Firuz-e Jafari was able to escape the slaughter of traditional blood magic practitioners by immigrating to the city-state of Qilwa. But now a terrible disease is spreading through the city, and Firuz believes it comes from ineptly performed blood magic. Now they must find a way to break a cycle of prejudice in order to survive.

When a dead body interrupts the rehearsals for their holiday production of Jack and the Beanstalk, Fairway Players Femi and Charlotte page through letters, emails and police transcripts to identify both the victim and killer before its curtains for their production-permanently. The Christmas season has arrived in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive holiday production of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for...

"Lee Mandelo dives into the minds of wolves in Feed Them Silence, a novella of the near future. What does it mean to "be-in-kind" with a nonhuman animal? Or in Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon's case, to be in-kind with one of the last remaining wild wolves? Using a neurological interface to translate her animal subject's perception through her own mind, Sean intends to chase both her scientific curiosity and her secret, lifelong desire to experience the intimacy...

Death and Night: He was Lord of Death, cursed never to love. She was Night incarnate, destined to stay alone. After a chance meeting, they wonder if, perhaps, they could be meant for more. But danger crouches in their paths, and the choices they make will set them on a journey that will span lifetimes. Poison and Gold: Now that her wish for a choice has come true, Aasha struggles to control her powers. But when an opportunity to help Queen Gauri and...

"From bestselling authors of Amish fiction come three charming stories of cozy quilting circles and budding romance"-- PATCHWORK PROMISES: After a devastating fire, Joann Lapp is determined to re-create a beloved family quilt for Colin Zook and his grandmother, who is struggling with dementia. A COMMON THREAD: A bus ride with an old flame rekindles love for Susie Glick, but her quilting circle sisters fear that her heart will be broken when Alex...

"After rival columnist Nolan Adams writes an unflattering piece about rookie journalist Maryanne Simpson, she decides to make some big life changes. She needs to show the tough streetwise Nolan that she deserves his respect. When they end up as neighbors, Maryanne discovers that she can't resist Nolan's gruff charm, and although he doesn't seem to be an appropriate match for a socialite, Maryanne has other ideas!" --Page [4] of cover. "Desiree Marchand...

"Ori's holidays are an endless series of elaborately awful meals cooked by her one-time stepfather Dave's latest bride. Attended by a loose assemblage of family, Ori particularly dreads Grandma Elving, grandmother of Dave's fourth wife, and her rhapsodizing about the Christmas she worked at Woolworth's in the 1950s. And, of course, she hates being condescended to by beautiful, popular Sloane and her latest handsome pre-med or pre-law boyfriend. But...

"There's a princess trapped in a tower. This isn't her story. Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right? But nothing with fairies is ever simple. Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering...

Three St. Patrick's Day themed novellas set in Maine feature Lucy Stone, Hayley Powell, and Julia Snowden all trying to solve suspicious deaths in unexpected circumstances.

"Maureen Fry has settled into the quiet life she shares with her husband after his iconic walk across England ten years ago. When an unexpected message from the North disturbs her equilibrium again, it is now her turn to make a journey. But Maureen is not like Harold. By turns outspoken, then vulnerable, she struggles to form bonds with the people she meets, and the landscape she crosses has radically changed. And Maureen has no sense of what she...