From a Los Angeles Times–bestselling author, “a [vampire] novel that goes out of its way to not to glorify the villainy of vampirism” (Miami Herald). How to control the bloodlust? How to find inner peace as the living dead? The Way of the Wooden Stake. One man rises in a SoHo alleyway to find his lover dead and his own body terribly transformed . . . He strains to overcome his murderous instincts through zen meditation and blood deprivation. He is reclaimed by The Ministry, an underground society waging war with the undead. Again and again he will find his will tested, and his thirst tempted, by the killers who demand his allegiance . . . and the zen masters who will burn him down at his first missed step . . . He must walk a tightrope between the living and the dead . . . to master himself and his hunger. And the way of the wooden stake . . . The 25th Anniversary Revised Author Edition of the Los Angeles Times–bestselling author Steven-Elliot Altman’s controversial Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires. Foreword by the New York Times bestseller Nancy Holder, author of Angel, Smallville, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels.

One of the world's most popular religions, Buddhism is also one of the most misunderstood. This reference overviews misconceptions related to Buddhism and reveals the truths behind the myths. Buddhism is practiced by millions of adherents around the world. Originating in ancient India, it spread throughout Asia and then to the West, and it exists in multiple traditions. Despite its popularity, it is also the subject of many misconceptions. This book examines those misconceptions along with the historical truths behind the myths. The book begins with an introduction that places Buddhism in its historical and cultural contexts. This is followed by chapters on particular erroneous beliefs related to the religion. Chapters explore whether Buddhism is a singular tradition, if it is a religion or a philosophical system, if it is rational and scientific, whether the Buddha was an ordinary human, and other topics. Each chapter summarizes the misconception and how it spread, along with what we now believe to be the underlying truth behind the falsehood. Quotations and excerpts from primary source documents provide evidence for the mistaken beliefs and the historical truths. The book closes with a selected, general bibliography.

“This funny and fresh take on a classic tale manages to comment on gender roles, racial disparities, and white privilege all while creeping me all the way out. So good.”—Zakiya Dalila Harris, author of The Other Black Girl Steel Magnolias meets Dracula in this New York Times best-selling horror novel about a women's book club that must do battle with a mysterious newcomer to their small Southern town. Bonus features: • Reading group guide for book clubs • Hand-drawn map of Mt. Pleasant • Annotated true-crime reading list by Grady Hendrix • And more! Patricia Campbell’s life has never felt smaller. Her husband is a workaholic, her teenage kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she’s always a step behind on her endless to-do list. The only thing keeping her sane is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime. At these meetings they’re as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are about their own families. One evening after book club, Patricia is viciously attacked by an elderly neighbor, bringing the neighbor's handsome nephew, James Harris, into her life. James is well traveled and well read, and he makes Patricia feel things she hasn’t felt in years. But when children on the other side of town go missing, their deaths written off by local police, Patricia has reason to believe James Harris is more of a Bundy than a Brad Pitt. The real problem? James is a monster of a different kind—and Patricia has already invited him in. Little by little, James will insinuate himself into Patricia’s life and try to take everything she took for granted—including the book club—but she won’t surrender without a fight in this blood-soaked tale of neighborly kindness gone wrong.

From Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer; from Castlevania to Tru Blood, the romance between popular culture and vampires hearkens back to humanity's darkest, deepest fears, flowing through our very blood, fears of death, and life, and insatiable hunger. And yet, there is an attraction, undeniable, to the vampire archetype, whether the pale European count, impeccably dressed and coldly masculine, yet strangely ambiguous, ready to sink his sharp teeth deep into his victims' necks, draining or converting them, or the vamp, the count's feminine counterpart, villain and victim in one, using her wiles and icy sexuality to corrupt man and woman alike... Edited by John Joseph Adams (Wastelands, The Living Dead), By Blood We Live gathers together the best vampire literature of the last three decades from many of today's most renowned authors of fantasy, speculative fiction, and horror, including Stephen King, Joe Hill, Garth Nix, Neil Gaiman, Kelley Armstrong, Ken Macleod, Harry Turtledove, Carrie Vaughn, and Tad Williams.

