It was Halloween and Samantha`s contractions were unbearable so her husband rushed his pregnant wife to the hospital to deliver their new bundle of joy. Mike told the doctor and nurse to take great care of his wife. The doctor and nurse reassured Mike they would take very good care of her and not to worry. Mike waited patiently in the waiting room as the doctor and nurse delivered their beautiful baby. After a few hours the baby finally arrived and the doctor entered the waiting room and told Mike to come in the room and see his new baby. Mike entered and his wife was all smiles and said "Honey, it`s a boy!" "I think he looks like a Johnny. What do you think?" asked his wife. "Johnny sounds fine to me," replied Mike. Mike was so excited and held his baby boy in his arms as tears rolled down his cheeks and said "Darling, I think he likes me." Mike stayed the night in his wife's room with their new baby, but as they were both sleeping, an unforeseen force came in their room that was about to change their lives forever, when they both woke in the morning. Morning came, and Samantha was discharged from the hospital, and time for their new baby to be raised in their new home. It wasn't until after little Johnny turned 6 years of age that things around the Delany Estate turned deadly. The first sign that Johnny had the mark of the beast was June 6. It was the 6th month, 6th day, and Johnny was 6. All the numbers represented 666.

    An Impossible Case. An Offer He Should’ve Refused. The Supernaturals are destroying humanity. Children have gone missing in NYC. Detective Simon Strong takes on what he thinks is a routine case-get proof of a spouse’s infidelity. When he digs deeper, he stumbles onto the trail of the missing children, but what he discovers shatters his concepts of reality. Tristan Montague is a mage on the run. Hiding from his sect and banned from the magical societies, he follows a trail of missing children to NYC. Now, together with Simon, they must prevent more abductions and stop those responsible for the disappearances. They will face an enemy unlike any other-hungry for power and willing to destroy anyone who gets in their way. Will they locate the missing children? Will they reveal the power behind the abductions and stop them? Join Montague & Strong in their first case as they risk it all to save those who can’t save themselves! The Date: He was single and free- she had other ideas. Meet Simon Strong, an immortal detective about to enjoy a night out on the town. He’s planned this date for weeks and tonight is the night. When Tristan Montague, Simon’s partner and resident cranky mage advises Simon against this course of action, Simon declares his freedom to see whomever he chooses. There’s only one problem. Her name is Michiko and she doesn’t share well. Join Simon as he attempts to enjoy a pleasant evening, away from magic and angry creatures of the night. Only to find himself on the run as creatures of the night attempt to eliminate him and his date. Will he make it through the evening? Will he survive the Date? The War Mage: Haunted. Despised. Feared. The Supernaturals are destroying humanity. Meet Tristan Montague. Leader of the elite group of mages known as the Ordarum. The war against the Supernaturals has raged for years and humanity is losing. When the Ordarum is given a suicide mission to recover an artifact that can end the war and hand victory to humanity-Tristan takes it, knowing it may be his last. Now, together with his squad, they must face an unspeakable enemy, overwhelming odds, and secure an ultimate weapon-or die trying.

    But the coroner, Kasey Chase, has ruled Lester’s death a homicide, sparking a family feud that sees the Harrington heirs turn on each other in a lethal struggle where the only prize for second place is death.With unlimited resources and a callous disregard for human life, the Harrington’s have to be stopped before the city pays the price for their petty war. Caught in the middle, Kasey is left fighting for her life. Fortunately, she’s been hiding a secret of her own.Kasey is a witch.

    With his halfling abilities still untapped, Vine is allowed to join the mission, but only as a spectator. The clock is ticking and the tragedy is proving difficult to stop. Will Vine be able to sit back and watch, or will the power of heaven unleash just in time?

    He's a wooden man. An assistant. A diversion. The other peers want to know what's going on, so it's off to Europe for a trip to the First Palace. And no place in the world is safer than inside the headquarters of the Twenty Palace Society, right? Right?

    Azhrarn, Lord of the Demons and the Darkness, was the one who ruled the Night, and many mortal lives were changed because of his cruel whimsy. And yet, Azhrarn held inside his demon heart a profound mystery which would change the very fabric of the Flat Earth forever...Come within this ancient world of brilliant darkness and beauty, of glittering palaces and wondrous elegant beings, of cruel passions and undying love.Discover the exotic wonder that is the Flat Earth.

    That's about to change.After a jetliner plunges into the Columbia River near Portland, Oregon, everyone survives. So why do crash investigators have a hangar full of bodies, one for each passenger except Mara? Before the plane goes down, she glimpses a new reality, one with scales and snouts, fangs and gills. She sees a boy running down the aisle carrying a ball of blue light, chased by a girl who could be her clone. By trying to help, she unwittingly unleashes dozens of creatures on an unsuspecting world and sparks a series of events that threatens her life, her family and everything she believes. To save them, she has to embrace a power she cannot comprehend.

    Then he witnesses the murder of his best friend. Saved from the murderer by a strange man in a white suit, James is cast down a hole and into a world he always believed was a kid's story. Wonderland. But things have changed since Alice's visit. The Knave of Hearts has seized the Heart throne, conquered all of Wonderland with his steam-powered technological marvels, and rules the land with an iron fist. Aided by the Mad Hatter's daughter, James journeys to discover why he has been brought to Wonderland and how the tattoo on his arm could be the key to Wonderland's salvation-or its destruction.

