Lisa Renee Jones gives a dedicated reporter and a powerful businessman a chance to count their Thanksgiving blessings in Play with Me; Mary Ann Rivers presents Snowfall, the story of a woman who confronts a life-changing event—hopefully with a special man by her side—just in time for Christmas; and in Serena Bell’s After Midnight, an explosive New Year’s kiss leaves two strangers wondering whether they’ll ever see each other again. PLAY WITH ME by Lisa Renee Jones Kali Miller has spent three years reporting fluff stories, waiting for the article that will launch her career to new heights. When she suddenly finds herself forced to take a job as an executive secretary at a Vegas casino, Kali meets the subject of what will surely be a shocking exposé: her boss, Damion Ward, the arrogant and undeniably sexy CEO. But after Damion invites her to help him plan a Thanksgiving charity event, Kali begins to see another side of the man. And when she surrenders to the exhilarating tension simmering between them, Kali hopes her story will have a happy ending. SNOWFALL by Mary Ann Rivers Jenny Wright can’t get enough of her erotic conversations with someone she knows only as “C.” Flirting online helps Jenny temporarily escape confronting the changes to her life as she slowly loses her vision. Jenny’s occupational therapist, Evan Carlisle-Ford, is helping her prepare for the challenges ahead, but the forthright, trustworthy man can no longer ignore his growing attraction to his fiercely intelligent client. Now Jenny must choose between the safe, anonymous “C”—or the flesh-and-blood Evan, whose heated kisses can melt snow faster than it can fall. AFTER MIDNIGHT by Serena Bell The clock is ticking down to midnight on New Year’s Eve, and all Nora Hart and Miles Shephard can think about is kissing each other—even though they met just minutes before. Then, as fast as Miles enters Nora’s life, he’s gone . . . and she never even gets the name of the man she thinks might just be “the one.” One year later, Nora and Miles are reunited. The chemistry between them is just as strong as they remember. But Miles broke her heart once before—and this time around, Nora’s not sure whether she can give love a second chance.

    . .Gray Everett has a heart of gold but that doesn't mean he believes in the magic of Christmas. He's got plenty else to worry about this holiday season, what with keeping his cattle ranch in the family and out of the hands of hungry real-estate investors looking to make a down-and-dirty deal. That, plus being a parent to his young and motherless daughter, equals a man who will not rest until he achieves his mission. Now, all Gray needs is the help of his lifelong neighbor. . .who happens to have grown into a lovely, spirited woman.For Abby Douglas, the chance to join forces with Gray is nothing less than a Christmas miracle. Much as the down-to-earth farmer's daughter has tried to deny it, Abby's been in love with stern, smoking-hot Gray her whole life. So when Gray proposes a marriage of convenience as a way to combine land--and work together toward a common cause—Abby can't refuse. But how can she convince Gray that sometimes life offers a man a second chance for a reason. . .and that their growing trust and mutual passion may be leading to true and lasting love?

     Sex. And all the best gifts worth giving... *On the Naughty List is a collection of holiday stories from some of today's brightest stars*Lori Foster Christmas Bonus The workplace is heating up for the holidays when two colleagues who are planning a Christmas party side-by-side end up making love their main order of business.Carly Phillips Naughty Under the Mistletoe A no-nonsense lawyer intent on seducing her boss ends up having a scandalous-and utterly magical-moment with his twin instead.Sugar Jamison Have Yourself a Curvy Little Christmas Dina Gregory returns to New York for the holidays. Her mission: To locate her young son's father. Her surprise: His HOT brother.Beth Ciotta Some Kind of Wonderful Two old friends-who seem to have little left in common-are come home for the holidays. But when they end up stranded together during a blizzard, they know just how to keep each other warm. . .

    While the humans are running around being merry, he’s hunting in the shadows. Ben plans to spend the holidays his way…by stalking deadly prey. But fate has other plans for Ben.Three visitors are coming Ben’s way…A demon who will force Ben to face his past, a ghost who will show Ben the present he could have, and a shifter who will reveal the darkness that waits in Ben’s future. Unless Ben can change his ways, he may just turn into a real monster, one who can’t be saved by anyone or anything.’Tis the season…to be undead.Ben’s redemption rests in the hands of the one woman he loved and lost—Simone Laurent. If Ben is going to have a chance at being more than just the beast in the darkness, he has to prove himself to the lovely Simone. A very hard task, considering that, once upon a Christmas Eve, Simone died in Ben’s arms… _________________Warning: This book features one very tortured vampire, a sexy ghost from his past, and hot scenes designed to melt the winter snow. Plenty of action, adult situations, and steamy times are ahead. Happy holidays!Approximately 23,000 words

