From Cocaine, that most troubling and fascinating of substances; through Speed, an oft demonized and misunderstood drug and on to Heroin, long seen as the most 'literary' of narcotics - the contributors to this all-new original anthology reveal that those who partake are forever changed, but the price of paradise is often steep. The Cocaine Chronicles: that most troubling and fascinating of substances is the subject, the subtext, the whys and whereofs in this collection of original short stories that are funny and harrowing, sad and scary, but at all times riveting. In this bold anthology by a cross-section of today's most thought-provoking writers, we meet the casual sniffers, the heavy users, the dealers, the victims and the unsuspecting victims - hysterical romps, tragic characters and unfathomable lows - rendering cocaine a drug that is anything but glamorous. The Speed Chronicles - Deprived of the ingrained romantic mysticism of the opiate or the cosmopolitan chic of cocaine, there is no sympathy for this devil. Speed - crystal meth, amphetamines, Dexedrine, Benzedrine, Adderall; crank, spizz, chickenscratch, oblivious marching powder, the go-fast - twice the productivity at half the cost, and equal opportunity for all. It feels so good and hurts so bad. The first contemporary collection of all new literary short fiction on the drug from an array of today's most compelling and respected authors. These are no stereotypical tales of tweakers - the element of crime and the bleary-eyed, shaky zombies at dawn are here right alongside heart-wrenching narratives of everyday people, good intentions gone terribly awry and dreams going up in flames. The Heroin Chronicles - That most "literary" of narcotics - the enigmatic opium poppy and its various derivatives - and as these stories reveal, those who partake of the sacred flower are forever changed, but the price of paradise is often steep: overdose, hepatitis C, degradation and self-destruction. The editor, Jerry Stahl, himself a recovering addict with long-term sobriety, has assembled an impressive array of writers to create this 'encyclopedia of bad behaviour.' Indeed, these tales of chasing the dragon, with corollaries often violent and savage, will satisfy devotees of noir fiction and outsider art alike. The Hard Drug Chronicles runs to over 700 pages and contains more than 40 all new stories from Lee Child, Jerry Stahl, Ken Bruen, Laura Lippman, Nina Revoyr, James Franco, Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, Megan Abbott, James Greer, Tao Lin, Joseph Mattson, Eric Bogosian, Gary Phillips and Jervey Tervalon. CONTENTS - COCAINE Ten Keys - Lee Child The Crack Cocaine Diet - Laura Lippman White Irish - Ken Bruen Beneficent Diversions from the Crackdkins Diet - Donnell Alexander Poinciana - Susan Straight The Screenwriter - James Brown Twilight of the Stooges - Jerry Stahl Chemistry - Robert Ward Shame - Kerry E. West Viki, Flash, and the Pied-Piper of Shoebies - Deborah Vankin Golden Pacific - Nina Revoyr Sentimental Value - Manuel Ramos Just Surviving Another Day - Detrice Jones A.K.A. Moises Rockafella - Emory Holmes II Camaro Blue - Bill Moody Serving Monster - Jervey Tervalon Disco Zombies - Gary Phillips CONTENTS - SPEED How to Go to Dinner With a Brother On Drugs - Natalie Diaz War Cry - Sherman Alexie Bad - Jerry Stahl Labiodental Fricative - Scott Phillips Osito - Kenji Jasper Amp is the First Word in Amphetamine - Joseph Mattson Addiction - James Franco Wheelbarrow Kings - Jess Walter Tips 'n' Things by Elayne - Beth Lisick Pissing in Perpetuity - Rose Bunch 51 Hours - Tao Lin Everything I Want - Megan Abbott The Speed of Things - James Greer No Matter How Beautifully It Stings - William T. Vollmann CONTENTS - HEROIN Fragments of Joe - Tony O'Neill Hot for the Shot - Sophia Langdon Dos Mac + The Jones - Nathan Larson Possible Side Effects - Jerry Stahl Going Down - L.Z. Hansen Baby I Need to See A Man About A Duck - Michael Albo Godhead - Eric Bogosian Gift Horse - Jervey Tervalon Ghost Town Lydia Lunch The Monster - John Albert Black Caesar's Gold - Gary Phillips Sunshine for Adrienne - Antonia Crane Poppy Love - Ava Stander

Jervey Tervalon delivered "a marvelous read" (USA Today) in Dead Above Ground, his national bestselling novel of a troubled Southern family. Now his literary landscape shifts to the West Coast, in this compelling portrayal of a young black university professor living life on his own terms -- a life entangled in the complex relationships with the women who desire him.

All Jordan Davis wants is a smooth ride, speeding his Triumph along the 101, living the beautiful life among the beautiful people of Santa Barbara. But trouble seems to find him at every turn in the road. There's Trisha, the seductive twenty-two-year-old virgin from the glamorous foothills...Mary, the angry white girl whose defiance is a definite turn-on...and Daphne, an exotic, forbidden student, and keeper of shadowy secrets. They all want to define him, limit him, turn him into what they want him to be. But for Jordan, the ultimate question is what does he want out of life -- and can a man truly create a destiny that isn't defined by his race or his past?