She has no other family which she is aware of, and in order to survive she leaves her home and lives on the streets. She meets interesting characters and gets into amusing predicaments all in the name of survival, such as jumping trains, being chased through the woods by a crazy man with a loaded shotgun and witnessing an unspeakable crime. After a few months on the streets she runs into another group of kids, Einstein is the oldest and a leader in the group, and they form a family of sorts. For survival and money they lean towards a life a crime which inevitably breaks up their family and sends Cleo and Einstein spiraling into their own adventure. Eventually they settle into a “normal” life however their pasts can’t be hushed forever …

    Moonshine, the old fashioned way. Too bad some jerk blew up his road in the Carolina mountains, keeping him stuck, high and unfortunately dry. He's just pissed off enough to take his temper out in the guy responsible, and when Sonny happens to come across him, he's not able to control his impulses. MJ is on a mission, ridding the world of another environmental threat, shutting down a logging organization. Running into Sonny in the foggy woods throws a wrench in his plans. He has no intention of dying in a backwoods cabin. But it's when Sonny kidnaps him for an impromptu vacation that things go completely awry. From the beaches of Montego Bay to the coast of Washington and Oregon, Sonny and MJ fight and love, trying to stay one step ahead of someone who carries a real grudge for MJ. Someone who would rather see them dead than alive. With car chases, explosions, and hot, steamy loving, Sonny and MJ have all the adventure they could ever want. But do these two have enough in common to prove they can give the moon a run for its money?

    He spends all season creating magic for others, and for himself, he’s resigned to another lonely winter. There’s a reason he’s known as the Devil in Fairfield Resort’s high-end kitchen, and he has no plans to change that. What most people don’t realize, however, is that Chef Garcia has a soft spot for one man—a half-blind, Russian dishwasher who is the first person in years to make Mario feel. Viktor Popov's life is full of secrets and lies. He showed up in Fairfield with a handful of suspicious papers, no past, and secured a job in the bowels of a resort kitchen. He spends his waking hours washing dishes and trying his best to manage his failing eyesight without anyone taking notice. Once upon a time, he was a man of wealth and reputation, and now he’s living day-to-day, hoping no one will ever take notice. It's been forever since Vitya believed in anything, and these long years of loneliness only proved to him that miracles didn’t exist. At least, until the night when warm hands pulled him out of the cold, and a soft voice whispered in his ear that he mattered. Life isn’t easy, and both men have never expected any different. But maybe, by the soft light of the menorah, both men will finally be able to see that for each other, they’re exactly what they need. To Touch the Light is a 43,000 word holiday novel set in the Irons and Works Universe. This book contains no cheating and an HEA.

    She plans to start the new year off as a full-time career woman.What she doesn’t expect is for her brother’s friend, Kyle, to show up and steal her heart. But, after a bad breakup, can she ever trust another man with her heart?Kyle is charming, mature and well-mannered, too good to be true. Will her shattered heart find healing or does she risk having it shattered again?

    He can only hope that the sexy guy is gay. Later, when Kevin shows up at the gym where Chris works, Chris is sure he's got him hooked. A shared kiss is absolutely electric but then Kevin turns tail and runs. What the hell? Maybe he's in the closet.Yes, in fact, Kevin is in the closet, Deep in the closet. He has to be. He's going to be a priest. While he's very attracted to Chris, he simply can't pursue it. Giving in to that attraction would ruin his life. Still, he can't deny what he feels so instead he vows to stay away from Chris.But steering clear is not so easy when what you've found is Almost Heaven.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: male/male sexual practices.

    Not quite what he expected, and not for the faint of heart.Founded in 2012, The Center for Fiction's Crime Fiction Academy is the first ongoing program exclusively dedicated to crime writing in all its forms. Hone your skills with bestselling crime fiction authors Alison Gaylin and Jason Starr. Attend master classes with crime fiction greats like Mary Higgins Clark, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Linda Fairstein, Nelson DeMille, Michael Connelly, Lisa Unger, and many more. Students receive a Writers’ Studio membership with access to our extensive circulating collection, and have the opportunity to read their work to an audience filled with editors, agents, and publishing professionals at our seasonal Crime Fiction Slam. Not in New York? Check centerforfiction.org for information about our online classes.

    10K words is available in the Romancing Wisconsin Volume I boxed set. It is also FREE to newsletter subscribers who sign up at Stacey Joy Netzel’s website.**When Benedict Riley first meets Susan Whitcomb at a college holiday dance, she’s engaged to be married to another man. In this story where mistletoe rules, you’ll learn how the Riley Family Mistletoe Rules all began one fateful Christmas, not too long ago…Romancing Wisconsin, a USA Today Bestselling Series To everything there is a season...Love finds a way during the four seasons in the Romancing Wisconsin Series. Starting with the Christmas holiday/Winter, then moving on to Autumn, check out this bestselling, heartwarming series set in small town Wisconsin. Meet the Rileys, the Walshes, the Sullivans, and best of all, Butch...a.k.a. Santa Butch. The mischievous matchmaker makes a cameo in each story—adding a touch of magic to the lives of everyone he loves, and even those he's just met.Romancing Wisconsin SeriesMistletoe Mischief, book 1Mistletoe Magic, book 2Mistletoe Match-Up, book 3**Mistletoe Rules – short bonus story Autumn Wish, book 4Autumn Bliss, book 5 Autumn Kiss, book 6 **Autumn Glimmer – short bonus storySpring Fling, book 7Spring Serendipity, book 8 – early 2016

    But when tourists start dying under suspicious circumstances, she never imagines that the biggest battle she’d have to fight is within her own department. That is, until her friend, Dominic Burel, and the FBI Task Force he’s a part of, prove she’s right to be concerned.As an FBI agent and former PJ with the elite Air Force Pararescue Unit, Dominic Burel has been happy to move through life solely focused on work. But when a family visit leaves him shaken, he realizes his friendship with Anika could, and should, be so much more. Now he has to change her mind about them and he’s not above using his investigative skills to finagle his way into her case—and life—to do it.As Anika and Dominic hunt a killer, they quickly realize they’ve uncovered something much more sinister. The simple murders aren’t so simple and there’s a much grander plan at play. And when they find they aren’t the only ones hunting, it will take everything they have to stay out of the true killer’s crosshairs.If you revel in escaping into a story, this friends-to-lovers romantic suspense will keep you turning the pages.