    She wants in and out unscathed. Unlikely. A decade ago, she headed to New York and hasn’t looked back. Now she must explain her disappearing act to not only her family, but the high-school sweetheart she left behind as well.Enter Leo Hoffman. He’s frosty after striving—and failing—to forget Isabella, the only woman capable of jingling his bells. Since his brother is marrying her sister, Leo is forced to celebrate Eight Days of Christmas with Isabella and her family—a tradition where they perform a different holiday activity each day leading up to December 25th.Soon, their close proximity brings back memories—and the inability to keep their hands off one another. There’s only one problem. Isabella’s ex unexpectedly enters the equation, and she faces a difficult choice. Listen to her heart or her head? Isabella will need to decide, once and for all, where she belongs.Perfect for fans of IN A HOLIDAZE and SWEET HOME ALABAMA, this second-chance/enemies-to-lovers romance will have you swooning and reminiscing of first loves.

    After four years of working at an upscale jewelry store in Manhattan, she’s finally going to get a little velvet box of her own―from her boyfriend Jeremy, who’s taking her on a romantic trip to Paris. What could go wrong?Well, everything.Ashley heads home to Owl Lake instead, falling asleep on the train ride there…and waking up with a beautiful antique charm bracelet on her wrist. Soon, she realizes that each silver charm predicts an event that happens in real life. What does this mean for her and Jeremy…or her and Aidan, her former high school boyfriend, who’s now a local firefighter? Is there still a chance that she could have the perfect Christmas?

    . .From the moment he strode through the iron gate and into the offices of Two Love Lane on a crisp December day, it was obvious that Deacon Banks was something different. He wasn't a Charleston native, not with that adorable Yankee accent. And unlike the usual client at the elegant matchmaking agency, he had no interest in finding a woman to marry--just a few no-strings dates while he was in town.Macy Frost takes her professional services very seriously--how could she not, when she's rumored to be a direct descendant of Cupid? Tech entrepreneur Deacon says he's just trying to make his social-climbing aunt happy by being seen out and about with a few prominent beauties, but Macy insists she can make her client fall in love...for real. And Deacon can't help but think she might be right. As charming as the palmetto trees and magnificent harbor may be, it's the beautiful, breath-of-fresh-air Macy who's become Deacon's favorite part of the scenery. But can the hopelessly romantic Southern belle stop trying to fix him up and just let Cupid do his work on her own heart?

    My career was all planned out running one of the hottest hotels in Miami’s South Beach. That was until our playboy owner broke a few rules, and my perfect opportunity crumbled underneath my feet.So here I am, headed to Lake Mistletoe, a quaint little valley town in Idaho of all places. My grandmother, and namesake, left her Inn to me, and I am now sentenced to the task of getting it prepared to sell at the end of this year's holiday season. My memories of this Christmas oasis have long since faded, but I’m determined to use this experience to further my career and get back into the hospitality game. When Keller Harris, Lake Mistletoe’s resident craftsman, and unofficial handyman, offers to help me with the neverending list of repairs and upgrades, it's the perfect opportunity for me to get hands-on experience. He’s talented, driven, and sexy as sin, but he's also a know-it-all and completely unimpressed by my business sense. I can learn a lot from him but his stubborn self can also learn a lot from me. As walls start to fall, literally and figuratively, I begin to realize that success comes in many forms and passion can be found in unexpected places. Will I be able to turn this season into a stepping stone to an exciting new career in Belize?Or will I discover that everything I ever wanted was tucked away in the Rocky Mountains?

    Set against the most charming London backdrop, Meet Me in London is an irrisistable seasonal treat! What do you do when your fake engagement starts to feel too real… Aspiring clothes designer Victoria Scott spends her days working in a bar in Chelsea and her evenings designing vintage clothes, dreaming of one day opening her own boutique. But these aspirations are under threat from the new department store opening at the end of her road. She needs a Christmas miracle, but one is not forthcoming.Oliver Russell’s Christmas is not looking very festive right now. His family’s new London department store opening is behind schedule, and on top of that his interfering, if well-meaning, mother is pressing him to introduce his girlfriend to her over the holidays—a girlfriend who does not exist. He needs a diversion…something to keep his mother from meddling while he focuses on the business.When Oliver meets Victoria, he offers a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend at the opening of his store and he will provide an opportunity for Victoria to showcase her designs. But what starts as a business arrangement soon becomes something more tempting as the fake relationship starts to feel very real. But when secrets in Victoria’s past are exposed, will Oliver walk away, or will they both follow their hearts and find what neither knew they were looking for…?"An ideal Christmas escape!"—Laura Jane Williams, Bestselling author of Our Stop

     Nine innings of play. Nine fielding positions. Nine batters in a starting lineup. Now, America’s favorite pastime can add another lucky number nine to the list. Nine indie authors bring you nine unique stories filled with romance and baseball. Get ready to round third base, slide into home and fall in love.

