But she has good reason to keep them separate.For single mum Maddie, home is a flat on a run-down estate. And family consists of an excitable toddler, a lonely Dad and a younger brother mired in a love triangle.Meanwhile, professional Madeleine balances a tricky day job, made worse by a jealous colleague. No one at work knows about her other life, and she needs to keep it this way: one of the bosses has made his feelings very clear about single parents and the people on her estate.Thank goodness for her fun-loving and loyal friends - although Maddie wishes they’d believe her when she insists she has no time for love. Or so she tells herself as she fights to quell her hidden feelings for her gorgeous colleague, Oliver, who comes from the posh part of town.But when her friends line up their ideal man for her – Sean, more beanstalk than Bean – Maddie wishes she’d told them the truth. Because it’s hard enough juggling two lives. Add any more complications and Maddie’s carefully constructed world is going to come crashing down.

    Wealthy, talented and gifted with prodigious abilities, there is is little doubt that he is blessed. However, recent events appear to suggest otherwise. Verre is a vast place with daemons and cultivators aplenty. Their schemes and secrets are legion. Valerian finds himself skirting the fringes of some of the greatest his land has to offer and unfortunately for him, he is being inexorably drawn in. There is only one way to keep afloat; grow, train, survive!

    

    Just a few months after their wedding, and a few weeks after running a 10K, a rare autoimmune disease landed Joclyn in the hospital with a failing heart. Enduring four open heart surgeries, rounds of experimental chemotherapy, a punctured lung, a lost voice, a pacemaker, an unsympathetic nurse, bedpans, and legitimately gruesome hospital food, it seemed the bad news would never end. But with the help of a top-notch medical team, supportive and loving friends and family, courage, a will to live, and a desire to just go home, they learned the true value of love, hope and life. Joclyn, an occupational therapist, Jeremy, a public school administrator, live in Sacramento, California with their dog, Ramsay. Their experience received national attention and helped facilitate legislative reform surrounding “surprise medical bills,” out-of-network bills received when a patient has done everything he possibly can to remain in-network.

    It also inspired us to come out with a delightful article, the ‘Indian Masketeers’, exploring Indian culture through its various masks. We also have ‘Dotty and the Albino Dragon’, the First Prize winning story in the Tinkle Original Story Competition. Moving on, we have three popular characters this issue, Shikari Shambu, Kalia the Crow and the Defective Detectives. Shambu goes on a rollicking ‘Jumbo Adventure in Assam’ while the Defective Detectives have a spine-chilling experience in ‘The Horror’. As for Kalia, can you imagine him, Chamataka and Doob Doob playing together? If you can’t, you should check out ‘Let’s Play a Game’. Next, enjoy a fun story by a reader, ‘Show Business’ in our Fan Fiction segment along with ‘Pranav’s Dadi and the Karate Kid’, where Dadi tries her hand at karate! And to wrap it up we have two diverse stories about two brave men who refused to give up. So check out ‘A Mighty Will’ and ‘No Crazy Ideas’. Enjoy!

    Unable to care for him any longer, and wanting to hide the fact that she was dying from cancer, his mama sent him away, hoping to save her son from a life of trouble. Determined to get back to his mother, Khaution deals with the abuse he faces in foster care, but when his mother dies before he can get back to her, he turns to a life of crime to survive. Not knowing who his father was, Khaution hits the streets as Savage, and it’s not long before he ends up in jail. During a ten-year bid, he is suddenly released early from jail by none other than his father! Things between the two start off strained after not having him around in his life, but eventually, the two create a bond. A bond that enables them to take over the city of New York. But it comes with a price that Khaution wasn’t ready to pay, nor did he know he had to pay! With a queen on his arm that he doesn’t want, Khaution meets the mysterious, Autumn Kennedy. Never being in love before, he wants nothing more than to smash and walk away. However, Autumn pulls him in a way he didn’t see, and he finds himself in love for the first time. But Sybil is not going to let the empire and her king go so easily, and she gives him an ultimatum that he agrees to in order to spare Autumn. But what Sybil failed to remember was they called him Savage for a reason! In the end, she pushes him into making a decision that sends him on a path of truth that he wasn’t expecting. Savage by name and savage by nature. Follow this man as he embarks on a world of love and lies; some more devastating than others!

    She wants to get out into the world, but she's held back by a lack of money, and by the fact that her parents constantly beg for her help. She needs a miracle.When Rosie discovers a strange set of bones on the moor, she realizes that her miracle might have arrived. The bones start talking to her, promising to help her achieve her dreams. Two archaeologists are searching for these bones, which belong to a long-dead warrior king whose ghostly presence prefers to stay hidden. If Rosie protects his body, this king will do anything she wants. But can Rosie stick to the terms of this deal, and what will happen if she doesn't?Rosie soon discovers that miracles come with strings attached. She thinks she's cursed to spend her entire life in the village, but the real curse might be something far worse, and far harder to escape.

