accidents...and some even wind up dead. Kaylynn begins to suspect something malevolent is hidden beneath the seven-year-old's sweet, freckled façade.

Kaylynn begins to unravel a dark family secret, which the Reillys will protect at all costs, even if it means sacrificing innocent lives. As Annie grows stronger, Kaylynn finds herself in a race against time to find out what this girl really is, and how to stop it. If she doesn’t, more people will die and the greatest evil of all will be unleashed on the unsuspecting human race.

And with a mounting sense of terror, Kaylynn realizes she needs to watch her back—or risk becoming Annie’s next target!

Victorian London, a foggy night, a dead body...the beginning of unimaginable horror to come!

Victorian London night: a lamplighter discovers the body of a very old man lying dead in an alley.

Scotland Yard calls in the eminent physician Dr. Conan to determine the cause of death. The brilliant and opinionated Conan is often consulted by Scotland Yard, but his sometimes unorthodox solutions frequently have him butting heads with incredulous Yard officials. Despite the man's apparent age, Dr. Conan determines the victim is no more than thirty and died as the result of rapid aging.

Together with his younger assistant Dr. Archibald “Archie” Hastings and Hasting's friend, the enigmatic, independent Gwyneth Rogers, the three begin an investigation that will carry them from the glittering mansions of the wealthy to the squalid hovels of the poor to the darkest heart of Victorian England. What they find will lie far beyond the boundaries of science and medicine and bring them face to face with terrors believed by the average Victorian to belong exclusively to the realms of myth and fiction.

The Unnamed is a dazzling and original, brilliant and unusual horror novel by a rising star of popular fiction. No one who loves an enthralling and original story well-told should miss Steve Brooks' masterpiece of terror in the London fog.

Mystery in the time of The Clan of the Cave Bear.

They live in caves and huddle around fires. They are fully human, though they belong to our most ancient history. Risa the Arbiter has now spent years in her role, and is known and respected throughout the area. Her children are half-grown and exhibiting traits of independence, both of thought and action. Her tribe has grown along with her and now needs more assistance than one Arbiter can provide alone. Risa struggles with how best to organize her duties, and establishes acolytes in each village to screen petitioners.

One petitioner, Manita, complains that her son went off with two companions and did not return home. The companions tell of him falling from the top of Singing Rock and being dragged off by a bear, but Manita refuses to believe them. "I have known these boys since their birth. They are lying."

Risa, who believes her, questions the boys and, unhappy with their responses, sends one off into exile. He, Arth, is wild and unruly and mouths threats at Risa as he leaves. Risa's mate, Lalo, takes Arth's threats seriously, wants to hunt him down and put an end to the anxieties he is causing—but Risa won't allow it.

How Risa finds the answer to the mystery and reorganizes tribal life to accommodate the growth that has taken place—and the growth that is coming—makes a human story of our ancestors come to vivid life.

Here's what readers are saying about The Antler's Point—the first Risa, the Arbiter, Prehistory Mystery:

"The story was very well told; I could not put the book down. It was joy to read and I am looking forward to more stories by Chalfy." —Amazon certified 5-star review

"Chalfy has created a plausible cast of characters and easily draws the reader into the challenges of this ancient world. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the never changing strife of family dynamics that is the human condition. The main character is an apprentice arbiter, which creates a perfect venue for this fascinating world." —Amazon certified 5-star review

Morton Chalfy’s novels are “well written and suspenseful …highly recommended,” says Joe Vadalma, author of the Morgaine Chronicles.

Romantic suspense for fans of The Clan of the Cave Bear!

Risa is a young woman who dreams of love with an exciting young male. She is no different from most other women—except that she and her tribe live in a world thousands of years in the past.

Risa’s youthful, romantic dreams are crushed forever when an encounter with an enraged bear leaves her badly scarred—and the men who once paid her court begin to avoid her. She is close to giving up hope for her future when the tribe’s Arbiter, a wise old man entrusted with the resolution of all disputes and the solving of all crimes, takes her in as his apprentice. Soon she is learning the deeper meaning behind the customs of her tribe, its ways of doing things, and the principles by which its problems are resolved. Risa begins to believe that she may have a meaningful life after all, despite the scars that repel her once-keen tribesmen.

But when the tribe discovers that one of its valued members has been murdered, Risa's emerging new life turns upside down. As the Arbiter’s apprentice, Risa must undertake a quest beyond the boundaries of the world she has known, into the path of a ruthless killer, and toward the glimmering possibility of a love she never believed she could have.

