New Releases by Alex Bledsoe

Avast, intrepid reader! Behold yon inky treasure! A beautiful airship corsair determined to reveal a government conspiracy. An interstellar outlaw bent on avenging the murders of her fellow crewmates. A pirate captain whose hatred of mer-people endangers his ship and crew. A ghost trapped in the wreckage of a privateering ship. From the early voyages of a young, ambitious Gaius Julius Caesar, to a sorceress hunting buccaneers along the post-Civil War Mississippi, to the bombastic pronouncements of a cat-hating ship''s AI, pirates have long captured the imagination, whether bound to the sea or preying on vessels in the great void of space. In Skull X Bones , speculative fiction authors Steven Harper, Alex Bledsoe, Alan Smale, E.J. Delaney, Violette Malan, Adam Stemple, Nemo Herndon, Alena Van Arendonk, Gloria Wickman, R.S. Belcher, Jennifer Brozek, R.M. Olson, Misty Massey, and C.C. Finlay immerse us in the worlds of privateers, buccaneers, corsairs, marauders, and pirates. So strap on a blade or flintlock or laser and keep a keen eye on the horizon. Because dead men DO tell tales, and here there be monsters of the deep.

A ship lost with all hands on icy Titan. A dying woman''s soul linked with the fate of an interstellar vessel. A wrecked ferry possessed by the ruin-demon who grounded her. A haunted space cruiser of legend again terrorizing those who travel among the stars. A pirate-ravaged frigate concealing magical secrets that can doom the wicked, or redeem the worthy. An inexplicably empty cruiser arriving at a space station amid the panic of a system-wide pandemic. There is an allure to the ghost ship, the once-proud voyaging craft now abandoned to the void of space or the depths of the sea. In Derelict, speculative fiction authors Kristine Smith, D.B. Jackson, Griffin Ayaz Tyree, Andrija Popovic, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Gerald Brandt, Kit Harding, Gini Koch, Jacey Bedford, Mark D. Jacobsen, Jana Paniccia, Alex Bledsoe, Chaz Brenchley, R.Z. Held, Jack Campbell, and Julie E. Czerneda offer their tales of the lost vessel. So climb aboard if you dare, and prepare for a reading adventure that will unnerve and inspire and transport you beyond distant horizons.

Charming and lyrical, The Fairies of Sadieville continues Alex Bledsoe''s widely-praised contemporary fantasy series, about the song-wielding fairy descendants living in modern-day Appalachia. "This is real." Three small words on a film canister found by graduate students Justin and Veronica, who discover a long-lost silent movie from more than a century ago. The startlingly realistic footage shows a young girl transforming into a winged being. Looking for proof behind this claim, they travel to the rural foothills of Tennessee to find Sadieville, where it had been filmed. Soon, their journey takes them to Needsville, whose residents are hesitant about their investigation, but Justin and Veronica are helped by Tucker Carding, who seems to have his own ulterior motives. When the two students unearth a secret long hidden, everyone in the Tufa community must answer the most important question of their entire lives — what would they be willing to sacrifice in order to return to their fabled homeland of Tír na nÓg? "Imagine a book somewhere between American Gods and Faulkner. Absolutely worth your time." – Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author Enter the captivating world of the fae in Alex Bledsoe''s Tufa novels The Hum and the Shiver Wisp of a Thing Long Black Curl Chapel of Ease Gather Her Round Sadieville At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In Cloud County, where music and Tufa, the otherworldly fae community, intermix, a monster roams the forest, while another kind of evil lurks in the hearts of men. "Beautifully written, surprisingly moving, and unexpected in the best of ways." —Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author Young Tufa woman Kera Rogers disappears while hiking in the woods by Needsville. Soon, her half-eaten remains are found, and hunters discover the culprits: a horde of wild hogs led by a massive boar with seemingly supernatural strength. Kera''s boyfriend Duncan Gowen mourns her death, until he finds evidence she cheated on him with his best friend Adam Procure. When Adam''s body is the next one found, who is to blame: Duncan or the monstrous swine? As winter descends and determined hunters pursue beasts across the Appalachians, other Tufa seek the truth behind Adam and Kera''s deaths. What answers will unfold come spring? Enter the captivating world of the fae in Alex Bledsoe''s Tufa novels The Hum and the Shiver Wisp of a Thing Long Black Curl Chapel of Ease Gather Her Round At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

"When Matt Johansson, a young New York actor, auditions for ''Chapel of Ease,'' an off-Broadway musical, he is instantly charmed by Ray Parrish, the show''s writer and composer. They soon become friends; Matt learns that Ray''s people call themselves the Tufa and that the musical is based on the history of his isolated home town. But there is one question in the show''s script that Ray refuses to answer: what is buried in the ruins of the chapel of ease?"

