Most Popular Books by Alex Bledsoe

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.

Bledsoe pens a steamy tale of vampires, sex, and the supernatural.

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 . . . The old song warns of the beautiful Bolade sisters, Patience and Prudence, whose undying rivalry was said to stretch even beyond the grave. But Count Rudolfo Vladimir Zginski has never heard the song. A suave Continental vampire, staked to death more than sixty years ago, he has risen to stalk the Southern nights of Memphis, Tennessee, circa 1975. Although new to the modern world, he has quickly developed a taste for its hot blood, willing women, and high-speed automobiles. Yet the seventies are not without their perils, even for so cunning and ruthless a predator. Zginski''s insistent pursuit of a cherry 1973 Mach 1 Ford Mustang soon brings him into conflict with a legendary redneck sheriff with a short temper and a big baseball bat. His dangerous fascination with an enticing undead chanteuse and her equally seductive sister, threatens not only his own ageless existence, but that of the small group of modern-day vampires he has grudgingly taken under his wing. Zginski has already escaped limbo once, but can he free himself from the tangled web of the girls who play games of blood? Alex Bledsoe, author of Blood Groove, returns to he world of the undead with a tale of fast cars and vengeance that never dies. . . . At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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 . . .

"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?"

Twenty years ago, a barmaid in a harbor town fell for a young sailor who turned pirate to make his fortune. But what truly became of Black Edward Tew remains a mystery—one that has just fallen into the lap of freelance sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse. For years, Eddie has kept his office above Angelina''s tavern, so when Angelina herself asks him to find out what happened to the dashing pirate who stole her heart, he can hardly say no—even though the trail is two decades old. Some say Black Edward and his ship, The Bloody Angel, went to bottom of the sea, taking with it a king''s fortune in treasure. Others say he rules a wealthy, secret pirate kingdom. And a few believe he still sails under a ghostly flag with a crew of the damned. To find the truth, and earn his twenty-five gold pieces a day, Eddie 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. 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.

Star-crossed lovers reunite in Long Black Curl, part of Alex Bledsoe''s acclaimed contemporary fantasy series, where fairy magic is hidden in plain sight and age-old rivalries simmer just beneath the surface "Reading Long Black Curl makes me so happy that there are authors writing real North American-based mythic fiction: stories that incorporate the Americas where many of us live, infusing them with their own folklore and mythology-one that sits so well it feels like it''s always been a part of us." —Charles de Lint 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, and fueled by vengeful plans to change the town forever. The only one who can stop Bo-Kate is Jefferson, but even he isn''t sure what will happen when they finally meet. Will he fall in love with her again? Will he join her in her quest to reign over the Tufa? Or will he have to sacrifice himself to save the people who once banished him? 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.

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.

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.

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.

When a young woman is killed by a herd of wild hogs, her boyfriend, Duncan, mourns until he finds that she may have cheated on him with his best friend, Adam. When Adam''s body is found soon after, who is to blame: Duncan or the hogs?--adapted from book jacket.

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.

"A Tom Doherty Associates book"--Title page.

Iraq War veteran Bronwyn Hyatt must reconnect with the Tufa, her people, and their ancient song if she is ever going to stop the death stalking her family.

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.

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.

From Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City: Alex Bledsoe imagines Alfred''s reaction to Bruce Wayne''s confusion over the onset of puberty.

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.

The November/December 2015 issue of Uncanny Magazine. Featuring new fiction by Ursula Vernon, Elizabeth Bear, Karin Tidbeck, Yoon Ha Lee, and Alex Bledsoe, classic fiction by Alaya Dawn Johnson, essays by Annalee Flower Horne and Natalie Luhrs, Aidan Moher, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Deborah Stanish, poetry by Mari Ness, Sonya Taaffe, and Lisa M. Bradley, interviews with Yoon Ha Lee and Alex Bledsoe by Deborah Stanish, a cover by Julie Dillon, and an editoral by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas. As always, available DRM-free.

Would you kill for your art? Would it kill for you? A painter who kills with blood-tinged pigment. A tattoo artist with a dark past who treats with demons. A sculptor on Venus who carves his life’s history into ice at the cost of his sanity. A ceramic vase that might avenge the life of a murder victim. A haunted song that drives listeners to kill. Art surrounds us. It entertains and nurtures. And for some it can do far more. It can protect a family over generations or bridge the boundary between the realms of the living and the dead. It can be a curse or a boon, a path to riches or to damnation. In Artifice and Craft, speculative fiction authors Lyndsay E. Gilbert, Laura E. Price, Adam Stemple, Brian K. Lowe, James R. Tuck, Briana Una McGuckin, Jordan Davidson, James Maxey, Madeline Dau, Joel Armstrong, C.E. Murphy, Mark Painter, Alex Bledsoe, Alethea Kontis, Gerri Leen, and Jelena Dunato craft tales of art and artistry that are shaded with the supernatural, tuned to the fantastic, and glazed with the unexpected. So listen, watch, admire. But don’t touch, and don’t turn your back. Because these works of art are far more than they seem.

