The story of Sarann has been extracted from Wright's novel and formatted into its own eBook and is now available for FREE download.

    Illustrator and writer's Carolyn Marie Castagna's first shared short story.A small icicle hanging from a roof peers inside a window at a small reading room, and learns about magical human qualities, and the importance of the one most special human feeling.

    This collection of delightfully twisted, supernatural short stories will captivate your imagination and entertain your darker side. A monster with a love of bakery, an old woman living in fear with her ex-con nephew, a widow with only one chance left, and a demon with a dark and powerful heart, are some of the characters wrestling with their darker selves in this enjoyable collection.

    The only thing missing is a baby. Unable to get pregnant, Cameron turns to in vitro fertilization in hopes of becoming mother. When the positive pregnancy test comes back, she thinks she can finally have it all. That is, until she gives birth and realizes her baby’s blood type is not compatible with her own.There is just one explanation: a mistake at the IVF clinic. An investigation reveals that the baby is genetically related to Avery and Graham, another couple who went through IVF at the same clinic. They also recently had a baby—who happens to be Cameron and Andy’s genetic child.When the mix up is discovered, a heated battle ensues: should the couples switch babies so they can raise their genetic child, or should each keep the baby the mother nurtured inside her for nine months?The ethical and legal dilemma plays out in the character’s personal lives and the courtroom where multiple questions are raised: Does nature or nurture make someone a mother? What is better for the babies?My Heart from Inside is an emotional page turner with unexpected twists and turns. It will make you think about the meaning of motherhood, and what you would do in the characters’ shoes. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Lisa Wingate, and Liane Moriarty.

     Part One: Bears in Underwear Olivia - I never intended to drive through this part of Colorado to begin with. It was a total fluke. But when a stop for gas in the tiny town of Rocky Top leads me to a male butt more perfect than I have ever seen before, I decide its fate. After all, I’m in Colorado to shoot an ad campaign for Tight Buns Underwear. If anyone needs the perfect butt, it’s me. Del - I have never bothered to look at an underwear ad and I definitely never considered the possibility of being in one. But that was before Olivia Talpin came stomping into my life. She ramrods my family’s outfitting company and soon enough we are all dancing to her tune and setting up photo shoots all over the mountain. That girl is lucky she’s so dang cute or I might be tempted to show her just how grouchy a bear can be. Part Two: Bearing All Trip - There is nothing more useless than a magazine article. Can’t say I’ve ever looked at one myself. Even worse is the fact that I have been elected—as the most personable member of the Olsen family—to be interviewed by a female writer staying in one of the cabins down by the river. Who ever heard of a woman writing articles and ads for a fishing magazine anyway? But Kiesha isn’t like anyone I’ve has ever met. The woman loves to fish, enjoys the outdoors, and doesn’t seem interested in much else. Not even me. Kiesha - There is no doubt in my mind that Trip Olsen is the most full of it man that I have ever met. But the guy knows fishing. For now, I figure it’s in my best interest to put up with Trip until he shows me the secret behind choosing just the right bait for mountain trout. After that the guy is history. The funny thing is that the longer I spend with Trip, the more I get the feeling he is the most intriguing person Iwill ever meet. Part Three: Grin and Bear It Lilly - I am sick and tired of bears. I’m tired of Rocky Top and conspiracy theories about rival bear clans and all of the other nonsense that goes along with being part of a family that seems to have gotten stuck back in the days of rival blood family feuds. I want something more. Painting is my passion and I don't care if I have to sneak onto Olsen property to get the one view that I have been dying to paint for years. Jared - Catching Lilly Mandeville trespassing on Olsen land might just be the best thing that ever happened to me. I have about as much interest in being a fishing guide as Lilly does in being a hunting guide. It doesn’t seem to matter to either one of us that our families might be horrified by this strange new friendship. Then me and Lilly happen upon something else. Something that will explain all of the strange animosity between our families and show everyone that it’s not the bears you have to worry about. It’s the wolves.

    

    His partner and mentor takes him to the Denver Zoo, thinking that it'll be a good training opportunity. Instead, they discover a deranged sorcerer has let loose a dragon from the Supernatural portion of a new exhibit called, "The Magical Zoo." With a crazied sorcerer and a pissed-off dragon on the loose, Ironspell must use his knowledge and his magic to stop both. Otherwise, Denver is in for some serious trouble. What's more, sorcerer has taken hostages and threatens to feed them to the werewolves in the Lycanthrope House. The problem is Ironspell isn't exactly a wizard -- he learns his spells by reading magazines like Popular Wizardry. Can Denver and the Denver Zoo survive Ironspell's attempts to save the day?

    Ten years later, Tripp McCall is now a rich business tycoon, offering to help her organize an over-the-top class reunion. Chelsea suspects he’s just trying to show her what she lost. But Chelsea doesn’t care about his money; she misses his humor, his gray eyes and soft lips. Could he ever give her a second chance?

     THE WINTER WISH Lady Sarah Dawson has one simple wish for Christmas: to gain the attention of Devlin Heathcliff, the handsome viscount who she has loved for as long as she can remember. Unfortunately for Sarah she is plain, quiet, and embarrassingly shy – the exact opposite of the type of woman Devlin is attracted to. All hope seems lost… Until one afternoon fate steps in and Sarah learns that sometimes, with a little magic, winter wishes can come true. THE RISQUE RESOLUTION Due to a clause in her father’s will, Lily has until Christmas to find a husband. She fears all hope is lost… until she meets the mysterious, insufferable, and oh so handsome Captain James Rigby. Recently returned and still recovering from the bloody battlefields of war, James is missing an arm and, it would seem, a heart. The last thing on the embittered soldier’s mind is marriage, especially to Lily Kincaid, a woman who is as infuriatingly stubborn as she is beautiful. With time running out, can Lily convince James – and herself – true love really exists? Or will she lose everything, including her heart? PLEASE NOTE: Both 'The Winter Wish' and 'The Risque Resolution' are previously published novellas and are available for purchase individually.