In this science fiction thriller by an LA Times bestseller, an assassin with the power to temporarily paralyze others helps with a hostage rescue. Robert Luxley has a biological problem he does not understand and cannot control: one touch from his bare skin and you’re paralyzed for fifteen minutes. Lonely and isolated, he’s turned his “special trick” into a lucrative career as a hired killer. He thinks he’s one of a kind—until one day he’s confronted by a young girl named Cassandra, who tells him he’s not alone. She has it too, and the two of them are not the only ones. Carriers can render anyone they touch blind, deaf, or otherwise senseless, in seconds. Fearing discovery, Luxley follows Cassandra through a dark underground network of “Deprivers” in a desperate hunt for her missing brother Nicholas, taken hostage by a radical group of carriers with a terrifying agenda. Luxley doesn’t know who to trust, or who is safe to touch, but he needs to learn Cassandra’s secrets fast. Praise for Deprivers “A book that gets under your skin and on your nerves. The science is impressive; the fiction is haunting. It has a lot on its mind; and it will touch you.” —Mark Frost, co-creator of Twin Peaks “Deprivers is the ultimate paranoia thriller—emphasis on the word thriller. Fans of everything from The Hot Zone to The X-Files take note, THIS BOOK IS GOING TO BLOW YOU AWAY!” — Rockne S. O’Bannon, creator of Alien Nation, Farscape, Defiance and Cult “Deprivers will take you to a terrifying and disturbing tomorrow and make you feel like you live there.” —David Brin, scientist and science fiction author, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Campbell and Locus Awards

In the tradition of Coma and The Andromeda Strain comes the ultimate biological terror... A Depriver is someone who, for reasons still under scientific investigation, possesses and employs a defense mechanism that can drastically incapacitate other human beings. They are prohibited by law from touching anyone due to the inherent adverse effects of their touch. Some people, unfortunately, don't know they're Deprivers. Therefore, a brush with someone on a bus could have life-threatening consequences. If you have come into direct physical contact with a person suffering from this syndrome, you can be deprived of sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, memory, pain, balance, or sense of direction...indefinitely. The Touch documents over twenty cases of Deprivers Syndrome outbreaks which will keep you in suspense until the final shocking page.

A Los Angeles Times–bestselling author “combines the divine and the profane in this erotically charged urban fantasy” (Publishers Weekly). Imagine Leaving Las Vegas meets City of Angels and American Gods, and you can imagine the power of Severed Wings. Brandon Jones, a handsome, hopeful young actor, stands on the verge of fame and fortune—when a car accident shatters his life, bringing his career to a screeching halt. Isolating himself, he cuts off his friends and family, turns to booze for companionship, and withdraws to a small apartment on Sunset Boulevard. Now, the only people he interacts with are a drag queen and a student working her way through college as an escort .Brandon has nothing to live for . . . until a startlingly beautiful young couple moves in across the hall. Spying through the peephole in his door, he grows increasingly obsessed with his new neighbors—and the parade of damaged strangers who visit them at all hours. Then something seemingly impossible happens that convinces him that this mysterious couple can help restore all he lost. “Altman delivers a thrilling roller-coaster ride, plunging us headlong into dark territories fraught with unexpected pivots and twists.” —Stephen Susco, screenwriter of The Grudge “A tour de force of the Weird. Eat of the fruit and take a truly mesmerizing trip through a glass darkly. I did, and I can't wait to do it again.” —Nancy Holder, New York Times–bestselling co-author of The Wicked Saga “[An] ethereal story about the damage of the past and the hope for a better personal future.” —Booklist

Do you need a field guide to vampires and shape-shifters? Do you really think zombies are just badly dressed vampires? Can you identify a potential werewolf before the moon starts to rise? Is she a vampire or just a girl with an "Emo"-thing? And even more important, do you know how to fight them off if you happen to cross paths with a hungry being of the furry kind or a walking corpse with blood on his breath? From a variety of folklore and pop culture traditions we've learned some of the warning signs of vampirism and lycanthropy—and some of the best methods of dispatching them back from whence they came when they are on the attack. They may not be real, but—just in case—you need to know what you may be dealing with!

"This book will take you through the setup of a WordPress MU-powered blogging network, using a real, working blog network as an example, so that you can follow the creation process step-by-step. Your blogging network will be complete with professional features such as friends lists, status feeds, groups, forums, photo galleries, and more, to build your own WordPress.com - a place where users can quickly come and create a blog for themselves. The book starts with a clean install of WordPress MU, and as you work through the book, you will build the blog network, and add on more and more features, all seamlessly integrated to achieve a professional, custom-built look"--Resource description p.