“I love Mort Chalfy's Prehistory books. They are very easy reading, fascinating in their reconstruction of pre-historic tribal society and relationships, and contain entertaining tidbits of anthropological details. This one is a whodunit-type mystery, and the characters are well-drawn and compelling. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and the story carried me along.” —Tina Tessina AKA “Dr. Romance”

Romance and an archaeological mystery that spans space and time!

"Chalfy projects love across the ages with this nifty mix of prehistorical and contemporary romance. Over 10,000 years ago, Muta and Rami walked upright somewhere along a river in North America. After Gatherer Muta receives an omen that she must embark upon a trek into unexplored territory to find a new home for the tribe, Hunter Rami, her husband, agrees to accompany her. Once they’re settled into a wonderful cave, their lives take a turn when Rami is seriously injured during a hunt. Little did they know that their cave drawings will survive to inspire a 21st-century romance between archaeologist Matthew and photographer Sheila. Both stories are poignant, and the one about the prehistoric couple really shines. While in camp with their tribe, Muta and Rami’s roles are strictly prescribed based on gender. Once they’re on their own, however, loneliness and their love for each other begin to blur those lines. Chalfy’s tender rendering of these ancient characters sets this novel a notch above its peers."    —Publishers Weekly

In this romantic, archaeological mystery, the magical love of a prehistoric couple intertwines with and influences modern day lovers who are held back from accepting the deeper passions they feel for each other. Moving with breathtaking ease back and forth from the most distant past to the present moment, Morton Chalfy spins an enthralling tale of a wondrous cave, filled with wondrous paintings, that heals the hearts of lovers separated by centuries.

Two very different people, Muta, her tribe’s seeress and Rami, a hunter/warrior, are drawn together by the Goddess and marry. But the very deep differences between Muta’s love of life and nature and Rami’s fierceness lead to doubt and misunderstandings. When a new star begins blazing in the night sky, Muta and Rami are led by the Goddess to journey to a distant land, and through the trials they face along the way begin to understand each other more deeply and accept the profound love they have for each other. At their journey’s end they will discover a strange cave and be guided to leave a strange record for the inhabitants of an unknown future. As they paint, the love and devotion Muta and Rami have developed for each other infuses the cave with an aura that helps to heal misunderstandings and rekindle romance in the present.

In our own time, two couples, Gus and Olivia, Sheila and Matthew, stumble on the cave and its mysterious prehistoric paintings. Gus and Matthew are archaeologists; Shelia is a photographer and Olivia an artist. All sense a strange aura about the cave. Soon they realize it will take all their talents and intelligence to unravel the mystery of the cave and the meaning of its paintings.

Both couples are deeply in love, but each senses there is something lacking in their relationship. Gus and Olivia have been married for many years, but he has always been held back from releasing his full passion for her because he sees Olivia as far too beautiful for a plain looking guy like him, and others see them as an odd couple. Sheila and Matthew are long-time lovers and partners, but Matthew does not always realize her sensitive and independent nature requires an equally sensitive partner.

As the four investigate the ancient cave, study its pictographs and attempt to solve its mystery, strange forces seem to be at work slowly but magically igniting the deeper passions lurking in each lover’s heart. Though it will take crisis and disaster before the last heart is opened in the cave of lost love.

By the author of the bestselling The Antler's Point.

The founder of DNA.com has two cherished goals. The first, to "tame" the human species by isolating the gene snippets that promote greater empathy, and offering them to couples through the company's own matchmaking service. The second, to also establish a settlement on Mars populated by those who either have the gene or want it for their children.

The religious and secular opposition, naturally, will decry the genetic manipulation of the species—some because they don't think humankind is ready to shape its own future so directly, and others because they fear a world in which they aren't free to pursue dominion. Some will attempt to establish de facto ownership of the red planet.

Rival utopias have always existed in the minds of wistful but irreconcilable fantasists, but now the future of humanity lies in their hands...

Take one mermaid, one dismayed young man, an upper-class social set, and blend well for the frothiest classic since Topper!

In the tradition of Thorne Smith's Topper and Ron Howard's Splash comes this 1935 madcap romantic fantasy of an ordinary man whose life is turned upside down and backward when he rescues a charming—but utterly uninhibited—mermaid. From the leading romance magazine of its time, The Naughty Mermaid is available for the first time ever in book form.

"Worts' hero and heroine are always captivating, and the other characters are just as interesting. Together they bring us a story that is enthralling from beginning to end and which will hold the reader breathless with excitement." —Allentown Morning Call

In this George F. Worts screwball classic, "For those who like smooth romance with excitement lurking in every chapter" (Oakland Tribune), you will meet:

Wellington Peal, who discovered that finding a mischievous woman naked on a beach isn't as much fun as he thought—if she's a mermaid.

