Books published by publisher DAW

The second book in the Ghost Roads series returns to the highways of America, where hitchhiking ghost Rose Marshall continues her battle with her killer--the immortal Bobby Cross.Once and twice and thrice around, Put your heart into the ground. Four and five and six tears shed, Give your love unto the dead. Seven shadows on the wall, Eight have come to watch your fall: One’s for the gargoyle, one’s for the grave, And the last is for the one you’ll never save. For Rose Marshall, death has long since become the only life she really knows. She’s been sweet sixteen for more than sixty years, hitchhiking her way along the highways and byways of America, sometimes seen as an avenging angel, sometimes seen as a killer in her own right, but always Rose, the Phantom Prom Date, the Girl in the Green Silk Gown.The man who killed her is still out there, thanks to a crossroads bargain that won’t let him die, and he’s looking for the one who got away. When Bobby Cross comes back into the picture, there’s going to be hell to pay—possibly literally.Rose has worked for decades to make a place for herself in the twilight. Can she defend it, when Bobby Cross comes to take her down? Can she find a way to navigate the worlds of the living and the dead, and make it home before her hitchhiker’s luck runs out? There’s only one way to know for sure. Nine will let you count the cost: All you had and all you lost. Ten is more than time can tell, Cut the cord and ring the bell. Count eleven, twelve, and then, Thirteen takes you home again. One’s for the shadow, one’s for the tree, And the last is for the blessing of Persephone.

In this compelling fantasy from a debut author, two people must unite two warring cultures to banish the gods who destroyed their homeland.The Fallen God's War drove the remnants of a victorious army across the ocean in search of a new homeland. A thousand years later, the lifeless continent of Draegora is largely forgotten, a symbol for the regiments that remain. Demons to some. Protectors to others. The power of their god-touched blades has forged a nation, though many resent their absolute control. Riam and Nola are unknowing descendants of the old world. When it's discovered they carry enough Draegoran blood to serve in the regiments, they are dragged away from their families to begin training. If they survive, they will be expected to enforce the laws of the covenant, to fight the Esharii tribesmen who raid along the border, and to be judge, jury, and executioners for those accused of crimes. For Riam, who welcomes his escape from an abusive father, the power to protect those who cannot defend themselves is alluring. For Nola, who wishes to return home, it is a betrayal by all she holds dear. Neither is given a choice...and neither may ever get the chance to serve.Lies of Descent begins an epic trilogy of fallen gods, betrayal, and magic--where dark motives often dwell within the true and just, and where the things most feared sometimes lead to salvation.

This exclusive e-novella, set shortly after the events in Hidden in Sight, features the first glimpse of the All Species' Library of Linguistics and Culture in the Web Shifters sci-fi series.The Human Commonwealth has spread into a section of space well and truly claimed by others, a wealth of intelligent species who doubt we've much to offer. The only recourse? Diplomacy! At least that's what Evan Gooseberry, assigned to the Human embassy on Urgia Prime, firmly believes. Enough to fight his own deep terrors and remain where even a walk outside is an exhausting challenge.But what happens when a species' misunderstood biology is its diplomacy? The stakes are high; the situation desperate. Doubted by his superiors, Evan stands alone. Unless he can accept help from the strangest alien of all: Esen-alit-Quar, Esen in a hurry, Es between friends. Having come to Urgia Prime with her friend Paul on their own mission, the remarkable Webshifter is willing to do whatever she can. There's only one problem.Esen is everything Evan Gooseberry fears.

National best-selling fantasy author Mercedes Lackey creates a vivid, dynamic fusion of the cultures of ancient Egypt and legendary Atlantis with the most exciting and believable portrayal of dragons ever imagined. The first book in this thrilling new series introduces us to a young slave who dreams of becoming a jouster-one of the few warriors who can actually ride a flying dragon. And so, in secret, he begins to raise his own dragon...

The second book in The Song of the Shattered Sands series--an epic fantasy with a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action.Çeda, now a Blade Maiden in service to the kings of Sharakhai, trains as one of their elite warriors, gleaning secrets even as they send her on covert missions to further their rule. She knows the dark history of the asirim—that hundreds of years ago they were enslaved to the kings against their will—but when she bonds with them as a Maiden, chaining them to her, she feels their pain as if her own. They hunger for release, they demand it, but with the power of the gods compelling them, they find their chains unbreakable.Çeda could become the champion they've been waiting for, but the need to tread carefully has never been greater. After their recent defeat at the hands of the rebel Moonless Host, the kings are hungry for blood, scouring the city in their ruthless quest for revenge. Çeda's friend Emre and his new allies in the Moonless Host hope to take advantage of the unrest in Sharakhai, despite the danger of opposing the kings and their god-given powers, and the Maidens and their deadly ebon blades.When Çeda and Emre are drawn into a plot of the blood mage Hamzakiir, they learn a devastating secret that may very well shatter the power of the hated kings. But it may all be undone if Çeda cannot learn to navigate the shifting tides of power in Sharakhai and control the growing anger of the asirim that threatens to overwhelm her...

