The afterword explains where the ideas for the stories came from.

    But things don’t turn out as planned, because Jess has a plan of her own…---Note: Previously published in the anthology "Connected Hearts. Four Lesbian Romance Stories" (Publication Date: January 2013 by Ylva Publishing).

    Unfortunately, the way home isn't as clear-cut as he'd hoped and he's forced to turn to Aria, his GPS, for an alternate route. However, Aria has something far more sinister in mind...

    Real estate guru Krista Wyler is soon at the mercy of the Arizona desert when she learns she has inherited her family's business, Wyler Ranch. Her aunt is dying and her uncle is no longer capable of making decisions. Krista reluctantly moves in, but her plan is to sell the ranch as soon as possible. Rae Jarrett, the strong, stubborn vet who has cared for the ranch as well as the horses, objects to her selling and offers her aid. Krista resists the help as well as her attraction to the mysterious vet, but decides instead to turn the ranch into a dude ranch. Soon city folk are knocking at the door ready to pay good money to get a chance to herd the Wyler cattle across Arizona. The plan seems full proof until Krista herself, along with Rae, has to set out on the trail with them. The journey leads to a life changing adventure neither woman could have foreseen and will never forget.

    Until one moonlit night, a horse-drawn carriage crashes into view, carrying an unexpected guest – the beautiful Carmilla. So begins a feverish friendship between Laura and her mysterious, entrancing companion. But as Carmilla becomes increasingly strange and volatile, prone to eerie nocturnal wanderings, Laura finds herself tormented by nightmares and growing weaker by the day… Pre-dating Dracula by twenty-six years, Carmilla is the original vampire story, steeped in sexual tension and gothic romance.

    Now, haunted by signs of her adoring husband's imminent demise, Miriam sets out in search of a new partner, one who can quench her thirst for love and withstand the test of time.

    For those who already know these tales, the poignant introduction is a window on the creator's mind. Reflecting back after 14 years, Barker writes: I look at these pieces and I don't think the man who wrote them is alive in me anymore.... We are all our own graveyards I believe; we squat amongst the tombs of the people we were. If we're healthy, every day is a celebration, a Day of the Dead, in which we give thanks for the lives that we lived; and if we are neurotic we brood and mourn and wish that the past was still present. Reading these stories over, I feel a little of both. Some of the simple energies that made these words flow through my pen--that made the phrases felicitous and the ideas sing--have gone. I lost their maker a long time ago. These enthusiastic tales are not ashamed of visceral horror, of blood splashing freely across the page: "The Midnight Meat Train," a grisly subway tale that surprises you with one twist after another; "The Yattering and Jack," about a hilarious demon who possesses a Christmas turkey; "In the Hills, the Cities," an unusual example of an original horror premise; "Dread," a harrowing non-supernatural tale about being forced to realize your worst nightmare; "Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament," about a woman who kills men with her mind. Some of the tales are more successful than others, but all are distinguished by strikingly beautiful images of evil and destruction. No horror library is complete without them. --Fiona Webster

    Thus, Leland Oakridge, the most powerful wolf in North America, was stunned when an obvious breach of that code, left her a victim as a result.Philippa Reed was not happy with the situation she found herself in as time was running out and the pressure mounting on her to secure the future of her Pack. Despite her reluctance to change her lifestyle, the survival of her Pack trumped everything else.

    After claiming her first (and hopefully last) victim, Harper thinks she has it all figured out. Her job keeps her busy. Her family locks her up during the full moon. She’s even friends with the local vet who is always armed with tranquilizers.But her fragile grip on the situation can’t last. Not when newcomer Emerson moves into Harper’s small town and sets the wolf free. Now Harper must figure out what the wolf wants, and stop it before she ends up with more blood on her teeth.

    Now, years later, Amy returns to Little Dip, the Garoul home valley to help her aunt finish a botanical project. Except Little Dip is no longer the happy place of Amy’s childhood memories. There’s something sinister in the woods. And why hasn’t Leone moved on? Why does she still dog Amy’s every move? As more and more of the Garoul family arrive for a special hunting weekend, parts of the puzzle come together and Amy’s fears escalate as she moves closer to the truth—and the secret that has eluded her since childhood.

     Bella has lived her whole life in the little town of Paris, Vermont. Her family's restaurant, the Rose Garden Diner, has been a point of pride...until they're forced to sell it. Unfortunately, the diner's buyer is Andrew, a cruel bully, and when he fires Bella's friend for stealing food scraps, Bella's had it up to here. But Bella's fierce loyalty hasn't gone unnoticed. Every day, a mysterious woman comes to the diner for lunch. Mel Grim enchants Bella, and when Grim makes her an offer she can't refuse, Bella goes to work for her. But it seems that everyone in Paris has their secrets, and Grim's secret might be the strangest one of all. Is their love strong enough to overcome the truth? Or are they destined for an unhappily ever after?