Zixie, whose real name translated from mer is Girl with Her Eye to the Wormhole of a Conch Shell, which means "she is terribly curious".

Patricia Trumbull, Wellington's fiancée, who loved only Wellington Peal and was certain he loved only her—but would she be as certain if she saw him in the embrace of a beautiful young woman in the "alltogether"?

Aunt Hattie, a staid, upper-crust and highly proper New England matron whose ideas of correct decorum were about to be outraged in ways she never dreamed of.

Wilkins, Aunt Hattie's long-suffering butler, whose dreary days were about to be lit by the sudden appearance of the most vivacious, charming young woman he had ever met.

Premier Gustanzo, the most powerful man in Europe, whose dignity and pride in his beard knew no equal—until a certain mermaid took it into her head to pull it.

"Refreshing! Guaranteed pleasurable reading." –Vancouver Sun

Werewolves are among our most ancient and deepest fears. The beast run amok in human form is not a thing of the ancient past; we see headlines about it every day. Shootings, beatings and other savage acts are part of our lives—perhaps that everpresent violence explains the near-universal and timeless existence of were-beast tales all around the globe. Here are 7 horrifying classics written between 1939 and 1956, including a shocker from the legendary Weird Tales.

Plus the fascinating historical essay, The Origin Of The Werewolf Superstition.

Six often-overlooked, award-caliber sf short novels and novelettes!

All the selections in this unique anthology were voted one of the top stories of their year—and, we believe, would be a top story of any year.

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says all Rog Phillips’ other stories are “eclipsed by his psychological thriller, the lesser known but equally brilliant ‘Rat in the Skull’, which received a well-deserved Hugo Award nomination.”

Almost every science fiction author worth their salt has, at one time or another, written about extra-sensory perception and H. L. Gold does it too in “Inside Man”, but unlike his colleagues, he dreams up brand-new wrinkles on ESP no one else, including you, has ever thought of. The special quality of this work was endorsed by his colleagues when “Inside Man” was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story.

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction praises Leigh Brackett’s early space operas, of which “The Stellar Legion” is one, for “their colour, their narrative speed, the brooding forthrightness of their protagonists” and the “economy and vigour” of her style, so it is hardly surprising that one of them (so far) earned a Retro Hugo Award nomination.

“Scanners Live in Vain” first brought Cordwainer Smith to the attention of science fiction readers, and The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction terms it “one of the finest of his tales” filled with “foreboding intensity,” plunging “in medias res into the Instrumentality of Man Universe, generating a sense that much remains untold beyond the dark edges of the tale”. It, too, earned a Retro Hugo nomination.

Evelyn Martin’s “Reluctant Eve”, winner of the Jules Verne Prize for Most Outstanding Achievement in the Science Fiction Field for 1956, was the first science fiction romance, published at least three decades before the genre became popular, and is still an enthralling read today.

Another landmark “first of” science fiction tale, Don Wilcox's “The Voyage that Lasted 600 Years” (1940) was the first generation starship story, and the first to incorporate the breakthrough notion of Earth developing faster-than-light ships that beat the generation ship to its destination—a worthy recipient of its Retro Hugo nomination.

The stories in this anthology, all award nominees or winners, demonstrate just how outstanding a story has to be to qualify for consideration for a major science fiction award. Wherever you are on the spectrum of science fiction knowledge or fandom, you’ll find hours of enthralling reading (and re-reading), forgotten favorites for long-time science fiction fans, and an introductory grand tour for those new to the genre.

Paul W. Fairman (1916-1977) was the author of not one, but two stories for science fiction magazines that were later purchased and transformed into classic 1950s drive-in theater horror fare.

Oddly, both tales were published in the same year, 1953, two months apart. The first, "Deadly City" appeared in the March 1953 issue of Worlds of If, under Fairman's "Ivar Jorgensen" pseudonym, and was filmed as Target Earth (1954).

The second, following closely on its heels, "The Cosmic Frame," was a featured story under his own byline in the May 1953 Amazing Stories; and was lensed twice, the first time under the title Invasion of the Saucer Men (1955), the second as The Eye Creatures (1965).

Fairman was also the author of a story, "Brothers Beyond the Void" (the editor's title), chosen for dramatization on The Twilight Zone under the author's original title, "People Are Alike All Over."

All three appear in this unique anthology, which could be seen as the book equivalent of attending a drive-in double-feature, with a selected short subject as a bonus featurette!