     Meet the silver foxes on the shores of Barefoot Bay, and each book in the collection celebrates that timeless love that happens later in life. Don’t miss these three full-length contemporary novels tell timeless stories of second chances and redemption. BAREFOOT AT SUNSET *Voted one of "The Most Romantic Books of All Time" by thousands of BookBub readers! Forty-eight year old widower Mark Solomon believes every person has only one soul mate…and he’s met, married, and buried his. Jaded, jilted, and jobless, advertising copywriter Emma DeWitt thinks that eves that love is a marketing concept created to sell fairy tales and expensive weddings. But when the sexy silver fox surprises Emma with an irresistible offer to pose as his fake fiancée, they discover that it’s possible they are both wrong…and completely right for each other. BAREFOOT AT MOONRISE As a firefighter, Captain Ken Cavanaugh wants to use his 25th high school reunion to finally put things right with Beth Endicott, the girl he loved and let go two and a half decades ago. But when an old incendiary passion changes their lives in the course of one single night, Ken and Beth learn they both have to walk through fire for a second chance at love. BAREFOOT AT MIDNIGHT *Nominated for a RITA Award for Best Contemporary Romance* Lawson Monroe’s life is about to change when his friend and mentor makes a deathbed promise to leave Law a beloved bar in Barefoot Bay. But Law’s big plans hit a gorgeous brick wall when yoga instructor Libby Chesterfield proves her claims to the place are stronger. Battling an attraction that sizzles hotter than one of Law's cast-iron skillets and uncovering long-buried secrets with more twists than one of Libby's yoga poses, they'll have find a way to both get what they want...especially if what they really want is each other. Praise for Barefoot Bay books: “Lively, light, pure entertainment! This Cinderella story is “Pretty Woman” on the beach!” - Carly Phillips, New York Times bestselling author “Fun and engaging...a celebration of family and forgiveness!” -Publishers Weekly “Plenty of heat, humor, and heart!” - USA Today Happy Ever After “A love story with genuinely flawed yet sympathetic characters filled with raw, real emotion, this will warm your heart as you turn the pages.” - RT Book Reviews “Fun, light-hearted, super sexy...fans of Jill Shalvis, Carly Phillips, and Susan Mallery will definitely want to check out this series.” - TheBookPushers.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR Published since 2003, Roxanne St. Claire is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty romance and suspense novels. She has written several popular series, including The Dogfather, Barefoot Bay, the Guardian Angelinos, and the Bullet Catchers. In addition to being an ten-time nominee and one-time winner of the prestigious RITA™ Award for the best in romance writing, Roxanne has won the National Reader’s Choice Award for best romantic suspense four times, as well as the Maggie, the Daphne du Maurier Award, the HOLT Medallion, Booksellers Best, Book Buyers Best, the Award of Excellence, and many others. A mother of two but recent empty-nester, Roxanne lives in Florida with her husband.

    Commissioned by the United States Government to do what other units cannot, existing both above and outside the law. A new recruit, Corporal Chris Jordon, has just been delivered, but before he can call himself Steel, he must pass every physical and mental test Mic throws at him. Orders for a mission have come down and Mic must train Jordon faster than ever. Their team is thrown into a desperate mission to rescue an undercover operative in the heart of Columbia. Forced to take down the head of the Fernando Cartel and the mysterious Frenchie, their mission is complicated when Mic and Jordon are lost to their team. Digging deep within herself, Mic will need every ounce of her strength to save both her team, and herself. Hardened by Steel- Book Two It’s been two months since our team mate was killed in front of us. Two months of training and waiting. Time is up and another new recruit is due to arrive any minute; the cousin of the man who betrayed us all. The guys aren’t going to like it, but Jackson has overridden my protests. Just when I didn’t think things could get any worse, my contact with Aunt Beatrice is discovered and my actions have put her in mortal danger. A hit was ordered from a cartel in Mexico. Led by the cousin of Diego Fernando’s widow, the Vega Cartel has a blood debt to settle and they have come to collect. Jordon is becoming more attractive to me by the day; as my feelings for him continue to grow, our situation becomes even more complicated when our connection is discovered by one of the team. Events spiral out of my control, forcing me to face my demons and darkest fears. I find myself teetering on the edge of good and evil, poised to fall. A sinister message has me racing to Mexico, trying to beat the dawn. What I find waiting for me there may spell the end of my life and Steel Corps itself. I must decide; am I hard enough to make this choice? Is my soul a big enough sacrifice for the lives of innocents? There is no question. I am Staff Sergeant Michaels and I am Steel. Forged by Steel- Book Three I’m Staff Sergeant Michaels, the leader of Steel Corps. We’re the best America has to offer and we’ve been dealt a heavy blow. I’m fighting to recover; struggling to be the leader my men expect me to be – need me to be. It’s been five days. Five days since my men rescued me from that basement in Mexico. My body is healing and I’m stronger than ever - eager to go to Russia and end this terror haunting me. Secrets burden our team like lead weights around our necks. We must strip them free and bind ourselves together anew. These revelations have the power to rip us apart, forever changing Steel. Will it be for the better? Or will Steel Corps burn? I can’t decide our future alone, but Chris Jordon is at my side, watching my back – chasing the shadows away, whether I want him to or not. An unexpected visitor forces our hands and sends Steel on a mission from which we may not return. I may get my way, but at what price? Only one way to find out…

