Mystery fans will be very excited to hear that there will soon be a new line of mysteries, thrillers and horror stories from the team at Literary Partners Group. Titled Ravenous Shadows, this new imprint is headed by John Skipp, the New York Times bestselling author and editor who has spent much of his career working in horror and fantasy.

The just-launched Ravenous Shadows line features e-books that are between 30,000 and 60,000 words long. They are also priced accordingly, and will cost readers between $3.99 and $6.99. Eventually the Skipp’s goal is to publish between thirty and forty stories each year.

Ravenous Shadows is Literary Partners second digital imprint. In 2008 Ravenous Romance, an erotica audio and e-book line, debuted to great success. This prompted the company to branch into other genres. CEO Holly Schmidt said in the press release about the move, “It was always our plan to expand our business model to other fiction genres, and when we had the opportunity to work with John Skipp, we decided to start with horror/mystery/thrillers … Skipp provided us with a clear vision and strong point of view for the line, and really is the heart and soul of Ravenous Shadows.”

What exactly is Skipp’s vision of the line? He says he is on the hunt for one-sitting reads. On the Ravenous Romance blog he explained, “I’m looking for 200-250 page genre novels, wildly entertaining, with no fat or filler. We’ll be specializing in smart, fun, compulsive page-turners that can be read in the amount of time it takes to watch a feature film.”

With the ease of e-reading, novella-length stories have certainly taken off, so we’re glad to see that a publisher is actively looking for books that are longer than the typical short story, but short enough that they can be devoured in just a few hours.

For the line’s launch, readers will be treated to House of Quiet Madness by Mikita Brottman, Tribesmen by Adam Cesare, The Devoted by Eric Shapiro and Die, You Bastard! Die! by Jan Kozlowski. Says the editor-in-chief “I want short, powerful novels and novellas that pack as much punch, personality, and plot as books three times their size. And that’s exactly what we’ve got.”

But the big question for many RT readers is whether these books will contain the romance that we have found in the Ravenous Romance line. Skipp told us exclusively,

"While Ravenous Shadows won't be publishing romance — that's Ravenous Romance's job — I'm very interested in skilled cross-over writers who want to stretch out. Relationship-based writing is the heart of suspense. It puts the dread in horror and gives mystery its weight.

Just remember that these are hardball genres. They play fast, and they play rough. That said, half of my favorite new writers are women. I love working with women who have come to kick ass.”

Skipp has also invited authors who are interested in publishing a Ravenous Shadows title to contact him directly on Facebook.

GIVEAWAY ALERT: One lucky reader will win all four of these new Ravenous Shadows e-books. To enter tell us why you love short e-reads. Leave your comment below or send your answer here with the subject line “Ravenous Shadows Giveaway.” The winner will be announced on February 21.

BLOG UPDATE 2/23/2012: The winner of this giveaway is Tanja H. Thanks to everyone who entered!