Written in the author's wry and masterful voice, these evocative stories are infused with all the peculiar customs, ironies and humor so special to the South.The twelve stories in this collection include "Red Clay," which won an Edgar Allen Poe Award, in which a local girl from Thermopylae becomes a movie star who moves back to her sleepy North Carolina home town and is tried for murdering her unfaithful husband. Her trial causes the town and one man in particular to look back with longing and nostalgia at this exquisite Southern belle who captivated-and sometimes manipulated-every man she met."Fast Love," the recipient of an O. Henry Award, is the story of a man who chases down his future wife after seeing her jog past. As he gets closer to his quarry, he also gains the courage to stand up for what he wants and to champion what he believes.In "Blue Cadillac," Marie, blonde and beautiful, shares dinner and her love of Elvis with a high-tech sales rep on his way home to Memphis. Along the way and on the road, they have exquisite sex and decide to part, Marie in her blue Cadillac. As he rings the bell at his mother's house, the young man discovers that he has been robbed of his wallet and his whole life on cards.Self-contained masterpieces, each of these short stories has the impact and power of a full-length novel.Stella : red clay --Marie : blue Cadillac --Precious : winners and losers --Charmain : white trash noir --Lucy : maniac loose --Flonnie : the rising of the South and Flonnie Rogers --Patty : love and other crimes --Meredith : fast love --Angie : the power --Mona : Miss mona's bank --Betty : a deer on the lawn --Mattie : invitation to the ball

    Then I met Dillon. I feel the pull, but I can’t let myself get distracted. Not now.He has eyes of the hunter, and when he looks at me, I know I'm the prey.He's dangerous and all wrong for me. I thought I could stay strong and resist him.I was wrong.Dillon:Women have always been simple for me. Seduce her, bed her. Repeat. Until I met Emerson. She was off limits. No problem, I had plenty of discipline. I could handle mind over matter.When I recognized the brains inside the seductive package, she became my personal black hole.With her I was losing the battle. I don’t know if it was hormones, or pheromones, or black magic.No matter what the rules said, I couldn’t pull away.Damn the rules.Forbidden Love is the first standalone book in the Venture Capitalist series of steamy romantic suspense. If you like heartthrob bosses, sexy-and-smart heroines, twist-filled plots, then you’ll love Ainsley St Claire’s too-hot-to-handle tale.Buy Forbidden Love to slip into a scandalous romance today!

    Equally broke and futureless, 28–year–old James Brooke, a graduate architect, coffee-addict, and self–described average nobody has returned to his small hometown in West Ohio. Torn between his fanciful dreams and the need to pay off bills, he struggles to find his own identity while facing a harder–than–ever reality. But living under his father’s rooftop while keeping his head in the clouds soon turns out to be a bad combination, and the mounting student debt forces him to settle for any job he can find. That’s when he stumbles across a new coffee shop, a wayward girl with a talent for storytelling, and his own unresolved past. This unexpected set of things could help him figure out what his place in the world is—if that place even exists. Paper Castles is a story about the search for meaning in times when everything seems meaningless.

    She confronts a dark and disturbing man who engages in kidnapping and murder. Underlying everything is the protagonist's budding new romance. If you read or watch psychological thrillers, this free book will start you off in my series of creepy people novels.

    The Tavorians for their part, have wizards much stronger than those found in Ket, men and women who could flay the skin right off you with nothing but a few words. 16 y/o Tanner is among those recruited and right away it is found he possesses a unique gift. Join Tanner as he does his part to defeat the Tavorians and win the day for the people of Ket,

    1 - 8):TAMED BY THE BILLIONAIRE - Vol. 1Roman Steele - The business tycoon who has the daunting task of taming the spoiled princess.MAID IN THE U.S.A. - Vol. 2Pierce D'Amato - The software billionaire who thinks he's in control but instead finds himself at the mercy of an angelic four year old and a dark-eyed French beauty who steals his heart.BILLIONAIRE'S ISLAND BRIDE - Vol. 3Dare DeSouza - The owner of a line of Caribbean resorts who tries to teach our beloved heroine a lesson she'll never forget...but then ends up learning the greatest lesson of his life.DANGEROUS DECEPTION - Vol. 4Storm Hunter - He loves motorcycles, fast cars and now he's got to add one more item to his list of loves: Danielle Swift. Dani has a charm he tries to resist but this committed bachelor is no match for this fiercely independent woman who's like none he's met before.TO TAME A TYCOON - Vol. 5Enrico Megalos - A shipping tycoon with a big problem but one which 'lion tamer', Asia Miller, is determined to fix.SWEET SEDUCTION - Vol. 6Jake McKoy - Billionaire author, philanthropist and recluse - a man with a past that is tearing him apart. Will Samantha Fox be the woman to pull him out of his shell?DADDY BY DECEMBER - Vol. 7Drake Duncan - Billionaire investor, and a man determined to win the love of his life: a woman who is just as determined...to stay the heck out of his way.TO CATCH A MAN (IN 30 DAYS OR LESS) - Vol. 8Stone Hudson - Owner of Hudson Broadcasting Corporation, Stone is thrown for a loop when he meets a woman gutsy enough to laugh at him. And then she turns into a temptress. How can he resist?Alpha males at their best - which one will you fall in love with?

    

    This book contains articles available free on Wikipedia and other free sources.

