The job is simple, to kill a man and get out of town immediately. Why would he stay? He hates Christmas, and hanging around after the crime could be dangerous, but a stranger's compassion forces him to question everything he's always believed, tempting him to stay just another day longer... First published in the Christmas edition of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (Jan, 2004), this story was subsequently reviewed in Mystery Scene, which described it as "bordering on the magnificent". (Please note - this is a short story of approximately 45 Kindle pages.)

     Lime Peak Ranch is home to the Dumont and Ruggles families who raise cattle, train horses, and compete in PRCA rodeos. Life down the dirt road isn’t as perfect as it seems and secrets have roots deeper than the maple trees.   Ellie Dumont is in love with the wrong man. Logan Labrum is the son of her family’s biggest business rival Joe Labrum. Joe’s made things difficult for the Dumont family for years but that doesn’t stop Logan from turning Ellie’s head. They’ve been dating on the sly for months. As their love deepens, Ellie is torn between family loyalty and the man who stole her heart. George Dumont wants one thing: to have his family under one roof again. Carol left, taking their son, Levi, a couple years ago. Unsure how to approach a reconciliation with the redhead who lights a fire in his soul, George stumbles forward.  After a tractor accident cost Olivia Dumont the use of her left hand, she learned to hate doctors and the limitations they laid before her. Which is why she takes an instant dislike to their new renter, Dr. Robert Canton. Robert signed up for the Lime Peak Ranch experience and she’s going to make sure he gets it. Hauling five acres of hay bales in from the field is a good start. But Robert doesn’t complain and he doesn’t tell her she shouldn’t be using her hand or baby her like her family does. But Robert is holding back and Olivia can tell. The closer they get, the bigger the questions become. Bonnie Ruggles is the heart of Lime Peak Ranch, but her heart isn’t in it anymore. After years of carrying the burden of infertility and mysteries that started long before she married Dallas Ruggles, Bonnie is worn thin. Will their history together be enough of a reason to stick around or will the past be what pushes her off the ranch? Follow this family full of heart and love and loyalty as they work to navigate the bumpy roads ahead.

    Caught up in a whirlwind romance, the two lovebirds get hitched. But when Lex, who is the CEO of a prestigious family-owned firm, wakes up the next morning and realizes what he's done, he gets cold feet and pressures April for an annulment. In a fit of rage, April decides to fly to New York and announce their nuptials. But is she really strong enough to withstand Lex's demands to end the marriage? Or will he stand up to his family and finally follow his heart?

    Set in mid-nineteenth century Gloucestershire, a saga focusing on two farms and families who own them.

    When she fell short, she ran rather than face her parents’ disappointment. Only, distance didn’t make her shame disappear. Caught between loneliness and independence, she struggled with the decision to return home. Plagued with guilt after missing her sister’s wedding, she finally goes home to Jasper Lake, but her life can’t return to what it once had been. Elijah Brewer had his future mapped out—attend seminary, marry a nice girl, then pastor a mid-sized church. Moving to a small town in the Adirondacks didn’t play into those plans, but when he was asked to act as interim youth pastor at Jasper Lake First Community Church, he saw an opportunity to build his resume before leaving for seminary, bolstering his chance for a better position after graduation. Nothing could have prepared him for Trixie Graff. Opposites attract, but will her shame ruin his future or will they both learn the meaning of grace? Jasper Lake Series: Not This Time- Prequel- ASIN: B01IFCYS2K- Drew and Amie Born to Love- Book One- ASIN: B079V68BNW- Landon and Jessa A Love This True- Book Two- ASIN: B07C1V44D2- Elijah and Trixie All That Glitters- Book Three- ASIN: B07G2XV89P- Mac and Phoebe What Matters Most- Book Four- Late Fall 2018- Hunter and Beth

    She was also a mom at fourteen years old, and did what she had to do to raise her daughter, Chyna. Now Chyna's all grown up, a stunningly beautiful exotic dancer with a baby girl of her own, while super-sexy Roxy is at the height of her power running Harlem Heat, a gun-trafficking ring. It's a lucrative life- style some would do anything to have. And when former drug kingpin Panama Pete returns to the hood after serving fifteen years in prison, a spiral of violence traps Roxy and Chyna and has them running from the law - and running for their lives.

