Gingerbread houses, caroling carolers, brightly trimmed trees, big family dinners, pristine snowfalls-the familiar pleasures of the season. But what better pleasure is there than a good holiday story? So open this winter solstice sampler and indulge in fully festive fantasies, nightmares before Christmas, and stunning space-age celebrations. These stories will warm hearts and minds like a blazing Yule log. Fantastic Holiday Stories by Kevin J. Anderson, Mercedes Lackey, Mike Resnick, Kristine Rusch, Jonathan Maberry, Eric James Stone, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Quincy J. Allen, Ken Scholes, Sam Knight, David Boop, Heather Graham, Brad R. Torgersen, and Patricia Briggs.

    While it is not necessary to read all three series, in order to avoid spoilers the ideal reading order of the Adept Universe is as follows: Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1) Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic (Dowser 2) Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic (Dowser 3) I See Me (Oracle 1) Shadows, Maps, and Other Ancient Magic (Dowser 4) Maps, Artifacts, and Other Arcane Magic (Dowser 5) I See You (Oracle 2) Artifacts, Dragons, and Other Lethal Magic (Dowser 6) I See Us (Oracle 3) The Graveyard Kiss (Reconstructionist 0.5) Catching Echoes (Reconstructionist 1) Dawn Bytes (Reconstructionist 1.5) Tangled Echoes (Reconstructionist 2) An Uncut Key (Reconstructionist 2.5) Unleashing Echoes (Reconstructionist 3) Other books in the Dowser series to follow.

    The Cajun werewolf lives for his Pack and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep his brothers safe. The longer a wolf lives without a mate, the harder it becomes for that wolf to shift back. To remember that he is a man—and not a monster. And those mates can only be found during a blue moon. When a blue moon finally rises, Rafer will need every weapon in his sensual arsenal to tempt one special woman into his arms and the heart of the Pack.The Pack hunts for matesFighting to keep her family farm, Lark Andrews isn’t looking for love. Even if the very sexy Breaux brothers make her dream of hot bayou nights spent in their arms. When the blue moon leads Rafer to her door, however, Rafer has her rethinking her position on all work and no play. Now, the bayou nights are heating up as Rafer fights to convince her, one sensual touch at a time, to give love and passion a chance. But Rafer isn’t a one wolf deal. Is there room in Lark’s heart—and bed—for Rafer and his Pack?

    BUTCHER * LUCIENNE DIVER * CHRIS MARIE GREEN * CHRISTINA HENRY New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine has modern-day potions witches Holly and Andrew facing off against a firebrand politician who wears literally killer boots in a Texas-sized rodeo of trouble. Boot-loving Cadogan vampire Lindsey must team up with off-again, on-again vampire partner Luc when a woman from her past is targeted by supernaturals in New York Times bestselling author Chloe Neill’s all-new adventure. And New York Times bestselling author Rob Thurman features Trixa Iktomi from her Trickster series dealing with magical vengeance and magical footwear. Taking kick-ass urban fantasy literally, USA Today bestselling authors Kalayna Price and Faith Hunter bring together the best of the genre to once again prove when you’re fighting supernatural forces, it helps to keep your feet on the ground.

    He’s a dragon shifter, one who can’t control when the magic will force him into a different form. He’s already lost everyone he ever cared about a few times over and doesn’t know how much longer he’s meant to suffer.At his wit’s end, he makes a deal with a mysterious figure that offers him what he wants most – an end to his misery – in exchange for everything that’s his: His life, his power. His heart.The next day, he meets Skylar, a modern day dragon slayer whose mission is to cage him – or kill him. Sexy, witty and brave, she is the yin to his yang, the woman destined to break the curse, balance his magic and make his broken heart whole. Except it’s too late. Not only has he sealed his fate, but an innocent one-night-stand with Skylar has dragged her into the middle of a deal with the devil, one she won’t escape, if he can’t convince her that dragon shifters aren’t her enemies.

    Your demon lover is waiting for you in the shadows, ready to fulfill your secret wishes and most dangerous fantasies. Here passion has a face and form both titillating and terrifying—and love has teeth and claws. Get ready to give in to your craving for something exquisitely dark . . . and different.Hotter Than Hell gathers together a baker's dozen of today's boldest and best authors of supernatural fiction and paranormal romance in a breathtaking anthology that blends black magic with red-hot desire. From the tantalizing tale of a conflicted psychic vampire driven by a powerful, savage love to the strange saga of a Greek warrior woman battling to save the world, these are stories outside the limits, as hypnotic as the full moon . . . and hotter than the sun.