The haunting beginning to Michelle Sagara's young adult paranormal trilogy, Queen of the Dead.It began in the graveyard… Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. For Emma, life had stopped with Nathan’s death. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there—Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death....Emma was not quite like other girls. It was true that other girls had experienced grief. Other girls had also lost their fathers, or had their boyfriends die in senseless accidents. But though she hadn’t known it till that night in the graveyard, unlike those other girls, she could see, touch, and speak with the dead....

The seventeenth novel in Cherryh’s Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences…The human and atevi inhabitants of Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, have picked up a signal from an alien kyo ship telling them that the ship is inbound toward Alpha. Five thousand of the inhabitants of Alpha are human refugees from the now derelict Reunion Station. They have seen this scenario before, when a single kyo ship swooped into the Reunion system and, without a word, melted a major section of Reunion Station with a single pass. These refugees, who were rescued through the combined efforts of an allied group of humans and atevi and brought to safety at Alpha, are now desperate with fear.Bren Cameron—brilliant human emissary of Tabini-aiji, the powerful atevi political leader on the mainland below, and also the appointee of the human president of the island nation of Mospheira—is the obvious choice of representative to be sent up to deal with both the panicked refugees and the incoming alien ship.As a member of the spacefaring delegation who rescued the refugees, Bren has talked to kyo before—and even won their trust by saving one of their kind from a Reunioner prison. Because of his remarkable diplomatic and linguistic abilities, Bren managed to communicate with that grateful kyo individual on a limited basis, and he has evidence that that same kyo is on the ship heading to defenseless Alpha Station.But no one can predict what an alien race might do, or what their motivations could be.And Bren Cameron, the only human ever to be accepted into atevi society, is now the one individual with a hope of successfully interacting with the crew of the incoming ship. But Bren knows it will take putting himself in the hands of the kyo.Can Bren count on the gratitude of one individual alien to save his life and the lives of thousands on Alpha Station?

Sci-fi action meets steamy paranormal romance in the Alien novels, as Katherine “Kitty” Katt faces off against aliens, conspiracies, and deadly secrets. • “Futuristic high-jinks and gripping adventure.” —RT Reviews With the human population growing and alien refugees pouring in from around the galaxy, Earth is becoming too overcrowded to sustain itself—and the solar system is filling up with the alien overflow. Advanced technology from the Alpha Centauri and Vatusan systems offers one possible solution. It's time to explore new planets and see if any uninhabited ones can be claimed.The President and First Lady, aka Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini, aren't supposed to be on this mission, but what looks like a snafu during a political photo op on the newly christened Distant Voyager spaceship turns out to be a call for help from a planet that might be Earth's salvation...or its destruction.The discovery of a world at the opposite end of the galaxy that seems like it could be a twin to Earth creates the usual issues for Kitty & Company. It also raises questions of Z'porrah and Ancient influence—not to mention cloning, the multiverse, and, scariest of all, whether or not the Black Hole Universe Police are starting to take too much of an interest in this particular universe.

Nathan died in the summer before his final year in high school, leaving behind a mother who was devoted to him and a girlfriend he loved. His mother and his girlfriend, Emma, are still alive; Nathan is not. But he wakes in his room—or in the shrine his mother’s made of his room—confused, cold, and unable to interact with anyone or anything he sees. The only clear memory he has is a dream of a shining city, and its glorious queen, but the dream fades, until he once again meets Emma—by the side of his own grave.Nathan wants life. He wants Emma. He wants warmth, sensation, a sleep that doesn’t leave him confused and aching.But the cost, to Emma, will be incalculably high—because Emma just might be able to give him what he wants.

The haunting beginning to Michelle Sagara's young adult paranormal trilogy, Queen of the Dead.It began in the graveyard… Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. For Emma, life had stopped with Nathan’s death. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there—Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death....Emma was not quite like other girls. It was true that other girls had experienced grief. Other girls had also lost their fathers, or had their boyfriends die in senseless accidents. But though she hadn’t known it till that night in the graveyard, unlike those other girls, she could see, touch, and speak with the dead....

NATHANFour months ago, Nathan had everything he wanted in life: he had Emma.Three months ago, he died.Death hasn't been easy. The only people who can see the dead are Necromancers and their Queen. And you don't want to piss off the Queen of the Dead. She's brilliant light and fire, and if there's no actual hell, she can make a personal one, just for you.But all she seems to want for Nathan is to send him home -- where he can see the people he loved, even if they can't see him. He doesn't know why. He doesn't care. If he goes home, he can finally see...EMMAFour months ago, Emma was in love with Nathan.Three months ago, he died.One month ago, Emma began to see the dead. They look exactly the way they appeared before they died; she knows. She's seen her father. She's even argued with him.Seeing the dead has made her life vastly more complicated. People want to kill her. People want to kidnap her and force her to truly become a Necromancer. People want to kill her friends, just because they know her.But even if she could get rid of this strange power, she wouldn't, because if it's gone, she'll never see Nathan again...But the Queen of the Dead has plans of her own, for both Nathan and Emma.