    A New England inn seems like the picture-perfect place to spend the holidays. But when a snowstorm shuts the roads and keeps them all inside, the guests find themselves worrying that this Christmas may not be exactly what they dreamed of. Molly just needs to keep her head down and finish her latest book, but her writer’s block is crippling. The arrival of Marcus, a handsome widower with two young girls, is exactly the distraction she doesn't need. Hannah was hoping for a picturesque winter wedding, but her plans come crashing down when her fiancé calls everything off. She reconnects with her childhood friend, Luke, when he comes to check on his grandmother before the storm. Jeanne and Tim don't know how they're going to keep the inn open another year—or how to bridge the distance between them in their marriage. With a flurry of unexpected guests, they'll have to work together to fix all the problems that crop up. But will it be enough to rekindle their relationship? As the characters’ stories intertwine, they start to find hope where they thought it had been lost. With faith, and a little bit of Christmas magic, the inn—and its inhabitants—might just make it through the holidays after all.

    Returning home to her family’s farm in the Midwest for her Christmas wedding was never Beth Dean’s plan. But it’s the only way her beloved grandmother will be able to attend. And even her New York City friends will find the family’s old barn elegant. But when her fiancé’s family want her to sign a pre-nup, her hopes for her future marriage may be crumbling even as the guests arrive. Beth’s childhood friend, Jen Fitzgerald, has always dreamed of starting a wedding planning business. And when Beth decides to have her wedding back home, it’s the perfect chance for Jen to show everyone what she can do. But when the caterer cancels and a blizzard comes in through the barn door, Jen wonders if she’s bit off more than she can chew—and how she’s going to get through the wedding while seeing her old flame, Jared, for the first time in years. Meanwhile, Beth’s friend Destiny is trying to put on a brave face while she wonders why she never left home to follow her dreams like Beth. The groom’s parents are brought face to face with the tensions in their own marriage as they argue over their son’s. And Sylvia, a native New Yorker, is wondering how long she can survive in a town that doesn’t even have a Starbucks, while unexpected sparks fly with Winston, a gruff local tree surgeon with a heart of gold. But when a surprise snowstorm blankets the area, keeping the guests together on the farm, everyone learns to put aside their differences and enjoy their unexpected Christmas blessings.

    She’s a calm, capable nurse saving lives in a busy London hospital, but healthy men give her heart palpitations. When larger-than-life rugby player “Little” John Sheldon convinces her to bid on him in his team’s fundraising auction, she discovers how pleasurable heart palpitations can be.A rugby player was stirring, with desire no one could douse…John has wanted Gwen since he first saw her, but when he’s injured in a match just before Christmas he suddenly needs her too. Not only can the sexy nurse help him recover, but she might be able to help him look after his daughter—a shy ten-year-old who speaks only French.But will it be a Happy Christmas for all, and for all a good night?From decorating the Christmas tree to ice skating at the Tower of London, Gwen helps father and daughter open up and bond with each other—and she bonds right along with them. But when John’s agent calls with a life-changing offer, Gwen has to decide how far she’s willing to go for her perfect match. Will their first Noël also be their last?

    Returning is hard, but keeping the devastating secret about her late husband is even harder. Her place isn't in Big Sky Country any longer...but the more time she spends with the irresistible Sheriff who saved her once before, and his adorable little daughter, the more Julia starts wishing she could let go of the past and start a new life. Single dad and county Sheriff Chase Donovan had been secretly in love with his best friend's wife for years. But after her traumatic loss he knew Julia needed to get away from Shadow Creek, even though helping her leave was the last thing he wanted to do. Now she's home and he doesn't intend to lose her a second time. Chase is going to prove to Julia just how good they can be together this Christmas...and forever.

    DoeCambria HebertGinger ScottL A CottonLen WebsterMackenzie LaneMicalea SmeltzerMonica MurphyPiper LawsonS.B. AlexanderTracy Lorraine