    And look for Eat Your Heart Out, featuring Cami’s twin sister!As an interior designer and an identical twin, Cami Anderson wants her home to be unique, so she hires a master carpenter to help. She’s expecting an older man, someone kindly, experienced. In her wildest dreams, she hadn’t figured on Tanner McCall, who’s not old, not kind, but most definitely experienced…and seems more than a little interested in her blind date disasters!Originally published in 2001.

    Nick, also a gay detective with the Chicago Police Department, and his older, straight partner Detective Norm Malone hunt this heinous serial killer tagged The Reaper. This odd couple encounters both personal and professional conflict as this suspenseful noir thriller races to a surprise conclusion that leaves Nick and Norm battling for their lives.

    Read the short story, assemble the 1,000-piece puzzle, and discover the hidden clues. Then solve the mystery by putting together the pieces in the story and in the puzzle. Slick, book-like packaging and high quality artwork make these puzzles a standout. Beware: the 1,000-piece puzzle is different from the cover!

     I needed an escape. Anything. Anywhere. I had to get away. The walls were caving in around me and the only way to break free is the one chance in front of me. So I moved to DC, to start a new life, and put the darkness of my family’s struggle behind me. I've always put everyone else first. But now it was my turn. I've found my way, an offer to be a professor at American University's elite law program will make everything easier. But then I met Vaughn Hunter. It was a night at the bar, the moment when our eyes met. My heart raced. My pulse quickened. And suddenly I was his. Vaughn is dark. Dangerous. I could tell the second I saw him. But I can't stay away. I didn’t think I was that kind of girl, the one who screamed his name, begged for more. Caught between the sheets. But the sheets are burning around us, and so are the secrets he tells me. Everything is a lie, except how I feel. How I want more. How I crave his mouth, his tongue, and his c*ck. I can't resist him. One taste, and I know I’m going down in flames with him. Resist is a steamy full-length contemporary romance with a sexy, dominant bad boy. No cheating. HFN.

    James "Slade" Sladerman had practically been born to the force, but he wanted to be a writer, not a cop. No one was more different from him than Jessica Winslow, who was wealthy and working only because she wanted to.He felt the gap between them keenly, and almost refused to be her undercover bodyguard. But someone had to watch her and he'd given his word-regardless of her innocence or guilt. Slade couldn't afford to care, but built into the shadow of danger, in the arms of the woman, he'd sworn to protect, Slade knew whatever the price, he'd meet it.

    Still secretly, desperately in love with him, she settles for sharing a house and a business. Their lives are intertwined in every way--except the way she wants most. Fear of commitment drove Ian to push their romance into the friendship zone. But things become decidedly uncomfortable when sexy Scotsman Kye McClellan enters the picture. Ian is faced with the sudden prospect of losing the thing most precious to him. As both Cassidy and Ian succumb to Kyes charms, Cassidy begins to wonder if she can have all she's ever wanted...plus one. Then, just as things get white-hot, Kyes takes to his feet to avoid the burn. Ian and Cassidy are left with each other...and an even bigger missing piece than before. All they can do is trust that love will somehow bring their gypsy-hearted lover home again.

    He’s been welcomed with open arms by everyone in town—everyone except Lilly Yazhi. Lilly has encountered her share of strong, silent, traditional men. In her eyes, Clay’s earthy appeal is just an act used to charm wealthy women like his ex-wife. Lilly can’t deny his gift for gentling horses, but she’s not about to let him control her. There’s just one small problem—she can’t control her attraction to Clay. Wild Man Creek Colin Riordan is recuperating from a horrific helicopter crash, the scars of which he bears inside and out. His family is supportive, but it’s his art that truly soothes his troubled soul. Stung personally and professionally by an ill-advised affair, PR guru Jillian Matlock has rented an old Victorian with a promising garden. She’s looking forward to cultivating something other than a corporate brand. Both are looking to simplify, not complicate, their lives, but when Jillian finds Colin at his easel in her yard, there’s an instant connection. And sometimes love is the simplest choice of all… Harvest Moon Disillusioned and burned out after collapsing at work, rising sous-chef Kelly Matlock has retreated to her sister’s house to rest and reevaluate. Puttering in the garden is wonderful, but Kelly’s starting to get restless…until she meets Lief Holbrook. The handsome widower looks more like a lumberjack than a sophisticated screenwriter—a combination Kelly finds irresistible. Less appealing is Lief’s rebellious teenaged stepdaughter. She’s the reason they moved from LA, but she’s still finding plenty of trouble. Kelly’s never fallen for a guy with such serious baggage, but some things are worth fighting for. Bring Me Home for Christmas This year, Becca Timm knows the number one item on her wish list—getting over Denny Cutler, who broke her heart three years ago. So she invites herself on her brother’s hunting weekend in the rugged little mountain town that Denny calls home. But when an accident turns her impromptu visit into an extended stay, Becca finds herself stranded. With Denny. In very close quarters. As the power of Christmas envelops them, Becca discovers that the boy she once loved has become a strong and confident man. And the most delicious Christmas present she can imagine.Four wonderful stories of finding home and discovering love.