    Immortal? Indeed! Nothing has sunk its teeth into 21st century popular culture as pervasively as the vampire. The fangsters have the freedom to fly across all genres and all mediums - there's even apps for vamps. Whether roaming into romance, haunting horror, sneaking into science fiction, capering into humor, meandering through mystery - no icon is more versatile than the vampire. Slake your insatiable thirst with the best sanguinary stories of the new millennium: terrifying or tender, deadly or delicious, bad-ass or beneficent, classic or cutting-edge. ContentsLa Vampiresse • (1999) • by Tanith LeeThe Coldest Girl in Coldtown • (2009) • by Holly BlackThis Is Now • (2004) • by Michael Marshall SmithSisters • [Ottawa and the Valley] • (2002) • by Charles de LintThe Screaming • (2004) • by J. A. KonrathZen and the Art of Vampirism • [Women of the Otherworld Short Fiction] • (2009) • by Kelley ArmstrongDead Man Stalking • (2008) • by Rachel CaineThe Ghost of Leadville • (2009) • by Jeanne C. SteinWaste Land • (2002) • by Stephen DedmanA Gentleman of the Old School • [Count of Saint-Germain] • (2005) • by Chelsea Quinn YarbroNo Matter Where You Go • (2010) • by Tanya HuffOutfangthief • by Conrad WilliamsDancing with the Star • (2008) • by Susan SizemoreA Trick of the Dark • (2004) • by Tina RathWhen Gretchen Was Human • (2001) • by Mary A. Turzillo [as by Mary Turzillo ]Conquistador de la Noche • [Kitty] • (2009) • by Carrie VaughnEndless Night • (2008) • by Barbara RodenDahlia Underground • (2010) • by Charlaine HarrisThe Belated Burial • (2009) • by Caitlín R. KiernanTwilight States • (2005) • by Albert E. CowdreyTo the Moment • by Nisi ShawlCastle in the Desert: Anno Dracula 1977 • [Anno Dracula] • (2000) • by Kim NewmanVampires in the Lemon Grove • (2007) • by Karen RussellVampires Anonymous • by Nancy KilpatrickThe Wide, Carnivorous Sky • (2009) • by John Langan©2011 Paula Guran (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

    By thirty-five, she is already everything she ever imagined being -- a partner in a successful law firm, a competitive runner, and a girlfriend to a devoted investment banker. Her life is challenging and full, but somehow uneventful.After a near fatal attack, Sara is thrown together with Rachel Collins, a charming but secretive art dealer living in the northern suburbs of San Antonio. Together, the two women explore a world Sara never knew existed -- a world that challenges her very notions of life, death, and love.

    The present volume selects thirteen other tales of mystery and the macabre, including the works of James Hogg, J.S. LeFanu, Letitia Landon, Edward Bulwer, and William Carelton. The introduction surveys the genesis and influence of The Vampyre and its central themes and techniques, while the Appendices contain material closely associated with its composition and publication, including Lord Byron's prose fragment Augustus Darvell.JOHN POLIDORI - The VampyreHORACE SMITH - Sir Guy Eveling's DreamWILLIAM CARLETON - Confessions of a Reformed RibbonmanEDWARD BULWER - Monos and DaimonosALLAN CUNNINGHAM - The Master of LoganANONYMOUS - The VictimJAMES HOGG - Some Terrible Letters from ScotlandANONYMOUS - The CurseANONYMOUS - Life in DeathN. P. WILLIS - My Hobby,--RatherCATHERINE GORE - The Red ManCHARLES LEVER - Post-Mortem Recollections of a Medical LecturerLETITIA E. LANDON - The Bride of LindorfJOSEPH SHERIDAN LE FANU - Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Contess

    If you love sexy as sin, F/F wolf shifter paranormal romance stories that will leave you breathless, then grab this hot box set!Book 1- Lyric's MateBook 2- Meadow's MateBook 3- Tuesday's MateBook 1 Lyric's MateLyric moved to Moon Valley for a fresh start. A new town, a new home, and a new job was a dream come true. Finding that her new boss was her mate was totally unexpected. Will she be able to keep her wolf at bay?Book 2 Meadow's MateMeadow, the new teacher in town had her eyes on the only female enforcer in the pack. Little did she know, the enforcer had Meadow in her sights. When a group of rogue wolves blows into town, will Sage be able to save her?Book 3 Tuesday's MateTuesday, the new accountant in town was setting up her new business in Moon Valley. Tuesday is entranced by Sunni, the coffee shop owner. Their wolves know they are meant for each other. But will Sunni and Tuesday listen to their beasts?WARNING: These stories are sexy, fast-paced and will leave you begging for more.