    Get ready to meet some of the most compelling characters you've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Love, Magic, Adrenaline features everything from werewolves battling for their place in the world to half-breed demons struggling against the darkness within to ancient elemental beings and conflicted fae. Add in a smattering of demigods, vampires and primeval magic forces, and you have the recipe for not just one or two, but ten compelling reads. Reborn - Dean Murray Jace, the new arrival at Selene's school, seems perfect, but there's more to him than meets the eye. Jace is part of an ancient war between immortal beings who return to fight again after being killed, and if Selene lets herself fall for him, she'll be sucked into a fight she can't win. Wings of Shadow - Anna Kyss When Meghan Kelly, eighteen-years-old and backpacking across England, descends into the century-old stone tunnels of the Underground, she plans on a hot date at a secret nightclub. Instead, she finds herself imprisoned and in a fight for her very survival. Thrall - Jennifer Quintenz Braedyn is a high school girl struggling to find her path and falling in love for the first time when she discovers she is a descendant of Lilith - an enticing demon who preys on the souls of mortal men. Now, Braedyn must choose between embracing her Lilitu powers or joining humanity in an ancient war between the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Lilith. Lichgates - S.M. Boyce The final page will leave you breathless. Welcome to Ourea: a world of magic, monsters, royalty, betrayal, and a long-lost book of magic. Only the cunning will survive. Dreamscape - Christie Rich Orphaned Amelia Blake wants nothing more than to escape into her dreams where a handsome stranger waits for her every night, until the night he comes to take her into his realm—a dark, dangerous place filled with creatures eager to steal human souls. Amelia must learn to trust this strange, enigmatic man before the world falls into never-ending darkness and she loses any chance she has to find love. Dirty Blood - Heather Hildenbrand Sometimes family can be the death of you... 17 year-old Tara Godfrey’s normal life is uprooted when she comes face to face with death threats, werewolves, and family secrets in a single night. Her only ally? The hottest, most mysterious werewolf she'll ever meet. And he doesn't like her already. Memory's Wake - Selina Fenech A troubled sixteen-year-old is lost and hunted in a land magically isolated from the rest of the world, filled with monsters, fairies, and dangerous secrets. She must find out who she is and why her memories were stolen before she is found by those who want her dead. Shadow of Time: Dark Dreams - Jen Minkman When do dreams erupt into reality? After Hannah, vacationing in Arizona, meets handsome Josh from the Navajo reservation, she experiences disturbingly vivid nightmares about the Navajo nation’s past. Silent Orchids - Morgan Wylie Haunted by unfamiliar images and family secrets, 18 year old Kaeleigh has been seeking answers about who she is. She never expects those answers to come in the form of a warrior Faerie, or from a journey to another realm that will forever change her, her life, and the land she's been called to. Bound by Prophecy - Melissa Wright Aern's only job is to protect the chosen. Emily just wants her sister back. Together they'll take on destiny.

    . . In Angela Knights' Blood and Roses, a vampire warrior and his seductive captor join forces to stop a traitor from unleashing an army of demonic predators on their kingdom.New in Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series is Whisper of Sin, in which a woman in lethal danger finds an unlikely protector—and lover—in a volatile member of the DarkRiver pack.Virginia Kantra continues the haunting tales of the Children of the Sea in Shifting Sea, the story of a wounded soldier rescued by a strange and enigmatic young woman.Meljean Brook launches a bold new steampunk series with Here There Be Monsters, as a desperate woman strikes provocative- and terrifying- bargain to gain overseas passage.

    Two magics. One world.There’s nowhere in America like the Big Easy. Just ask Jane Yellowrock, shapeshifting vampire killer, whose hunting grounds run the length and breadth of the Bayou.Just ask Joanne Walker, whose shamanic magic has drawn her to the heart of American Weird.But it’s not Joanne’s world, and it isn’t Jane’s either. In a New Orleans where Katrina never hit and supposedly-dead vampires stalk the streets, Jane and Jo have to find and defeat the magic that brought them there–or they just might find themselves…EASY PICKINGSfan fiction by the authors themselves!

    Powerful, sexy, protective and romantic- this collection of standalones and series starters, full of sexy, paranormal, ghosts and alpha-male shifters to scratch your itch and make you howl! Featuring: Alpha Hunted 3: Ivy, David & Ryker by J. M. Klaire For Bear Or For Worse by Meredith Clarke Twisted by Cara Wylde Hysteria by Michaela Wright Bear King by Kit Fawkes Man In Black by Steffanie Holmes Saving Her Bear by Alana Hart Dawnclaw Alphas by Athena Wright Bearly Brothers by Clementine Roux and Given To The Pack by Ashley Rhodes Sink your teeth into ten hot paranormal tales, by authors you know and love, plus hot new authors to discover.

