When a vampire seduces you, death is minutes away. When she hires you, you'll soon wish you were dead. It's a truth known to every guardian who worked for Fiona, including Daniel. Aside from managing the day-to-day chores and keeping them protected, he manages an investment portfolio to buy stolen blood from hospital workers. The 250-year-old Fiona needs 10 pints of human blood every night. As a result of this, Daniel and Fiona are always on the lookout for police but fail to notice their gradual encirclement by Mors Strigae, an ancient order of monks dedicated to the extermination of vampires. Gone for a century, the monks start a new war when they destroy Fiona's sire. This time, her vampire family is pushed to the edge of extinction -- and the humans who serve them are hunted and executed. After 35 years, what keeps him loyal? And will he ever be allowed to leave? The hardback version includes two bonus short stories which introduce the sequel to Fiona's Guardians. Dan Kleftstad's original spin on the vampire legend brings bloodsuckers into the 21st century, exploring how the manipulative and seductive vampire struggles to maintain her hold to power in the technological age. This original book has already been adapted into a creative podcast performed by Chicago's Artists' Ensemble Theatre show: Mysterious Journey. See artistsensemble.org for more info

Lydia Millet's previous work has been shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Likewise greeted with rapturous praise, Sweet Lamb of Heaven is a first-person account of a young mother, Anna, fleeing her cold and unfaithful husband, a businessman who's just launched his first campaign for political office. When Ned chases Anna and their six-year-old daughter from Alaska to Maine, the two go into hiding in a run-down motel on the coast. But the longer they stay, the less the guests in the dingy motel look like typical tourists-and the less Ned resembles a typical candidate. As his pursuit of Anna and their child moves from threatening to criminal, Ned begins to alter his wife's world in ways she never could have imagined. A double-edged and satisfying story with a strong female protagonist, a thrilling plot, and a creeping sense of the apocalyptic, Sweet Lamb of Heaven builds to a shattering ending with profound implications for its characters-and for all of us.