    . . ." The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal. Stories is a groundbreaking anthology that reinvigorates, expands, and redefines the limits of imaginative fiction and affords some of the best writers in the world—from Peter Straub and Chuck Palahniuk to Roddy Doyle and Diana Wynne Jones, Stewart O'Nan and Joyce Carol Oates to Walter Mosley and Jodi Picoult—the opportunity to work together, defend their craft, and realign misconceptions. Gaiman, a literary magician whose acclaimed work defies easy categorization and transcends all boundaries, and "master anthologist" (Booklist) Sarrantonio personally invited, read, and selected all the stories in this collection, and their standard for this "new literature of the imagination" is high. "We wanted to read stories that used a lightning-flash of magic as a way of showing us something we have already seen a thousand times as if we have never seen it at all." Joe Hill boldly aligns theme and form in his disturbing tale of a man's descent into evil in "Devil on the Staircase." In "Catch and Release," Lawrence Block tells of a seasoned fisherman with a talent for catching a bite of another sort. Carolyn Parkhurst adds a dark twist to sibling rivalry in "Unwell." Joanne Harris weaves a tale of ancient gods in modern New York in "Wildfire in Manhattan." Vengeance is the heart of Richard Adams's "The Knife." Jeffery Deaver introduces a dedicated psychologist whose mission in life is to save people in "The Therapist." A chilling punishment befitting an unspeakable crime is at the dark heart of Neil Gaiman's novelette "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains." As it transforms your view of the world, this brilliant and visionary volume—sure to become a classic—will ignite a new appreciation for the limitless realm of exceptional fiction.

    As a spy for a fey intelligence agency, she uses her magical abilities to create disguises that are skin deep glamours that must never be compromised. But when Laura's worlds collide she'll have more to worry about than retiring an identity; she may just lose her life.

    Marley Greene is an amateur witch who just wants everyone to get along.With her new retreat center up and running, she hopes to spread magic and healing to all who enter.What she doesn’t bargain for is how much trouble can go along with deep healing!Between mixing up mudbaths and arranging crystal grids, Marley finds herself trying to solve a mystery or two.After all, dead bodies are hardly good for business.Can Marley and her witch sisters keep everything under control?This paranormal cozy mystery boxset includes the first three Marley the Witch Mysteries.Book #1: The Strongman’s SpellBook #2: The Artist’s AlchemyBook #3: King Midas’ Magic

    Book two of the series is called 'Beyond Time' and the third is 'Entwined' both of which are due for release soon. The Scottish Highlands are well known for their mystical charms and tales of fantasy, yet very few have encountered the power of a Highland Stag, the magic of a Campbell crystal or the enchantment of a sprig of heather. Indeed, even those who dwell within the shadows of these formidable mountains are often unaware of their charms. In the early hours of February 13th 1692 the sulfurous smell of a fired gun hung in the air of these mountains. Men, women and children screamed in terror, withering against pain as they fell, bludgeoned to death by men of the army. The shameful scar of a dreadful and tragic event was etched upon the landscape of a beautiful and otherwise honorable place forever. Awoken by the sickly, metallic copper stink of fresh blood and death, Corran MacDonald is forced to flee into blizzard swept mountains. She mysteriously defies death only to come face to face with one of her enemies, Simon Campbell. With her family massacred and her village destroyed, Corran trusts the man when he offers to help her escape. But things aren't quite what they seem and very soon their bid for freedom is thwarted by Simon's old enemy and fellow Red Coat, Angus. A perilous journey of mystery, magic and intrigue takes the couple through time to modern day York where a twist of fate leads them to a conflict that will shape the final destiny of all Highlanders.

    At least to waitress Tara Walker, who dreams of more excitement than slinging plates of seafood for Cape Cod tourists. But as Tara learns when she is attacked and forced to fight for her life, fate sometimes has a funny way of giving you exactly what you wish for. Faced with strange new powers and embroiled in a murder investigation, Tara must now race to uncover the secrets of the ancient Fury that has woken inside of her - and of the evil that stalks her.As if Tara’s life hasn’t gotten complicated enough, she is forced to ally herself with Jackson Byrne, witness to her assault and uncle to a pint-sized oracle whose fate is intertwined with hers. Skeptical, stubborn, and oh-so-sexy, Jackson wrestles with demons of his own. He is determined to ignore the attraction rising between them even faster than the body count, but like it or not, he and Tara need each other if they are to unravel the mysteries that surround them.

    It was all Della ever knew of her mother. No identification. No family to tie her to. Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Della's life was flipped upside down by one thin, manila folder. Growing up in the foster system, she never really had anything to call her own, not even a last name revealing any real association to anyone. Now, the truth was exposed, but there was still so much she didn't know. Hoping to learn more about the mother she never knew, and maybe discover a bit more about herself along the way, Della travels across the country seeking answers-and finds far more than she bargained for. An unimaginable world-one on the brink of war-is pulling her in, and making her claim a birthright she never knew she wanted. There's a storm brewing on the horizon, and as the pressure builds, it will take everything Della has not to drown in a destiny she didn't choose.

    As an only child of a single mother, she had her share of loneliness. But when her mother buys a fixer upper on a large lot just outside of town, Chloe feels the she is on the cusp of change. Dreaming of another world and a handsome but alien stranger has her questioning who she really is, and what is real....