    Crossed all the lines to protect her.But he may have crossed one line too many.NATHANI had a plan. Get her stalker out of the picture and make her mine. But she bolted the second I confessed my love.She wants to protect me, my stubborn dragonfly girl. Because her stalker didn’t heed my warning and came back to take her from me.But I won’t give up. She’s my perfect match.Now, I just need to figure out how to get my girl without becoming her worst nightmare. ELLA I should burst with joy. Ross declared his love for me. And what did I do? I ran.He wanted to protect me. He thought he could just chase Luka off and we’d live happily ever after. But Luka’s obsession with me runs too deep. He’ll always be my second shadow. He’ll never tolerate another man in my life. He’ll do whatever it takes to tear us apart.And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Ross safe, even if it means fighting against fate.Even if it means losing him for good... My silent sin.

    One week on the road before we meet our husbands on a romantic retreat.Our husbands have one request...don't kill anyone.Hmm, can we obey and accept our sweet reward in Punta Cana?

    Luke loves her with all his heart, but the only thing standing in the way of their happiness is the fact that he could be April’s baby daddy. Scarlett feels hurt and finds herself drawn in an unlikely relationship with Troy as he sets out to win her heart. However, unbeknownst to him, she’s not exactly keeping things completely honest. Nina wants nothing more than to get back with her kid’s father, Stephen. However, Stephen has moved on with an old friend of Nina’s and this union threatens any type of chance that she and Stephen have at being together. Rick continues to lurk in the shadows, definitely making it hard for Nina to ever find happiness with anyone other than himself. Sheila struggles with loving Jay as Jay struggles with losing Scarlett. To add to the confusion, Jay refuses to come to terms with the possibility of being April’s other baby daddy to her unborn child. Sheila is still on a road to redemption, but finds herself questioning Scarlett’s loyalty to her as veiled secrets are slowly being revealed. Will she find out the truth about Scarlett and her father messing around or will the tables turn and reveal some nasty details about herself? There are always two sides to every story. However, in this series, there are numerous sides to a story that only one can imagine… SCARLETT3

    She was given the news that her mother had killed her father in a domestic dispute. Taking to the streets, she met her boyfriend Sherm, who soon received a life sentence for robbery.Silk, tired of dancing in the strip clubs turned to Sherm for guidance. He ran down the game to her but enforced LEAVE NO WITNESSES. Following his rules, she pulled off licks, killed the men and got the money to make her life comfortable. But her actions have confused things in the streets—the wrong people are being accused for what she's done. Women and children are being subjected to brutal treatment and these people will stop nowhere to get revenge.Now ready to retire her pistol, Sherm tells Silk he needs a large sum of money to get out of prison. She has to pull of one more lick to get what he needs.Will she make it through this final lick?Part 2Silk was determined to get the money she needed to free Sherm. After going on the big lick that she felt would set her straight, she was hit with a surprise. Her deadly secret would be uncovered, would cause her to lose a loved one and she’d be on the run. Almost out of time, Silk gets desperate and goes against the rules of the game. When Sherm finds out about her indiscretion, she’s all alone, making one bad decision after another. Now, what she thought may be her way out, may be her demise!!Part 3Silk’s situation can’t get much worse. She no longer has the man she loves who introduced her to the game, she’s being hunted by one of the deadliest cliques and her hit list keeps growing. Can she take down everyone who stands in her way? Will she ever find her way out of this lifestyle? Or, will her past come back and challenge her face-to-face for the last time?

    . .but he was also manipulative and controlling, especially to those he loved.  His death begins to unravel deep secrets and shocking desires among the people he cared about the most. . . His daughter, Kristine, feels that with her father’s death she is finally free.  His best friend and business partner, Lamar, feels that now can finally have what he has longed for all these years: Kristine.  His protégé, Cole, the boxing champion and rising star, married a woman Bishop never approved of and may have been right about.  Rayne, the blues singer and ex-junkie relied on Bishop to keep her clean and is now slipping down a dark path without him.  And Rhonda, Lamar’s wife, is determined to ignore what has been unfolding in front of her if it means that her predictable life will go unchanged.  And then a newcomer steps onto the scene and threatens to turn everything upside down. Five very different people whose lives are only connected by Bishop suddenly find themselves up close and personal as desires, dreams and passions collide.