A tale set in Alex Bledsoe''s popular medieval noir fantasy world, starring Eddie LaCrosse. Nursing an injured arm while on the job searching for a missing kid is bad enough for sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse. But when he discovers a smuggling ring rumored to be protected by powerful magic, he seeks out old friends and new to lend a hand. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

"In all the time the Tufa have existed, only two have ever been exiled: Bo-Kate Wisby and her lover, Jefferson Powell. They were cast out, stripped of their ability to make music, and cursed to never be able to find their way back to Needsville. Their crime? A love that crossed the boundary of the two Tufa tribes, resulting in the death of several people. Somehow, Bo-Kate has found her way back"--

When Bronwyn Hyatt prepares for her wedding day, she finds the perfect dress from a most unexpected source. But she should remember this: never accept a gift without knowing the consequences. Set in Alex Bledsoe''s Tufa universe. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

For fans of Jim Butcher''s Dresden Files and Glen Cook''s Garrett PI novels, comes the newest installment in Alex Bledsoe''s Eddie LaCrosse series, He Drank and Saw the Spider. After he fails to save a stranger from being mauled to death by a bear, a young mercenary is saddled with the baby girl the man died to protect. He leaves her with a kindly shepherd family and goes on with his violent life. Now, sixteen years later, that young mercenary has grown up to become cynical sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse. When his vacation travels bring him back to that same part of the world, he can''t resist trying to discover what has become of the mysterious infant. He finds that the child, now a lovely young teenager named Isadora, is at the center of complicated web of intrigue involving two feuding kings, a smitten prince, a powerful sorceress, an inhuman monster, and long-buried secrets too shocking to imagine. And once again she needs his help. They say a spider in your cup will poison you, but only if you see it. Eddie, helped by his smart, resourceful girlfriend Liz, must look through the dregs of the past to find the truth about the present—and risk what might happen if he, too, sees the spider.

Alex Bledsoe introduced the world to Eddie LaCrosse, the hard-boiled but soft-hearted detective known as a "sword jockey" who, for twenty-five gold pieces a day, plus expenses, will take on any case short of murder for hire. Like Philip Marlowe in shining armor or Sam Spade with a sword, Eddie goes down his mean medieval streets trying to walk the straight and narrow in a crooked, twisting fantasy world. Over the course of four novels, LaCrosse has encountered dragons, pirates, sea monsters, goddesses, ghosts, and magic, all the while keeping his cool and doing what''s right. In this collection you''ll receive the complete text of the first four Eddie LaCrosse novels. The Sword-Edged Blonde When a childhood friend, now a king, asks Eddie''s help in clearing his queen of a murder charge, Eddie''s long-buried past refuses to stay hidden. Burn Me Deadly Someone will go to any lengths, including torture and murder, to locate the last remaining dragon eggs. But dragons aren''t real, are they? Dark Jenny A poisoned apple sets off political turmoil that threatens to destroy an entire Camelot-like kingdom, and take Eddie with it. Wake of the Bloody Angel Eddie searches for the vanished pirate Black Edward Tew and his legendary treasure, but even the help of a tough former pirate queen may not be enough to save him from what he finds. Swords Are My Business also includes a sample of the fifth Eddie LaCrosse novel, He Drank, and Saw the Spider. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Musician Rob Quillen searches for an enigmatic Smoky Mountains clan of people whose existence is shrouded in myth, a journey marked by a disappearance, an incomprehensible power play, and a howling feral girl.

