Mara's village has been safe--so far--but Mara decides to escape anyway. Escape from her harsh, abusive father. Escape with her first love. But when their plans fall on the same day that the animagi burn the village to the ground, Mara faces losses that could destroy her. She's a survivor, though. She is going to make it through the mountains, and she is going to protect the refugees following her. Because there's a rumored safe haven . . . and some say they have found the Chosen One. Told from Mara's point-of-view, The Shattered Mountain is an alternate perspective of the beginning of the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

    When she receives an unexpected gift from a village boy, her prospects for the future look bright for the first time in her life. Her happy daydreams soon lead to desperation, however, after she loses the precious item down a well. A tiny dragon offers to fish it up for her, but his help comes with a price. Inspired by The Frog Prince, Snapdragon is a stand-alone short story set in the world of The Firethorn Chronicles, a series drawn from The Twelve Dancing Princesses and other fairytales.

    Ice Study tells a short story after Fire Study and another short story Power Study. After the events of Fire Study, Yelena and Valek's sabattical is cut short when they become entangled in a plot to prevent the Ice Moon from falling into the hands of a rogue magician.

    Government doctors insist these seizures are punishment for Amy's bad behavior, but Daphne disagrees. Obsessed with finding out what lured her sister out there to the Edge to begin with, Daphne leads Judas, her betrothed, a young man with his own secrets, on an expedition near the Edge to reconstruct her sister's fateful event. But how close is too close?

    For after he murders his victims, he draws an eye and tear as his mark in the blood of his enemies. At least, they assume they’re his enemies. They do not know why he kills, but they know the how. A dagger in both eyes, so the fallen's cheeks are stained crimson, as they lie there motionless, weeping red. The public grasps for motives behind the Weeper: debts and disputes, quarrels and traumas. Because people fear violence without reason. They cannot defend themselves against that which they do not understand, so they ignore the simplest motive of all―that the Weeper relishes blood and flesh, and they are little more than bags of meat. Such things, they would say, do not happen in our civilized world. But I have seen the truth of humanity, and it is written in chaos. Such things happen every day. And always, people distract themselves with drink and dance, work and play. Yet even those who feign disinterest have two questions. Who is the Weeper, and what does he want? Tonight, I intend to answer both. A Nightfall Chronicles Novella Originally published in: The Indomitable Ten: A Superhero/Supervillain Novella Anthology

    But the rebellious heartbreaker, Tommie Sullivan, with her bright green eyes, her sarcastic smile and her spellbinding intensity, is determined to sweep the heartbroken Rose off her feet now that Kane is out of the way. The connection Rose feels for Kane is something she can’t explain…but there’s also something there between her and Tommie. And what if Tommie’s kiss can help her forget Kane? “Trusting Eternity” is the second volume in the Sullivan Vampires series. The Sullivan Vampires is a beautiful, romantic epic that follows the clan of Sullivan vampires and the women who love them. Advance praise has hailed this hallmark series as “Twilight for women who love women” and “a lesbian romance that takes vampires seriously! Two thumbs up!” PLEASE NOTE: Each Sullivan Vampire book, until the very last one, ends on a cliffhanger. This is to add suspense to the story, but it's not every reader's cup of tea. If you dislike cliffhangers, please wait until all three Sullivan books are released before purchasing--thank you! You can purchase the first Sullivan Vampire book, MEETING ETERNITY, here: http://amzn.to/1bzySB7

    This study guide includes the following sections: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.

    Queen Ruby & Princess Snow: This mixed-up fairytale is an original short story. It has no ties to any of my fairy tale adaptations; however, for a similar tale, check ouy "The Unicorn Procession" in the freebies section of my website.Before the Bond: This short story is set centuries before the events of Red Rope of Fate and gives you a glimpse of how the humans of Calnor and the Lesser Elves of Lessa became allies.

    Imagine a drug that flips the valleys and makes them peaks, too. You react now to an event based not on the pleasure or pain that it brings, but solely on the intensity of the emotion created. Pain brings pleasure, grief gives joy, horror renders ecstasy.Now give this drug to a soldier. Tell them to kill. Not in the historically acceptable murder of war, but in a systematic corporate strategy--of xenocide.They will kill. And they will revel in it.Welcome to the world of Scream.Jason Trelayne is a Screamer, a soldier forced to take part in the destruction of entire races. But when Trelayne falls in love with a beautiful Scream Angel, an alien who produces the addictive drug, he sets off a chain of events that pits him and a small group of followers against an empire.An award winning novelette of rebellion, love, and an unlikely hero."A dark and powerful story with a first line that sets the tone for what is to come: 'They stopped beating Trelayne when they saw that he enjoyed it.' (A++)" --Fantasy Book Critic"A visceral work. A true pearl of the fantastic literature. Breath-taking." --Café de Ontem"...the book's most skillfully crafted story...quickly becomes one that holds the reader's attention until the very end." --SpecFicWorld"...remind me of the reasons I love the author's writing: his characterization, attention to detail and recurring themes of love, faith and redemption." --SF Crowsnest Reviews"The story has so many layers that I'm still sorting them out. And like an onion, I'm not sure if I'll ever find the final layer." --Tangent Online"One of those rare ideas that seems at once so perfect and so natural that someone must have come up with it before; but if someone has, I haven't heard about it, and regardless Smith exploits the potential of the idea extraordinarily well here." --Strange Horizons

    Kat looking to have a good time and Nicole hoping to escape the pain of losing her mother for a little while. Little did Nicole know, the escape would awaken a ancient power that is hidden in her blood. A power that evil wants for its own and will do whatever it takes to have it.This short story is a look into best friends', Nicole and Kat, life before a centuries old grudge and Nicole's emerging powers rips them apart. A power that Nicole wants no part of as it brings her to her knees and forces her to walk away from her small town life and everyone she loves.

    Camping out on a ledge just outside a dragon's lair does not betoken any great degree of intelligence."

    Free online fiction from author website

    Ledger, watching her intently from afar. Pulled together by an almost paranormal magnetism, and fuelled by alcohol and bitterness, Lara finds the prospect of heading home with him irresistible, but as she soon finds, Leon is far from a regular one-night stand! Ravaged by a desperate hunger, he bites her in a fit of passion; can the few remaining strands of the vampire's humanity regain control, and save his naive companion's life?This steamy 15,000 word erotic romance novelette is the first book of Ashley Spector's sizzling series, Violet Lust. Intended for an adult audience, this enthralling tale follows a bitter and heartbroken young woman, desperate to change her life for the better, who may have bitten off more than she can chew; a gorgeously enigmatic vampire, fighting his beastly urges - and losing - as well as a host of lurid, submissively sumptuous sex scenes! Pick up a copy today!

    Raised by a master assassin then barely escaping with his life after a betrayal by his own guild, he finds himself with a new mission and a chance to start a new life in a far away land. Will he survive this new school of magic? Can he, with the help of some new friends, find a way to heal from the past? Will this place prove to be too much of a challenge for this boy, this weapon?

    It is about Gul'dan opening a portal to the Burning Legion inside the Tomb of Sargeras, with mostly Khadgar's and Maiev Shadowsong's desperate attempts to prevent this.