    She goes through a tragic childhood only to be found by a love she never knew existed. Babyface, the love of her life, changes her whole perspective of living by saving her from a world of turmoil only to walk her into a Hell of his own. Victoria s Secret is the most realistic story of today s new age pimping with a classy-thuggish style. It takes you on a journey through some of the harshest slums of our nation s capitol, Washington, D.C., and rushes you to some of the most talked about flamboyant night clubs in Atlanta, Georgia! Just when you thought it couldn t get any better, you ll travel through the gang infested streets of Chicago only to land a spot in the heart of one of the biggest Pimp Cities of the world, Memphis, Tennessee...the home of the infamous, Playa s Ball where every pimp dreams of becoming Pimp Of The Year . Victoria s Secret will command you as you read her story all through the pages of her diary. You ll go through mood swings of pain, joy, sadness, happiness, love and hate. You ll also fall in love with characters so real...they ll materialize right before your eyes only to leave you begging for more. The Skillful Pens Of Donald Goines & Iceberg Slim Have Arisen!

    

    . . ANNABELLE WINTERS STYLE!When a brash Saudi prince takes liberties with State Department translator Amy Hadad, she’s told to forget it and move on, to be a patriot and swallow her personal pride for the sake of the bigger picture.Saudi Prince Rafiq is helping the US in a delicate hostage situation with the rogue extremist nation of Jawal, and so Amy is stuck with an impossible choice: If she accuses Prince Rafiq, he might not help the US, and hostages might die.It’s not just an impossible choice, it’s no choice at all.She has to stand down, keep her mouth shut, smile for the camera, and let the show go on.Navy SEAL Jake Axelrod, busted down to security detail for a loudmouthed Senator after running his own mouth off in public, is used to choosing his country over himself.It’s what he was born to do, trained to do, loves to do.But when he senses how Amy reacts to Prince Rafiq at a State Department Gala in Dubai, something awakens in him, something comes alive, a different sense of moral duty that burns strong in his heart, like it comes from someplace deep and ancient, from a time when a man's highest duty was to protect his woman.Soon Axe faces his own impossible choice, and he makes it with his heart instead of his head.An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, they say.Well, even a blind man knows when the sun is shining, and that’s what it feels like around Amy.So what the hell.Who needs eyes when your future's so clear.Hooyah.Toe-curling suspense, button-popping steam, mind-breaking action. And of course over-the-top drama and madness, Annabelle Winters style. This is a full length standalone.

    Dubbed Billionaire Bachelor Cove because of the resident's single status and income portfolios, The Cove is the perfect place to hide away from the world. But, as the residents soon find out, they can't hide from love. A Princess and Her Billionaire Scoundrel at Sea Paris James is a high-seas playboy.  He throws lavish parties on his yacht to entertain clients for a multi-billion-dollar business that specializes in luxury water toys. He’s as free as a pirate … until he wins the royal Tyndarian bracelet in a game of chance—with that bracelet, comes a very special girl. Laney Moon is a first grade teacher who lives a fairly normal life--that is, until her cousin loses her heirloom bracelet in a rigged poker game. The grandmother who raised her will lose her house if Laney can't cash in on the bracelet. Desperate, Laney stows aboard Paris’s yacht, determined to take what’s hers from the scoundrel, and she is shocked to find a gentleman with stormy blue eyes and a mischievous grin. In one last outrageous wager, Paris agrees to return the bracelet if Laney can convince the other yacht guests that she is the princess who once owned it. Paris is in way over his head–he’d gladly return the bracelet if black market assassins weren’t after it, but now he must act like the uncaring pirate to keep her safe. As his feelings for Laney build, so do the threats against her. Paris must decide between rescuing Laney from her past or making her a part of his future. Because, princess or not, Laney Moon has already sailed away with his heart.