When one world brushes another, asking the right question can be magic... "Shall We Gather" is an original short story by Alex Bledsoe, whose Tufa novels--beginning with the acclaimed The Hum and the Shiver--chronicle the quiet, mysterious people of unknown origin living in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A tale of vampires and revenge.... "Listen to what I tell you, son, every word is true / The sisters haunt the night, and might fight over you Nothing can steal your soul and stamp it in the mud / Like being the new play-pretty for the girls with the games of blood"

Swordsman Eddie LaCrosse must take to sea in the company of a former pirate queen in search of the infamous Black Edward Tew ... and his even more legendary treasure.

The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe is an enchanting tale of music and magic older than the hills, and the first book in the wondrous Tufa series. . . . "Imagine a book somewhere between American Gods and Faulkner. In brief: a good book. Absolutely worth your time."—Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author, on The Hum and the Shiver Private Bronwyn Hyatt had left her small town of Needsville for the army to escape the pressures of her mystical Tufa family legacy. She returns a lone survivor after a disastrous attack overseas, wounded in body and spirit. But cryptic omens warn of impending tragedy, and a restless haint lurks nearby, waiting to reveal Bronwyn''s darkest secrets. Now Bronwyn finds the greatest battle lies right in her backyard, especially as young minister with too much curiosity arrives in town. If she makes the wrong choice, the consequences could be deadly for all the Tufa. . . . "A sheer delight."— Kirkus Reviews, starred review Enter the captivating world of the fae in Alex Bledsoe''s Tufa novels The Hum and the Shiver Wisp of a Thing Long Black Curl Chapel of Ease Gather Her Round At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Alex Bledsoe''s novels featuring detective Eddie LaCrosse have drawn rave reviews for their ingenious blend of classic fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. Now with Dark Jenny, Bledsoe returns with an all-new tale of intrigue and murder. . . . For twenty-five gold pieces a day, plus expenses, Eddie LaCrosse will take on most any case. But the unexpected delivery of a coffin in the dead of winter forces LaCrosse to look back at a bygone chapter in his past—and the premeditated murder of a dream. Ruled by the noble King Marcus Drake, the island kingdom of Grand Braun is an oasis of peace and justice in an imperfect world. At least until the beautiful Queen Jennifer is accused of adultery and murder. In the wrong castle at the wrong time, Eddie finds himself drafted at sword''s point to solve the mystery. With time running out, and powerful nobles all too eager to pin the murder on Eddie himself, he must untangle a tangled web of palace intrigues, buried secrets, and bewitching women—before the entire kingdom erupts into civil war. Murder, mystery, and magic—just another day on the job for Eddie LaCrosse.

Alex Bledsoe''s first novel, The Sword-Edged Blonde, drew rave reviews for its ingenious blend of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. Now Bledsoe returns with an all-new tale of mean streets and medieval intrigue. Above Angelina''s Tavern in down-and-dirty Neceda you''ll find the office of Eddie LaCrosse, a freelance sword jockey who, for twenty-five gold pieces a day, will take on any task short of murder for hire. Eddie''s on his way back from a routine investigation when his horse almost runs down a half-naked blonde in serious trouble. Against his better judgment, he promises to protect the frightened young woman, only to find himself waylaid by unknown assailants and left for dead beside her mutilated body. Eddie isn''t the kind of guy to just let something like this pass. But who killed Laura Lesperitt? Eddie''s quest for payback leads him to a tangled mystery involving a notorious crime lord, a backwoods dragon cult, royal scandals, and a duplicitous femme fatale who has trouble keeping her clothes on. As bodies pile up, attracting the unwelcome attention of the king''s guards, Eddie must use all his wits if he hopes to survive . . .

It should have been a case like any other: a missing princess, a king willing to pay in gold for her return. But before he realizes it, sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse is swept up in a web of mystery and deceit involving a brutally murdered royal heir, a queen accused of an unspeakable crime, and the tragic past he thought he''d left behind. In order to uncover the answers he seeks, Eddie must delve into the dark underbelly of society while digging deep into his own private history, drawing past and present together. Vast conspiracies, women both beautiful and deadly, and a centuries-old revenge scheme are only a few of the pieces in a lethal puzzle. The Sword-Edged Blonde is a tour-de-force foray into a realm of action, intrigue, and murder. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A steamy tale of vampires, sex, and the supernatural . . .