    INCLUDED DELETED BONUS SCENES AND ALICE HU'S RED QUEEN'S REVENGE CUPCAKE RECIPE!Her Mad Hatter: Alice is all grown up. Running the Mad Hatter's Cupcakery and Tea Shoppe is a delicious job, until fate--and a fairy godmother with a weakness for bad boys--throws her a curveball. Now, Alice is the newest resident of Wonderland, where the Mad Hatter fuels her fantasies and thrills her body with his dark touch. The Mad Hatter may have a voice and a body made for sex, but he takes no lovers. Ever. But a determined fairy godmother has forced Alice into Wonderland--and his arms. Now, as desire and madness converge, the Hatter must decide if he will fight the fairy godmother's mating--or fight for Alice. Gerard's Beauty: A not so classic retelling of Beauty and the Beast, as seen through the eyes of the villain... Betty Hart has had it with men. Jilted in love, her life now consists of shelving books by day, watching too much Anime by night, and occasionally dressing up like a superhero on the weekends with her fellow ?Bleeding Heart? nerds. Men are not welcome and very much unwanted. Especially the sexy Frenchman who saunters into her library reeking of alcohol and looking like he went one too many rounds in the ring. Gerard Caron is in trouble. Again. Caught with his pants down (literally) he?s forced to seek asylum on Earth while his fairy godmother tries to keep Prince Charming from going all ?Off with his head?. Maybe, messing around with the King?s daughter hadn?t been such a great idea after all, not that Gerard knew the silly redhead was a princess. But his fairy godmother knows the only way to save his life is to finally pair Gerard with his perfect mate, whether he?s willing or not. From the moment Gerard lays eyes on the nerdy librarian he knows he must have her, but Betty is unlike any woman he?s ever known. He thought Betty would come as willingly to his bed as every other woman before her, but she is a woman who demands respect and even? horror of all horrors? love. Is it possible for a self-proclaimed Casanova to change his ways? Red and Her Wolf: Long ago there lived a beautiful child. Her name was Violet. Fair of skin, with blonde hair and large blue eyes. Born of wild magic, she was a woman with a child?s heart. Innocent and lovely, but not at all what she seemed--you see Violet went by another name: The Heartsong. She was the child of fairy magic, the physical manifestation of all fae kinds unbridled power. Cosseted and pampered, she grew up in isolation, never knowing who she really was, or why there were those who?d seek to harm her. Ewan of the Blackfoot Clan is a wolf with a problem. He?s been sent to kill the Heartsong, but the moment he lays eyes on the blonde beauty he knows he?ll defy the evil fae he works for to claim Violet as his own. This is the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, as it really happened...

    As the body count continues to rise, he and Detective Aundray Rogers must embark upon their own descent into the underworld, one that mirrors the decline of the Motor City, if they’re to have any chance of stopping the murderer before it’s too late. With the city deteriorating around them, they learn that the abandoned buildings aren’t the only things that have been condemned.

    But he doesn't want to die. All Willa wants is to make sure he’s okay, but the secrets he holds keep him distant from everybody. When she befriends Henry after his return from near-death, things Willa thought were real suddenly take on a new shape, teaching her that sometimes there's more to dying than death, and that life in a magic-less realm doesn’t have to be a life without magic. From the award-winning author AM Hudson comes this dark and enchanting spin on a fairytale that will hold you hostage until the last page.

    And when a face in the mirror confronts her with a dire warning, she realizes her life is at risk. Has she awakened a curse—or been struck by madness? “Queen Joanna” presents a haunting twist on the legend of Bloody Mary. This short story originally appeared in the From the Indie Side anthology.

     Way out in the sea, impossible to reach. It rises gray and bare, up and up, and then out of sight. As if the sea gave birth to something meant to connect it to the sky. I’ve never seen the top. Maze says she’s not convinced it has one. And I’ve always taken its impossible presence for what the Fathers say it is: a relic from before the Wipe. The hubris of pre-Wipe man, and a reminder for us all as to why it is God’s Will that we never return to technology. But Maze suddenly has it in her head that the tower means something else, something different than the history the Fathers have given us. I think she’s a conspiracy theorist. Until she shows me the map. Just the word mirror scribbled in red ink, next to a marking, and she expects me to go into the Deadlands with her. As long as I’ve known of her recklessness, and as much of a bad influence as she is on me, I can’t say no. Because while she doesn’t know they exist, I can’t stop my feelings for her. And I start to realize, when we first pass over the rotting gates, into the ruin that was a city, that it will take something much more than either of us ever knew we had in order to survive the truth.

    In the mist.An apprentice mortician moves his family to the small town of Sotherton to provide them with a better life. Little did he know the dark secret the town and its people harbored. The town sat on the edge of a mist-shrouded forest with a deadly secret. Something lives in the trees, in the mist and it’s jealous. Jealous of all those who have flesh.Disembodied is a preview story from the author’s upcoming collection Creatures and Crypts due out in late 2011. Creatures of the living and the dead gather in a volume of over 70,000 words to stalk their prey…humans. 20 stories set the scene for a cast ranging from the Grim Reaper, shambling zombies and restless spirits, to unimaginable monsters that only inhabit the shapeless darkness and the author’s imagination. Join them as they wreak havoc on their unsuspecting victims and celebrate with a victory dance on hollowed bones.