Research Fiction

Samantha is a professional seductress and con artist with a heart of gold. If she talked about her work, she’d tell you she only pilfers organs for medical research and that she only takes one kidney, and she only steals those kidneys from dishonest people. It’s hell on her social life. Abe is the doctor and Sam's partner in crime. He isn’t much of a criminal. Except for the kidney stealing. But he’s using that money to fund his research that he anticipates will be able to cure diabetes. So, all for a good cause...? You decide. Of course, it's hell on his social life.

Was there any particular reason that, near the end of your lives, you suddenly stopped buying Bounty paper towels? So begins the first question from Bounty’s market research representative to Paul and Maggie. In this unique short story, a couple who died suddenly in their 50s recounts their use of Bounty paper towels and their sudden switch to a bargain brand near the end of their lives. What appears to be a run-of-the-mill spat between spouses at the Stop & Shop is revealed to be a defining moment of a marriage years in decline.

For fans of determined plus-sized heroines and cinnamon-roll bear shifters, A Polar Expedition is the first standalone novella in the Shades of Sanctuary series, where the vibes are cozy, the heat is high, and the mates are monstrous. Grab a cup of tea and snuggle in because while the burn might be slow, the HEA is only a few hours away!

Mara Vance never thought her useless psychology degree would lead to studying an actual monster. Subject X-13, aka "The Nightmare," is armed with sharp teeth, claws, and a constantly shifting form… yet Mara finds the huge shadow creature as intriguing as he is terrifying. As Mara studies him, she soon realizes that The Nightmare is far more intelligent than her shady superiors say he is. And every night, she indulges in twisted fantasies about the same monster. What happens in her dreams stays in her dreams—right?

Caroline’s mattress had nothing to do with her untimely death at the age of 28—this, she wants Tempur-Pedic’s market research representative to know. But as she reflects on her first ever mattress purchase and their interview progresses, Caroline dives into the circumstances and decisions that led her and Nicholas—her boyfriend, 10 years her senior and prone to sleeping on the floor—to that particular bed in that particular shopping plaza.

Acclaimed author of The Adults Alison Espach’s short story "In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People" is an at-once hilarious and heart-breaking portrait of a dead woman’s marriage and the Volvo that stood in the middle of it all.

UPDATED 2022 EDITION! These two bestselling writing and editing handbooks, “The Writer’s Guide to Character Emotion” and “The Writer’s Guide to Character Expression” have been updated and combined to create one remarkable single volume! This comprehensive edition contains descriptive writing tools to help writers craft a riveting novel that instantly grabs a reader’s attention. Writers will gain the essential skills needed to craft realistic emotions, visceral responses, and body language to deepen characterization that you can easily and quickly apply to your own writing. ...

Zelda Fitzgerald was the mythical American Dream Girl of the Roaring Twenties who became, in the words of her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald, "the first American flapper." Their romance transformed a symbol of glamour and spectacle of the Jazz Age. When Zelda cracked up, not long after the stock market crash of 1929, Scott remained loyal to her through a nightmare of later breakdowns and final madness.

Pax and the rebellion pulled off the impossible by seizing the empire's city and rallying thousands to their cause. Victory parades. Captured nobles in chains. The whole works. But all that did was prove the rebellion is an actual threat to the empire. Now, the empire's most ruthless commander is massing his forces for a counterattack that could crush everything they've built. He's determined to make an example of every rebel.

Spread Me is a darkly seductive tale of survival from Sarah Gailey, bestselling author of Just Like Home. A routine probe at a research station turns deadly when the team discovers a strange specimen in search of a warm place to stay. "This erotic female-centered story of body horror grabs...

In London, 1891, Sherlock Holmes is famous. Everyone else is working. Arsène Lupin breaks into the British Museum, steals an object the museum officially doesn't acknowledge exists, and stands in the street for eleven minutes afterward — not knowing what he has proved. A German psychologist spends six months documenting six murders, writes the finest analytical paper of her career, and cannot publish it. A Scotland Yard detective solves a case she cannot officially close — the man responsible attends the Reform Club that Thursday, as he always does. These are ten stories about what it ...

Pax, the audacious street rat turned mage, leads his eclectic crew into the heart of the Northern Purge—a wilderness expedition teeming with monsters and political adversaries. They develop their forbidden elemental powers in a race to gain power before their adversaries can destroy them. A frantic search unearths the ancient light mage headquarters, a trove full of treasures and fraught with dangers.

When psychologist Dr. Kate Severin accepts a posting at Vantage Station — a private research base on the Ross Ice Shelf — she expects isolation stress, the long polar dark, and a crew that needs steady professional attention. What she doesn't expect is to become the thing she came to assess. Seven people. Nine months. A sealed station built above something the ice has been keeping for longer than any of them can measure. As the Antarctic winter closes in and the transmission windows go silent, Kate's clinical instruments begin to fail her in ways she cannot document. The crew is ...

Brought to you by Penguin. So much relies on science. But what if science itself can’t be relied on? Medicine, education, psychology, health, parenting – wherever it really matters, we look to science for advice. Science Fictions reveals the disturbing flaws that undermine our understanding...

Spring is livening up Briar Creek after a long, cold winter, and newlyweds Lindsey and Sully could not be happier. Even though the upcoming mayoral election is getting heated, everything else in town is coming up daffodils...until a body is found. Ms. Cole, a librarian and current candidate for town mayor, is shocked when she opens her trunk to discover a murder victim who just so happens to be a guy she dated 40 years ago and the founder of the baking empire Nana's Cookies.

Colton Baker sought isolation in the frozen north to hide from the beast in his blood. His quiet existence shatters when a critically injured woman named Elena collapses at his remote cabin. She carries explosive evidence against Blackridge Mineral. A heavily armed extraction team is closing in to silence her. They have cut off all escape routes. Elena has a biological clock ticking down from severe trauma. Colton has six days until the full moon. With a massive winter storm burying the landscape, they must face a squad of ruthless mercenaries on the ice. The armed team believes they are ...

These four bestselling writing and thesaurus guides, “The Writer’s Guide to Character Emotion,” “The Writer’s Guide to Character Expression,” “The Writer’s Guide to Vivid Settings and Characters,” and "The Writer's Guide to Characters, Plots, and Scenes" have been combined to create one remarkable single volume! This comprehensive edition contains over 600 pages of guidance to inspire your creative muse with descriptive ways to craft a riveting novel that instantly grabs a reader’s attention. Writers will get the essential skills needed to significantly enhance their ...

The study of twins and the genetics of aggression totally consumes research scientist Jeannie Ferrami. An accomplished and headstrong researcher, Jeannie has developed a sophisticated software program to identify identical twins reared apart. But Jeannie's breakthrough project is threatened by...

Pax, a cunning street rat without a class, navigates life in a city constantly threatened by monstrous beast waves. He's dedicated to keeping his crew safe and fed, especially after his family vanished without a trace. But when his best friend is captured, Pax risks it all—even his freedom—on the eve of the Awakening.

From neuroscientist and bestselling author Lisa Genova comes a story of resilience in the face of a devastating diagnosis. After a car crash leaves a vibrant mother in her thirties with a traumatic brain disorder called “left neglect,” she learns what truly matters most in life. Sarah...