     Join Sage and Reighn as they struggle to live in a world where magic has returned, where Sages little baby girl goes missing and the Dragon Lord finds her then all hell breaks loose. The Dragon Lord watched as the little one went from cat to human to cat. “Come kitten, come to Reighn.” She shifted back to human and stuck her fist into her mouth, tears ran down her reddened cheeks, his deep soft voice stilled her movements. “Come here little hatchling, I won’t hurt you, all will be well, come on kitten, come to Reighn.” “WHERE... IS... MY... DAUGHTER?” Sage demanded before the great doors made from the hardest iron wood that had withheld marauding armies with battering rams, blew apart like kindling. Reighn, the Dragon Lord has at last found his soul shadow, an improbability a half witch half wolf, Reighn grinned. “Good I am dragon, my heart, we live for improbabilities. “I have lived a thousand years and thought to never have a shadow or hatchling, so I and my dragon are beyond pleased, we are forever in your debt and honored to be yours.” Sage, saw the hole, saw the never ending abyss and still she jumped feet first into love as a shifter, instinct drove her mating or at least the willingness to chance a mating, her witch side recognized power and felt the draw of spirits as they met, melded and entwined forever to be bonded together throughout eternity. Reighn states his ultimatum to the stubbon Dragon Kind. * I am your Lord. * The Lord of all Dragons! * That has not changed. * I have already said this once this week but it bears repeating. * THIS IS NOT A DEMOCRACY! * You have no voice here. * You have no rights here. * The only voice that matters is mine! * The only rights you have are the ones I allow you. * As of now I have removed all your privileges. * You will comply or you will be banished. * There is no other option. “You have twenty four hours to decide. If in that time you have not sworn fealty to me and the dragon nation I will decide for you. Make no mistake, this is going to happen. With or without you. Now I suggest you go home and make your decisions. Dismissed” A shifter dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt open to the waist showing a well muscled chest and six pack with dark unwashed hair squatted on the deck of a mansion or what had been one once. He looked at John from eyes gone dark, his beast riding just under the surface of his skin, his voice, when he spoke, was low and guttural. “What do you want here dragon?” “I come to find the uncle to our Dragon Lord’s mate, Sage, witch, shifter, half breed.” “I am he, what do you want of me?” “I want you to call your bitch of a niece here, so I may end this once and for all.’ Robard laughed deeply and just a shade of insanity seeped through. “You think to use me for your own purposes against my own kin?” he laughed harder and rose to his great height as four shifters entered the yard. “Behold what is left of my pack, ask the Alpha whore and her bitches if they will help you, I will not!" A fantastic introduction to Dragon's Gap, the first book of this epic series with vibrant characters from the dark side and the light side with twists and turns that will keep yo

    During the long, crowded festivities of Deyalda, there’s nowhere to escape. Until a handsome stranger promises to teach her to save herself…THE CHOSEN, by Thea HarrisonIn her visions, Lily sees two men fighting for her tiny country’s allegiance: the wolf and the tiger, each deadly, each cunning. One will bring Ys chaos and death, one a gentler path—but she’s destined to love whichever she chooses. The midwinter Masque is upon them, and the wolf is at her door…THE STORM, by Elizabeth HunterWhen her soul mate died in a massacre of the half-angelic Irin people, Renata thought she’d never feel happiness again. She’s retreated to the snowy Dolomites to remember her hurts—until determined, irrepressible Maxim arrives to insist on joy, too. And before she can throw him out, they discover a secret the Irin have to know…THE SNOWS OF WINDROVEN, by Jeffe KennedyAs a blizzard threatens their mountain keep, the new Queen Amelia of the Twelve Kingdoms and her unofficial consort Ash face their own storm. Ash knows a scarred, jumpy ex-convict isn’t the companion his queen needs. But when a surprise attack confines them together in their isolated sanctuary, the feast of midwinter might tempt even Ash into childlike hope…

    It is a lesson Nisha learns all too soon - one that puts her on a journey with a dangerously sexy, enigmatic man who will force her to confront the nightmares of her past, and risk her heart for a future she never dreamed could be hers....(Originally published in the Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2; Constable & Robinson, 2010.)

    Sailing off into crystal blue waters Elsa holds high hopes of finding the man of her dreams, to fill the gap in her life. But, before she can dwell on her loneliness for too long, things aboard her sailing paradise takes a strange and horrific turn. A mysterious creature lurks in the shadows, threatening the lives of everyone on board. Caught up in a fight for her life, Elsa is rescued by handsome, mysterious billionaire Charles Grimm. Hiding a dark secret of his own, one that makes him well aware of what is wreaking havoc aboard the ship; Charles fights in the shadows to keep everyone safe. Faced with a deadly enemy and his confusing obsession with the woman he rescued, he is in for a difficult battle. Can he keep Elsa safe until the ship docks? Or will his lethal enemy take her from him forever?

     Unleash the Passion of Five Smoking Hot Dragon Alphas Experience the Struggle of Inner Beasts, Secrets, and Sheer Will To Protect The Ones You Truly Love Explore endless pleasure featuring these 3 Best-Selling Shifter Series: Bears with Benefits Fire Bound Protectors North Peak Shifters This collection of box sets is only being offered for a limited time. See inside for a special holiday gift. This is a box-set is packed with stand-alone paranormal romance stories with no cheating or cliffhangers and a HEA! For those who love alpha protectors, shifters, and steamy adventure. Story contains mature themes and language, and is intended for 18+ readers only.