The LaZelle family of southern California has a secret: they can do magic. Real magic. As a teenager, a LaZelle undergoes "the Transition' —a severe illness that will either kill him or leave him with magical powers. If he's lucky, he gains a talent like shape-changing or wish-granting. If he's unlucky, he never experiences Transition. If he's especially unlucky, he undergoes Transition late, which increases his chances of dying. And if he survives, he will bear the burden of a dark, dangerous magic: the ability to cast only curses. And curse he must, for when a LaZelle doesn't use his magic, it kills him.In Nina Kiriki Hoffman's A Fistful of Sky, Gypsum LaZelle is unique among her brothers and sisters: she has not undergone Transition. She resigns herself to a mundane, magic-bereft existence as a college student. Then one weekend, when her family leaves her home alone, she becomes gravely ill... — Cynthia Ward

Christmas—the very word conjures up memories of the most wondrous childhood holiday of all—filled with the glitter of colorfully-wrapped presents, family visits, carols, photographs, decorating the tree, attendance at church to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, and tummy-stuffing dinners tucked with treats seen at no other time of the year. But the yule holiday has been celebrated for at least two centuries in North America, and our writers have been producing memorable stories about this unique day for almost as long. Here are 25 Christmas stories old and new, tales to delight, to entrance, to beguile, and even to sadden a whole new generation of readers. From Nina Kiriki Hoffman's poignant "Lazelle Family Christmas" to Jacob A. Riis' gut-wrenching portrait of the holiday in the 1890s slums of New York to Johnston McCulley's riveting tale of Christmas in the Old West, we experience every possible facet of this most precious day of the year. So sit back and relive your memories once again, as recreated through the eyes of some of the finest writers of their time! Included in this volume INTRODUCTION, by Robert Reginald THE SUBSTITUTE SHOPPER, by Edna A. Collamore CAN'T SEE THE TREE FOR THE FOREST by Skadi meic Beorh THE GIFT, by Marilyn "Mattie" Brahen SANTA'S STOLEN SACK, by S. Omar Barker CHRISTMAS TREE DETAIL, by Johnston McCulley THE SANTA TRAP, by Robin Aurelian LAZELLE FAMILY CHRISTMAS, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman THE CHRISTMAS A GRIFF & FATS STORY, by Gary Lovisi SCROOGE 3000, by Michael McCarty A HELL OF A CHRISTMAS, by Michael McCarty THE CHRISTMAS BANE, by S. Clayton Rhodes THE CHRISTMAS EVE GHOST, by Ernest Dudley DOG EAT A CHRISTMAS TALE, by Robert Reginald WHEN THE YULE LOG BURNS, by Leona Dalrymple MERRY CHRISTMAS IN THE TENEMENTS, by Jacob A. Riis THE RAPTURE OF HETTY, by Mary Hallock Foote THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL, by Henry Van Dyke A STORY, by Zona Gale COLONEL CROCKETT'S CO-OPERATIVE CHRISTMAS, by Rupert Hughes THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS CAROL, by Kate Douglas Wiggin THE MERRYVALE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS AT MERRYVALE, by Alice Hale Burnett PEACE ON EARTH, GOOD-WILL TO DOGS, by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott HOW IT HAPPENED, by Kate Langley Bosher THE LITTLE CITY OF A CHRISTMAS STORY, by F. Marion Crawford ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE EVENING, by Grace S. Richmond And don't forget to search this ebook store for "Megapack" to see other volumes in the series, from science fiction to ghost stories to mysteries...and many more!

Opal LaZelle is a special effects make-up artist, transforming actors into fantastical and grotesque creatures. Unknown to the casts and crews of the films she works on, Opal is gifted in the art of magic—and she applies more than make-up when altering an actorÂ's features. Her latest job requires turning Corvus Weather into a dark god of the forest. But when CorvusÂ's performance becomes too convincing—on set and off—Opal realizes heÂ's not acting. Something has taken possession of Corvus. Something sinister tied to the townÂ's past, with the ability to absorb the very essence of life. Something Opal doesnÂ't have enough power to confront, much less drive from the man she has fallen in love with.