    Ace Jackson Jr. resembled the Wileys and not his father, Ace Jackson Sr. His mother, Celia Jackson, told him to ignore the whispers and the innuendos, he was Ace Sr.’s son and not the son of their former gardener, Micky Wiley. For thirty-six years Ace Jr. managed to do just that. He ignored the speculation because he didn’t want to upset the status quo. However, a part of him was curious as to what was the truth of the situation, but he would honor his mother’s wishes. And then he met and developed feelings for Kiya Brady, the rumored love child of Micky Wiley, and then he realized that maybe he shouldn’t be honoring his mother’s wishes after all…

    Though the rest of her adoptive family scorned her as an outsider, Gram and her grandson Ian always loved Laina like she was one of their own. Now Laina is all grown up and a foster parent in her own right, to a little girl named Jada whose upcoming adoption by strangers is sure to break Laina’s heart. But Laina faces the prospect of another devastating loss when Gram’s health begins to fail. As she has so many times before, Laina turns to Ian for advice, only to find that her feelings for her handsome, warm-hearted friend have changed, deepening into a love that could transform her life...or ruin her dearest friendship.When Laina and Ian come together at the family summer home on the windswept shores of Hatteras Island, the sparks igniting between them cannot be ignored. But with stakes as high as these, can they overcome their fear of heartbreak to claim the promise of love?

    

     Maria Ward. Lover. Hedonist. Countess of one of the richest sectors of the Kingdom. As a matter of honor, she must use everything at her disposal to break the back of the rebellion, no matter what the cost to herself or her love, her husband Count Ward. To save their honor, she’ll have to embark on a series of adventures that will take her to places few have ever gone. To do things that only the most imaginative would even dream of… This, then, is the story of how she, with little more than her wits, and ability in the bed chamber, did exactly that. *Warning: This is an erotic novel based in the world of The Young Ancients. It has a highly charged and graphically sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.

    Now he's the new Alpha of his clan, and in charge of Timber Bear Ranch. He soon discovers that his father left the ranch in so much debt that he and his brothers might be forced to sell everything. As if that's not tough enough, the new auditor examining his books is his mate! A difficult assignment... Sylvia Barker is ready to settle down, but not with any of the terrible dates her mom keeps arranging. A shifter-human dating website matches her to Leland, and their chemistry is immediate - but the next day, she finds out she's auditing him. If he loses the ranch, it could wreck things between them! A sinister agenda... As Leland works to uncover his father's secrets, Sylvia is targeted lurking enemies. Can Leland save his mate and his ranch, or will he lose them all? Saw Bear (Timber Bear Ranch #2) Can Love Heal? A loyal man... Buck Kincaid runs his family's timber business on Fate Mountain. He's hardworking, steady, and ready to settle down. It won't be that easy, though - the morning after a human-shifter dating app finally finds his match, his mate sends him a message that they can never meet! A wounded woman... Maria Reyes knows her sister is happily mated to a bear shifter... but Maria doesn't feel worthy of a forever love. And that's before she's attacked by a mountain lion shifter. Hiding in the woods, scared and sick, she attacks Buck when he tries to help her! A dangerous game... Buck won't give up on Maria, no matter how many times she tries to drive him away. She's his mate, and that's that. But when she's abducted, Buck has to save her from more than her own torment. Will he find Maria in time - and if he does, can he persuade her to trust him? Mountain Bear (Timber Bear Ranch #3) Love isn't always obvious... A solitary man... Cyrus Kincaid has been living in the woods since the Great War ended. In tune with the elements and his shifter nature, he's content to be alone... mostly. His longing for a mate, however, won't be silenced! An unhappy woman... Daisy Danes is the stepdaughter of a Mafia boss. She loves pink designer suits, her Yorkshire terrier Fifi, and shopping. What she doesn't love is the fact that her stepfather plans to marry her off to a hyena shifter in exchange for a shipment of drugs. In a desperate act of rebellion, she signs up for a shifter-human dating site and learns that she does have a mate - a bear shifter who lives in a remote cabin on Fate Mountain... A perilous path... When the hyena shifter tries to double-cross her stepfather, Daisy escapes (with Fifi) and flees through the forest - straight into Cyrus's arms. Despite their being mates, it's anything but love at first sight for this unlikely couple, and things get even more dangerous when a dark figure from Cyrus's past resurfaces. Can they overcome their differences in time to defeat their enemies and find a happy ending? Mechanic Bear (Timber Bear Ranch #4) Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways... A desperate woman... Fox shifter Dana Myers is on the run. After two years of indentured servitude to the Updike hyena pack on Fate Mountain, she finally makes her escape in a stolen car. When it breaks down, she discovers that mechanic and bear shifter Jessie Kincaid is her match on a shifter dating website. Out of options, she asks her unknown mate for help... A reluctant man... Jessie is in no hurry to settle down. Playing the field is fun - and besides, he saw how his dad fell apart after his mom’s death, and he never wants to be that vulnerable. But knowing that Dana is his mate changes everything. He’s determined to take care of her… and she’ll need all the help she can get! A dangerous dilemma... The car she used for her getaway has a body in the trunk, making Dana the prime suspect in a murder case. Jessie knows she’s innocent, but all the evidence is pointing her way. Can he clear her name in time, or will he lose his mate to a deadly plot?

     The timing could not have been worse. My dorm room is flooded, and it’s only one week before I’m set to play in the regional soccer championships. Of course, the only room available is in an off-campus house currently occupied by three guys—or three jerks I should say, according to the rumors circulating around campus. But it’s either live there or on the street. So off I go. I just need to stay focused on the game and my studies. But how can I when the three guys are just so damn hot? And despite their reps, they may not be so bad after all. Could I actually be falling for them? Really? I’ve never even been able to handle one boyfriend. What the hell am I supposed to do with three sexy guys? Hmm, I think I have a few ideas… Moving In is a reverse harem young adult contemporary romance involving three passionate alpha heroes and tons of kindle-melting heat, love at first glances, and sweet innocence. This mfmm romance is all about her – no m/m. If you love over-the-top, slightly unrealistic, and wildly dirty stories, this one’s for you! HEA with no cheating!