The Crossing the Veil Bundle - Curated by Rhonda Parrish

I've spent the last several years curating and editing short stories and poetry for anthologies and this year I'm very excited to expand that into curating books for a StoryBundle. I'm excited to share my first ever StoryBundle which is all about psychopomps and crossing the veil.

A couple years ago I stumbled across a word I'd never heard before — psychopomp. When I looked up its meaning I discovered that I'd been aware of the concept of a psychopomp for a long time, I just hadn't known the word for it. A psychopomp is a being which acts as a guide for the souls of the recently departed, helping them move from this world to the next and occasionally carrying messages between the two.

It's kind of impressive that I went so long without knowing the word psychopomp because I've always loved stories that involve crossing over from the world of the living to that of the dead. Always. As a kid we took Greek Mythology in school and while all the stories interested me it was those set in Hades that really fascinated me. I would seek them out and devour version after version. And as I grew, that never really changed. I still love stories set in the places we go after we die, or featuring characters that can cross between those worlds, which made choosing that as the topic for this StoryBundle an easy decision.

The Psychopomp/Crossing The Veil bundle includes fourteen books by eleven different authors. Excitingly, two of those books are short story collections which means there are actually far more than fourteen stories contained within all these digital pages.

Included are C. S. E. Cooney's World Fantasy Award-winning book, Bone Swans, Nebula-nominated authors Beth Cato, Norton Award finalist Nicole Kornher-Stace, and NYT bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow. I could keep listing awards and recognitions, but you're not here for them, right? You're here for the stories.

And we've got them.

A woman grudgingly helping a ghost move on to the other side (so he'll leave her alone)? Check.

A soul-devouring protagonist who has her life turned upside down by a harpy attack? Check.

Characters walking between worlds as casually as you and I cross the street? Check.

A snarky Newfoundland heroine dealing with an undead infestation in her hometown? Check (x3!)

A leucostic magpie with a lot of personality? Check.

There's so much more. If, like me, you're drawn to the stories about passing through the veil between worlds, or shepherding souls through it, this bundle is not one you'll want to miss. And best of all, because it's on StoryBundle, you get to set the price you want to pay.

And you can donate 10% of your purchase price to our charities, Mighty Writers and Girls Write Now, which aim to help foster the writers of tomorrow. – Rhonda Parrish

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For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you're feeling generous), you'll get the basic bundle of four books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.

• The Illuminated Heart by Thea van Diepen
• Hollow by Rhonda Parrish
• Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace
• The Spirit Caller Series - Books 1-3 by Krista D. Ball

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all four of the regular books, plus eight more more books, for a total of twelve!

• The Undine's Tear by Talena Winters
• Soullless by Skyla Dawn Cameron
• The Blood Queen by October Weeks
• Latchkey by Nicole Kornher-Stace
• The Marked by Lilith Saintcrow
• Seeing the Light by E.C. Bell
• Bone Swans by C. S. E. Cooney
• Red Dust and Dancing Horses by Beth Cato

In case you didn't notice that means for $15 you can get twelve books which include Archivist Wasp and its sequel Latchkey!

This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, .mobi) for all books!

It's also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.

Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.

• Get quality reads: We've chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
• Pay what you want (minimum $5): You decide how much these fantastic books are worth. If you can only spare a little, that's fine! You'll still get access to a batch of exceptional titles.
• Support authors who support DRM-free books: StoryBundle is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Supporting authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there's nothing wrong with ditching DRM.
• Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to Mighty Writers and Girls Write Now!
• Receive extra books: If you beat the bonus price, you'll get the bonus books!

StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.

For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, tweet us at @storybundle and like us on Facebook. For press inquiries, please email press@storybundle.com.