Fear is primal. Instinctive. Unavoidable. And right now, there is something you fear - and you can feel it. Creeping up behind you. Lurking in the darkness that lives under your bed, or in your closet. A nameless dread.

In Undercurrents: An Anthology of What Lies Beneath, 23 talented authors, including New York Times best sellers Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, and Jody Lynn Nye, have stood on the shores of their psyches and looked out over the ocean of possibility and wondered "What lies beneath?"

The sea creatures and sea monsters that answered their calls range from a giant kraken that rules the deepest ocean to the smallest puffer fish that creates intricate works of underwater art. Creatures of classic mythology - mermaids, sirens, and sea serpents - swim alongside more unusual beasts: underwater cats and singing whirlpools. These stories dive deep into the fears many of us face, including loss, abandonment, death, and physical, mental, or emotional danger. When the fears we keep buried beneath the surface rise up and threaten to consume, we must make a choice: conquer or be conquered.

The complete list of authors includes Lisa Mangum, Chris Barili, Kevin J. Anderson, Jody Lynn Nye, L. D. Colter, Mary Pletsch, Joy Dawn Johnson, Lauren A. Lang, Chris Mandeville, Terry Madden, Robert J. McCarter, Kristin Luna, Jessica Guernsey, Aubrey Pratt, Nancy D. Greene, C. H. Hung, Steve Pantazis, Melissa Koons, CJ Erick, Lee French, Gregory D. Little, and Rebecca Moesta.

This anthology is the fourth volume produced by the alumni of the Superstars Writing Seminar.

"Introduction: Undercurrents, and What Lies Beneath" ©2018 Lisa Mangum; "Sea Wind" ©2018 WordFire, Inc. An earlier version of this story appeared in Threshold of Fantasy, Winter 1995; "The Kraken's Story" ©2018 Robert J. McCarter; "A Marsh Called Solitude" ©2018 Gregory D. Little Publishing, LLC; "The Sirens' Song" ©2018 Aubrey Pratt; "The Sea Dragon's Tale" ©2018 Nancy D. Greene; "In the Garden of the Coral King" ©2018 C.H. Hung; "The Old Man and the Sea Siren" ©2018 Steve Pantazis; "All Yours" ©2018 Melissa Koons; "To Become" ©2018 CJ Erick; "High Seas Burning" ©2018 Lee French; "Heroes of the Russian Federation" ©2018 Chris Barili; "Four Billion Years of Solitude" ©2018 Alex P. Berg; "Songs to Sing and Stories to Tell" ©2018 L. D. Colter; "Underwater Cats" ©Mary Pletsch; "Lure" ©2018 Joy Dawn Johnson; "Eat Me" ©2018 Lauren A. Lang; "Bookend" ©2018 Chris Mandeville; "Teens Teach Tech" ©2018 Terry Madden; "Guardian of the Sea" ©Kristin Luna; "In the Water" ©2018 Jessica Guernsey; "Cold, Silent, and Dark" ©2018 Kary English; "Sea Dreams" ©1995 by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta. First published in Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn, edited by Peter S. Beagle, Janet Berliner, and Martin H. Greenberg, HarperPrism, 1995; "Mandala" ©2018 Jody Lynn Nye.