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INTRODUCTION

Welcoet th Some people see short stories as a way to further their book career The last story, “The Girl Who Was Infatuated with Death,” was commissioned by my publisher for a collection of pieces with other of their supernatural writers So I guess that one was designed to furtheraudience and those of the other writers with y But as for the rest of the stories, these are ideas I was coination and a desire to play Short stories for me are like vacations You know, those trips you take to new places to do things you don’t noret to do in your work-a-day life These stories, with a few exceptions, are worlds where most of you have never been with me Several of these are set in the sahtseer So for those of you who keep writing in, or asking at signings, ill I finish that series, here are at least a few h with different characters and countries I thought once I would write only heroic fantasy like a mix of Tolkien and Robert E Howard But the bottom fell out of the heroic fantasyto find a vision that the publishers would buy I had a few stories that were different, set in modern day with fantastic elements One was the first Anita Blake short story, “Those Who Seek Forgiveness” Another was “The Edge of the Sea”—which is still an idea that intrigues me You have also ons” You also get the only story I’ve ever written in Anita’s world that has none of theHouses”

I have dozens of other short story ideas, and most of them are very unlike Anita and Merry’s adventures My unwritten short ideas are vacations of theyou want to do on vacation is your noret to a point where nor, fairie princesses and private detectives, and souess

THOSE WHO SEEK FORGIVENESS

This is the first time Anita ever walked onto paper for me The cemetery in this story is based on the cemetery where my mother is buried It was a place I knew very well, because uess it was inevitable that I would write about the dead; hosts of memory and loss Anita raises the dead in this story, which was all I had planned on her doing The idea of her being a legal vampire executioner actually didn’t hitto write the first book Originally this story represented what I thought Anita would do: raise zos would have been if I’d stuck to inal plan No Jean-Claude, no Richard, not much of anybody except Anita What a bleak world it would have been, with just Anita and me in it

DEATH is a very serious h it are never the same”

The wo her face in her hands Her slim shoulders shook quietly for a few roped for the him back, exactly”

She wiped at two tears, which escaped and rolled down flawless cheekbones The purse she clutched so tightly was reptile, at least two hundred dollars Her accessories—lapel pin, high heels, hat, and gloves—were all black as her purse Her suit was gray Neither color suited her, but they emphasized her pale skin and hollow eyes She was the sort of woave e desire to lose ten rief-stricken, I could have disliked her

“I have to talk to Arthur That’s my husband…was ain “Arthur died suddenly A massive coronary” She blew delicately into a tissue “His family did have a history of heart disease, but he always took such good care of hiood-bye to him, Miss Blake”

I ss left unsaid when death comes suddenly But it isn’t always best to raise the dead and say it”

Her blue eyes stared intently through a file every one of my clients, but this one would do it There was a certain set to the eyes that said serious

“There are certain limitations to the process” My boss didn’t allow us to show slides or pictures or give graphic descriptions, but ere supposed to tell the truth One good picture of a decaying zo

“Limitations?”

“Yes, we can bring him back You came to us promptly That helps He’s been buried only three days But as a zombie your husband will only have lio by, that will groorse, not better”

She stood up very straight, tears drying on her face “I was hoping you could bring him back as a vampire”

I kept al, Mrs Fiske”

“A friend told et that done here” She finished in a rush, searching my face

I smiled my best professional smile “We do not do vampires And even if we did, you can’t make an ordinary corpse into a vampire”

“Ordinary?”

Very few people who came to us had even a remote idea of how rare vampires were, or why “The deceased would have to have been bitten by a olf, va buried in unconsecrated ground would help Your husband, Arthur, was never bitten by a vampire while alive, was he?”