Ekaterina Sedia - Running with the Pack

“Okay. What’d the owner say her name was?”

“Stella.”

“Okay. Here, give me the leash. Stella, come. Come on, Stella.”

The voice is sad, gentle, loving, and you want to follow it, but you fight every step, anyway, until Lily and her friend have to drag you past the cages of other dogs, who start barking and howling again, whose cries are pure terror, pure loss. You can hear cats grieving, somewhere else in the building, and you can smell the room at the end of the hall, the room to which you’re getting inexorably closer. You smell the man named Mark behind the door, and you smell medicine, and you smell the fear of the animals who’ve been taken to that room before you. But overpowering everything else is the worst smell, the smell that makes you bare your teeth in the muzzle and pull against the choke collar and scrabble again, helplessly, for a purchase you can’t get on the concrete floor: the pervasive, metallic stench of death.

PETER BELLis a historian, living in York, England. He is a member of the Friends of Arthur Machen and the Ghost Story Society. He writes for The Ghosts & Scholars M.R. James Newsletter , and the magazines Wormwood and Faunus . His stories have appeared in All Hallows ; Supernatural Tales ; Swan River Press’s Haunted Histories series; the Ash-Tree Press anthologies, Acquainted with the Night, At Ease with the Dead, Shades of Darkness , and Exotic Gothic II ; and in the Ex-Occidente Press anthology Cinnabar’s Gnosis; a Homage to Gustav Meyrink. A collection of his stories The Light of the World & Other Strange Tales is to be published in 2010 by Ex-Occidente Press. An article on Beasts by Joyce Carol Oates is in the forthcoming Twenty-First Century Gothic: Great Gothic Novels since 2000 .

MARIE BRENNANis the author of the Onyx Court series of London-based historical faerie fantasies: Midnight Never Come, In Ashes Lie, and the upcoming A Star Shall Fall , as well as the Doppelgänger duology of Warrior and Witch. She has published nearly thirty short stories in venues such as On Spec, Beneath Ceaseless Skies , and the acclaimed anthology series Clockwork Phoenix. More information can be found on her web site: www.swantower.com.

MIKE BROTHERTONis the author of the science fiction novels Spider Star (2008) and Star Dragon (2003), the latter being a finalist for the Campbell award. He’s also a professor of astronomy at the University of Wyoming, a Clarion West graduate, and founder of the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop for Writers (www.launchpadworkshop.org). He blogs at www.mikebrotherton.com.

JESSE BULLINGTONis the author of The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart and the upcoming The Enterprise of Death , as well as several short stories and articles. He lives in Colorado and can be found online at www.jessebullington.com.

STEPHANIE BURGISis an American writer who lives in Wales with her husband, fellow writer Patrick Samphire, their son, and their dog. Her YA Regency fantasy novel The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson, Book One: A Most Improper Magick will be published in 2010. Her short fiction has appeared in several magazines, including Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies , and Fantasy Magazine. To find out more, please visit her web site: www.stephanieburgis.com

AMANDA DOWNUMlives near Austin, Texas, in a house with a spooky attic, and works at a bookstore in addition to writing, cat-herding, and falling off rocks. Her short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy , and Weird Tales . The Drowning City , first of the Necromancer Chronicles, is available from Orbit Books; the second volume, The Bone Palace , is forthcoming in 2010. For more information on Amanda or her writing, visit www.amandadownum.com.

STEVE DUFFY’s stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies in Europe and North America. Two new collections of his short fiction, The Moment of Panic (which includes the International Horror Guild award-winning tale, “The Rag-and-Bone Men”) and Tragic Life Stories, will be published in 2010. He lives in North Wales.

KAREN EVERSONis a jack-of-all-arts. She has published fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Recent publications include “Support You Local Werewolf,” another Olwen story, in Esther Friesner’s anthology Strip Mauled. Her current writing projects include a fantasy novel, Crown of Shadows, and a paranormal romance centered on Olwen and her family. In addition to her writing, Karen runs Moongate Designs, a small business showcasing her art and needlework designs. She lives in Michigan with her other great passions: her husband Mark, her daughter Caitlyn, and numerous pets.

JEFFREY FORDis the author of the novels, The Physiognomy, Memoranda, The Beyond, The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque, The Girl in the Glass, and The Shadow Year. His short stories have been collected into three books— The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant, The Empire of Ice Cream , and The Drowned Life. He lives in South Jersey and teaches Writing and Literature at Brookdale Community College.

LAURA ANNE GILMANstarted out on the editorial side of publishing, but went freelance in 2003. Her urban fantasy Staying Dead (Luna) came out in 2004, followed by Curse The Dark, Bring It On, Burning Bridges, Free Fall, and Blood From Stone. The first in a spinoff series, Hard Magic , was published in May 2010. The first book in The Vineart War trilogy, Flesh and Fire (Pocket), was published in October 2009. The second book, Weight of Stone , will be available October 2010. She is also the author of the Grail Quest YA trilogy for HarperCollins (2006), and as “Anna Leonard” writes paranormal romances ( The Night Serpent and the forthcoming The Hunted ). She also writes short fiction, and as part of Book View Café (www.bookviewcafe.com), is involved in expanding the definition of publishing beyond traditional models. More information available at lauraannegilman.net

GEOFFREY H. GOODWINis a writer who lives near Boston, Massachusetts. He has two degrees in literature and has spent most of his life working in bookstores and comic book shops. Geoffrey’s fiction has appeared in Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Rabid Transit, and Prime’s Phantom anthology, among others. He has also contributed nonfiction to Bookslut, Weird Tales, and Tor.com.

After traveling the world in search of the perfect Bunco group, SAMANTHA HENDERSONsettled down in Southern California. Her short fiction has been published in Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons, Fantasy, and Chizine , and her 2008 dark Victorian fantasy Heaven’s Bones was nominated for the Scribe Award. She is currently the treasurer of the Science Fiction Poetry Association.

N.K. JEMISIN’s work has appeared in Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, and Postscripts , and ranges across science fiction, fantasy, erotica, and sometimes a bit of all three. Her first novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms , first of the Inheritance Trilogy, is out now from Orbit Books. She lives and writes in Brooklyn, NY.

C.E. MURPHYis a writer, mostly of novels, but sometimes of comic books and short stories. Born and raised in Alaska, she now lives with her family in her ancestral homeland of Ireland, a magical land where winter never arrives. More information about her writing and witty banter with the author are available at her web site, www.cemurphy.net.