Fantasy heroes endure. They are embedded in our cultural fabric, dwarfing other literary figures and the mere men and women of history. Achilles and Odysseus, Gilgamesh and Beowulf. King Arthur and Robin Hood, Macbeth and Sherlock Holmes, Conan and Luke Skywalker. They dominate our legends, and tower over popular culture. The stories we tell each other begin and end with fantasy heroes, and the 21st Century is as thoroughly captivated with them as ever. From Batman to Gandalf, Harry Potter to Tyrion Lannister, the heroes of fantasy speak to-and for-whole generations. But what makes a fantasy hero? How do the best writers create them, and bring them to life on the page? In WRITING FANTASY HEROES some of the most successful fantasy writers of our time--Steven Erikson, C.L. Werner, Brandon Sanderson, Janet & Chris Morris, Cecelia Holland, Alex Bledsoe, Jennifer Brozek, Ian C. Esslemont, Orson Scott Card, Ari Marmell, Cat Rambo, Howard Andrew Jones, Paul Kearney and Glen Cook--pull back the curtain to reveal the secrets of creating heroes that live and breathe, and steal readers'' hearts. Whether you''re an aspiring writer or simply a reader who loves great fantasy and strong characters, this book is for you.

The January/February 2020 issue of Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine. Featuring new fiction by Rae Carson, Eugenia Triantafyllou, C. L. Clark, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Sharon Hsu, and Alex Bledsoe. Reprint fiction by E. Lily Yu. Essays by Meg Elison, Marissa Lingen, Malka Older, and Katharine Duckett, poetry by Ada Hoffmann, Brandon O''Brien, Leah Bobet, and Betsy Aoki, interviews with Eugenia Triantafyllou and Bonnie Joe Stufflebeam by Caroline M. Yoachim, a cover by Nilah Magruder, and editorials by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, and Elsa Sjunneson.

The July/August 2018 issue of Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine. Our Dinosaur Theme Issue! Featuring new fiction by Sam J. Miller, K.M. Szpara, R.K. Kalaw, Elsa Sjunneson-Henry & A. Merc Rustad, Brooke Bolander, Brit E.B. Hvide, Alex Bledsoe, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Anya Ow, essays by Tobias S. Buckell, Alasdair Stuart, Marissa Lingen, and Tansy Rayner Roberts, and poetry by Mari Ness, Cassandra Khaw, Brandon O'' Brien, Ali Trotta and Cynthia So, interviews with K.M. Szpara and Anya Ow by Caroline M. Yoachim, a cover by Galen Dara, and an editorial by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas. “The Uncanny Dinosaurs—Introduction” by Brooke Bolander, Sam J. Miller, Mari Ness, Nicasio Andres Reed, A. Merc Rustad & Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, K.M. Szpara, JY Yang, and Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas

A missing intergalactic artifact valuable enough to inspire murder. A cartoon gag gone bad that leads to a gruesome death. Greek deities unraveling a divine mystery in New York City. A human detective navigating the temptations of Faerie in pursuit of a magical killer. Call them sleuths, call them gumshoes, call them shamuses or dicks or beagles—these private investigators prowl the back alleys of imagination, explaining the unexplainable, seeking answers and justice for two hundred dollars a day plus expenses. In Noir, speculative fiction authors Hal Bodner, Jessie Kwak, Esther M. Friesner, Travis Wade Beaty, John Zakour, Alex Bledsoe, Erik Grove, Andrija Popovic, Julie E. Czerneda, Aprilynne Pike, D.B. Jackson, Justin Jordan, Steven Harper, R.S. Belcher, and Eve Golden-Woods spin tales of intrigue and danger, introducing you to worlds where information is currency and life is cheap. So put on your fedora, raise your trench coat collar against the evening chill, and come explore the shadows. But remember, in this seedy business, you can trust no one...sometimes not even yourself.

