Valya Dudycz Lupescu

An exquisitely unique retelling of the origin of jolly, old St. Nick. Volume 1: The MuseIt’s the one story of magic and wonder everyone thinks they know—yet the most epic part of the tale remains shrouded in mystery. What actually happened 1,800 years ago to transform a starry-eyed young priest named Nicholas into a winter wizard destined to circle the world on a sleigh of hope? Now, the secret is revealed: She happened. This is the story of Amara, one of the legendary Muses of the House of Polyhymnia. Sent by the Muses to a small town in ancient Lycia, Amara sees something special in Nicholas’s kindness and generosity. As she prepares to defend humankind against the Kobaloi, creatures who feed on fear and chaos, she senses this young man may be the partner she needs to stand against their growing power. But binding her fate and her magic to Saint Nicholas will mean breaking the laws of the Muses—and risking their eternal wrath.

With its high concept, exceptional writing, eye-popping set design, stellar cast, meaningful explorations of what it means to be a good person, and clam chowder fountains, The Good Place has captured the hearts and minds of critics and viewers alike. For the first time ever, fans can indulge their cravings for The Good Place with delicious, comforting, original recipes like Macaroni and Socra-cheese, I Think Therefore I Clam (Chowder), Arendt You Glad I Didn t Say Banana (Split), I Kant Believe It s Not Buttermilk Pancakes, and more. Each recipe title references a philosopher or philosophical concept from the show and uses food analogies to explain those concepts to readers who, like Eleanor, can t always follow Chidi s lectures. A refreshing and entertaining twist on cookbooks, Forking Good will help you plan your next viewing party or spread as you re-binge your favorite show.

From Batman to Charlie Bucket, from Meg Murry to the Venture Brothers, every hero of science fiction, heroic fantasy, or speculative literature is the product of parental influences. This collection of pithy mini essays and charming illustrations offers short, sweet, and deep thoughts about parenting as exemplified by the most memorable parent-child pairings: Vader and Luke, Spock and Sarek, Peter Parker and Aunt May, even Pinocchio and Gepetto. Earth's Mightiest Parents reveals the profound child-rearing advice (and mistakes) hidden in geek pop culture. What would Vader do? Now geek parents of all stripes can find out, using these life lessons to raise a next generation of their own.

"Rich word choices and settings that blend speculative concepts with quotidian reality highlight this stellar anthology of prose and poetry." -PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "One of those rare long-term survivors of the small-press landscape. . . contributes mightily to the health of our genre." -LOCUS ONLINE Assembled from the second year of the digital journal MYTHIC DELIRIUM and recast in an artfully arranged anthology, this latest offering from editors Mike and Anita Allen will introduce you to harrowing deserts and vengeful waters, to quantum mythology and edible religion, to slipstream explorations of love and identity. Publisher and editor Mike Allen writers in his introduction, "If you're on a quest for the weird, lowercase, here is a book where you can find it. And likely The Weird as well." This international anthology of beautiful prose and strange verse features Saira Ali, Michele Bannister, Alicia Cole, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Gwynne Garfinkle, Brady Golden, Adam Howe, John Philip Johnson, Jamie Killen, Swapna Kishore, Margo Lanagan, Geoffrey A. Landis, Nathaniel Lee, Rose Lemberg, Livia Llewellyn, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, C. S. MacCath, Alex Dally MacFarlane, Lynette Mej a, Virginia M. Mohlere, Sunny Moraine, Kristine Ong Muslim, Dominik Parisien, Jessy Randall, Wendy Rathbone, Sonya Taaffe, Shveta Thakrar, Natalia Theodoridou, Sheree Ren e Thomas and Jane Yolen. Cover art by Hugo Award winner Galen Dara.