    One bad decision derailed him for two years, but now he’s out of prison and trying to begin anew. The only things that ever made him happy in life was his younger brother Taylor, and the sexy alpha, Harlon Smith, who taught Taylor how to swim. Ian’s teenage crush on Harlon was never reciprocated, but Ian has fantasized about Harlon since the day they met. When the cab driver drops him off at Millie’s Hotel the first night of his freedom, he’s shocked to find Harlon behind the front desk. Alpha Harlon Smith always thought Ian was a nice kid, but he truly was just a kid. Nine years older than Ian, Harlon never looked twice at Ian romantically. However, when Ian shows up on his doorstep, fresh out of prison, Harlon is instantly drawn to the younger omega. He’s shocked at his need to take Ian under his wing, and the desire to protect him. However, Ian isn’t a child anymore, and when Harlon offers Ian a job and a place to live, neither one of them is prepared for the chemistry that explodes between them. This 53,000 word story is a standalone holiday story with lots of steamy scenes, Christmas cheer, and warm feels.

    What you cannot know is that there exists an extreme irony, in that, but for one unforgivable sin - far more terrible things might have transpired.' The lives of Rosalie Douglas and her teenage daughter, Maddie, are changed forever when they meet Jed, a beautiful, charismatic young man at Bereavement Counselling. Inexplicably and self-destructively, Maddie holds herself accountable for her brother's drowning accident in Thailand. Jed moves into their lives and their home. Calming the tensions between mother and daughter. He understands the twisted wilderness of grief. Lover and confidante to a besotted Maddie, gentle surrogate son to a grateful Rosalie - on the surface their lives are transformed. But underneath a deadly and morally corrupt triangle is taking shape... Rosalie commits an unspeakable act which forces her to unravel the truth behind the beautiful stranger in their midst. The truth behind the death of her son. And the true extent of just how far she's prepared to go - to save what remains of her family.

    Laurence Danjuma was a young man on the straight and narrow with hopes and dreams of making a better life for himself and the father who raised him. Fate and circumstance had a different idea in mind, breaking not just his body, but his will. Now on the brink of death, an ancient power within his family's legacy awakens to both save his life and place him on the path to his destiny. As Laurence unlocks secrets about his true bloodline, he will stumble upon a dark one that will not only put his life on the line again, but also that of the entire human race. Will Laurence find the strength to take up the mantle handed down to him in order to stand against the looming threat that could bring about the extinction of every single human on the planet Earth? Can he be the hero he never expected to be? From the mind of Kipjo Ewers, author of The First and EVO Uprising, comes another chapter in the EVO Universe lore. Prepare for action and adventure that is not only out of this world, but on a god-like level. The anticipated wait is over ... Here comes ... the Eye of Ra.

    After a troubled youth marred by trauma, he's finally set off on his own to college for a fresh start. So far things are going well, but soon demon season will start and he'll have three nights to lure a demon to him so that they can bond. The demon will feed off him for the rest of his life and in exchange, he'll gain the demon's protection. But every demon is different, and he wonders if he'll even be able to bond with one. As his first night comes, he finds himself in an unusual situation and before he can think, he's bound to a demon he knows almost nothing about. When his demon reveals himself to be the prince of demons and an incubus, Taylor is forced to confront his own past and his repressed sexuality in order to give his demon what he needs to survive. Trying to fit in on campus while bonded to the prince of demons is difficult, and being with an incubus even harder, and Taylor has to find the courage to move on from his past and embrace his future.

    The city was decorated, the season in full swing.The only way to make it better was to celebrate love. Callen knew for this play he wouldn’t need his glove.It took a while for them to find their way. Now it was here, Callen and Spencer’s special day.With their family and friends by their side, they knew their life together would be an amazing ride.The Emperors cheered as the vows were said. One of their own was finally wed.Baseball was what had brought them together. Now Callen and Spencer had their forever.

    Up until today. Do I have a return ticket? No. Will someone wait for me at the airport? No. Do I have a plan? No. Do I speak English? Absolutely not. Then why do I get onto the flight to London when I originally planned to go to Frankfurt? Well, it all started with a game of solitaire…