Action, Magie und ein blutiger Mord Für den Schwertkämpfer und Privatermittler Eddie LaCrosse sah alles nach einem ganz normalen Fall aus: Der Mord an dem jungen Prinzen des Nachbarlandes muss aufgeklärt werden. Doch der König ist LaCrosses Jugendfreund, und je mehr er nachbohrt, desto rätselhafter wird die Geschichte - bis der Ermittler in einem Netz aus uralten Geheimnissen, tödlichen Racheintrigen und falschen Informationen gefangen ist und Wahrheit und Lüge einander gefährlich nahe kommen. Denn auch Eddie LaCrosse hat eine dunkle Vergangenheit... Alex Bledsoe wurde in Tennessee geboren, eine Stunde von Graceland entfernt. Er hat bereits als Reporter, Fotograf und Staubsaugervertreter gearbeitet, bevor er das Schreiben für sich entdeckte. Er hat bereits mehrere Vampir- und Fantasyromane veröffentlicht und mit Das Schwert des Königs in den USA und in Grossbritannien seitdem zahlreiche Fans begeistert. Alex Bledsoe lebt und arbeitet in Wisconsin.

Visit Cloud County, home of the mysterious Tufa, in this collection of illustrations from Alex Bledsoe''s novels (The Hum and the Shiver, Wisp of a Thing, Long Black Curl and Chapel of Ease). Beautifully illustrated by Shoshanah Marohn, these 32 drawings take you to places like the Pair-A-Dice roadhouse and the ruined chapel of ease, introduce you to Uncle Sim''s emus and the king of the forest, and show you dramatic scenes from the novels. Immerse yourself in Needsville, the story, and feel some of the Tufa magic.

This discounted ebundle of the Tufa Novels includes: The Hum and the Shiver, Wisp of a Thing, Long Black Curl, Chapel of Ease, Gather Her Round, and two stories, “Shall We Gather,” “The Two Weddings of Bronwyn Hyatt” "Imagine a book somewhere between American Gods and Faulkner." —Patrick Rothfuss on The Hum and the Shiver No one knows where the Tufa came from, or how they ended up in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Enigmatic and suspicious of outsiders, the Tufa live quiet lives in the hills and valleys of Cloud County. While their origins may be a mystery, there are hints of their true nature buried in the songs they have passed down for generations. Other Tor books by Alex Bledsoe The Eddie LaCrosse series 1) The Sword-Edged Blonde 2) Burn Me Deadly 3) Dark Jenny 4) Wake of the Bloody Angel 5) He Drank, and Saw the Spider Short fiction: “The Key to the Cowards Spell” Other Books Blood Groove The Girl With Games of Blood At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

After being abandoned by her family, Aella forges through her life determined to stay safe and alone until she encounters someone who helps her and alters her destiny.

In a small Southern town slowly choked by a big-box store and its citizens'' own vices, one man understands the real source of their troubles: the demons infesting the huge and impersonal TLC Mart, waiting to latch onto the mean, the cruel, and the selfish. But the Reverend Deacon Elder, roving disreputable deliverance minister, can''t fight them alone, and finds a most unlikely ally: a teenage girl who was once possessed, and still has one foot in the demonic.

"Story Behind the Book: Volume 4" collects nearly 40 essays about writing and editing fiction from some of the most talented authors working today. These essays reveal intricacies and secrets behind the craft and offer a unique and unprecedented insight into the creative process. Includes following "Story Behind the Book" essays: "The Professor of Truth" by James Robertson "The Bug" by Ellen Ullman "The Golem and the Jinni" by Helene Wecker "The Center of the World" by Thomas Van Essen "Enchantment" by Pietro Grossi "The Delphi Room" by Melia McClure "A Fatal Likeness" by Lynn Shepherd "The Scent of Death" by Andrew Taylor "The Map of the Sky" by Felix J. Palma "Murder by the Book" by Eric Brown "This Strange Way of Dying" by Silvia Moreno Garcia "The Broken Ones" by Stephen M. Irwin "The ''Geisters" by David Nickle "Blackwater Lights" by Michael Hughes "Cain''s Blood" by Geoffrey Girard "Rivers" by Michael Farris Smith "Your Brother''s Blood" by David Towsey "Strange Mammals" by Jason Erik Lundberg "The Carpet Makers" by Andreas Eschbach "The Ravenglass Eye" by Tom Fletcher "The One-Eyed Man" by L. E. Modesitt Jr. "Copperhead" by Tina Connolly "The Tide King" by Jen Michalski "Gallow" by Nathan Hawke "Elysian Fields" by Suzanne Johnson "Theirs Not to Reason Why" by Jean Johnson "Aliens: Recent Encounters" by Alex Dally MacFarlane "Clockwork Fairy Tales" by Stephen L. Antczak "23 Years on Fire" by Joel Shepherd "The Shifted World" by Philippa Ballantine "Bang Bang" by Patrick Malloy "Gods of Earth" by Craig DeLancey "Wisp of a Thing" by Alex Bledsoe "Dream London" by Tony Ballantyne "Persistence of Memory" by Winona Kent "Disability in Science Fiction: Representations of Technology as Cure" by Kathryn Allan "King Breaker" by Rowena Cory Daniells "Gideon Smith & the Mechanical Girl" by David Barnett