Only one comes out winning the prize.There are very few things I know to be true. I’ve worked hard to stay alive while waitressing at Lunar Royale, a premiere casino in Boston serving explicitly supernatural clientele since a meteor slammed into a ley-line ten years ago. Since the day the weaves collided, I’ve taken these risks because I need money to escape Boston and start over in a new city. That money isn’t coming fast enough and now this job might kill me before I can escape.Tonight I plan on carefully maneuvering my way into the most important game of poker ever played at Lunar Royale. The stakes are high, and the players are Boston’s supernatural elite: the king of vampires, the matriarch of werewolves, and a bastard fae prince. To top it all off, by the time I realize it’s not money they’re playing for, I’m stuck in the game. The real prize? A dragon’s egg. Dragons were supposed to be hunted to extinction during the Supernatural War, but before that, they were powerful conduits of magic.This egg, if real, is invaluable.All I wanted was to escape the city, and winning this dragon’s egg might be my ticket out... if I can survive the game to the end. I just have to ignore the way the dragon’s magic hums, calling to me from across the room.As if this dragon has belonged to me from the start...Vera’s journey begins in SPARK OF LIGHTNING, an urban fantasy adventure with faeries, vampires, witches, dragons, magic, journeys to other worlds, and much more!

    At least, that’s what she calls herself.She looks human, but she’s no more human than she is a faith-healer. That doesn’t stop her from using her…more unique abilities to take care of certain needs. It’s those abilities that lead to a chance encounter with an unusual woman in Florida.It’s a chance encounter with fate that will set these two down a collision course with destiny.This short story is loosely connected to the Kit Colbana Files. Can be read as a stand-alone.

    However, instead of tracking down criminals, she’s in the Dragon Lands of Wyoming, teaching adolescent dragons how to behave should they venture into the rest of the country. Some groups are better than others. The current lot is not better. In fact, they keep falling out of the sky. It’s a good thing she’s half elf, half witch, or she’d have some very squished dragons on her hands. With such a straightforward job, it could’ve been the solo assignment she requested. Instead, Oaks Consulting, or more accurately, her parents, gave her a partner. Cord is a perfectly nice elf, but he’s hiding something. So is Shasta, a secret she’s had her entire life. But when one of her dragons goes missing, Shasta quickly discovers the job isn’t as safe as everyone thought. There’s evil brewing in the Dragon Lands. If she wants to save the dragons, she’ll have to embrace the parts of herself she’s been hiding and show the world the real Shasta.

    At least that’s the plan. First, they have to convince Warlord Tarrick that Krampus is not only real, but the reason incubi children have gone missing… Note: This novella is told from the point of view of Jet, a gargoyle who sometimes takes the form of a Rottweiler. This is not a standalone story. It is meant to be read after Broken: Beautiful Monsters Vol. 3. 25k words

    Capitola, Moo, and Shar are the halfling ladies of Triptych: supernatural private investigators who get paid to clean up paranormal messes.Normally Cappie doesn't take human cases, but who can resist a priest, missing Catholic school girls, and a creature that may or may not be the Prince of Darkness?A story set in the world of Nicole Peeler's Jane True series.

    Literally. Pepper has one job. It’s a pity she can’t remember what it is! Waking up in a strange cabin, well everything is strange when you’ve lost your memory, she learns to trust Bas, even if he is a lawyer! Things get stranger when she learns what she was wearing when Bas found her. Something is amok! Join Bas and Pepper, as they put the pieces back together in this fun-filled, holiday romp. Warning, includes two flying reindeer, a sleigh, a sexy bear shifter, Krampus and maybe a Christmas Elf or two. Unsuitable for those who do not believe in Christmas Magic! You have been warned! Claused Bear shifter Kain, who also happens to be a lawyer, has just met his mate. There’s just one problem, she’s crazy. Like, two sandwiches short of a picnic crazy. Why? Because his mate, a wonderfully curvy woman, named Marraine Le Fey, thinks someone has stolen her magic wand. That’s right. Her. Magic. Wand. And why does she have a magic wand? Because she’s a fairy godmother of course! None of this alters the fact that she’s his bonded mate, so he’s going to get Marra out of jail, and find her some help. Only she doesn’t want psychiatric help, that would be too easy. Instead, Marra wants Kain to assist her in her role, as a wandless fairy godmother. For Marraine Le Fey has a Cinderella, who needs her help. If you want to know who gets to go to the ball—Well, it’s not really a ball, more of a business presentation. This is the twenty-first century, after all— Come join the fun, in Claused. Because once you make a fairy godmother a promise, there’s no getting out of it. Wrapped Asher has taken on numerous roles while working undercover, but this might be his most difficult yet, because it involves family. Not his family, he never knew his own mom, and spent his early years in foster homes—until he ran away, knowing he was different, and afraid of how bad that different was. One man saved him, one man took him in and taught him what it was to be a shifter. One man, Carlisle, who accepted him, even though he is a wolf, and Asher is a bear. Now, Carlisle, the man who became his adoptive father, wants him to help figure out what happened to Jeremiah, the alpha of his old pack in Timber Rest, who is lying in a coma. But Carlisle hasn’t been back there for years, and things change. Will they be welcomed, or run out of town? Especially when the pack find out that Asher is a bear shifter. Kelli has been asked by her aunt to help figure out what happened to her uncle, the pack leader, Jeremiah. She travels to the pack home of Timber Rest immediately, no one can ignore the call, even if she was supposed to be lying on a hot beach somewhere with her girlfriends. When Asher and Kelli meet, their attraction is intense, and their true mate bond can’t be ignored. But they have work to do, and together the aim to work out what happened to Jeremiah, and how to get him out of his mysterious coma. However, neither of them are prepared for what is revealed in a cave, high up in the Mistletoe Mountains. A leprechaun, and a fairy, no less. This is Wrapped, after all, you didn’t expect normal, did you?

    Well, one you can’t see under his death hood anyway... This Halloween I’m dressing up like a witch. Which is either ironic or sacrilegious depending on if you ask me or my best friend, Lizzy. Deciding to ditch the boring coven rituals, we head off to an obnoxiously rich, light fae’s Halloween party. Little do I know, we’re there for more than just partying. When they begin to search certain guests for a missing family heirloom, I begin to question just what we’re doing there, and why my best friend is suddenly looking so damned guilty... ***Grey Witch and Halloween Magic is a prequel set two years before the events of Black Spells and Twisted Souls. Set on the night that Kayla meets Darren for the first time. It also includes a few other key characters from the series in ways you may not expect.*** Recommended Reading Order of the Grey Witch Series: -Black Spells and Twisted Souls (Book One) -White Charms and Dark Secrets (Book Two) -Grey Witch and Halloween Magic (A Grey Witch Prequel Novella - set two years before the events of the main series.) -Grey Magic and Forbidden Love (Book Three) -Grey Gods and Ancient Blood (Book Four)

    With the help of a few shape-shifting friends, they pick up the scent of the vampire responsible for the child’s disappearance.Helena is no stranger to dangerous villains. She’s fought more than her fair share thanks to her own strange supernatural heritage.Reluctantly, Helena decides to ask Dominick Pierce, the local vampire king, to help her find the boy before it’s too late.Will this new alliance change the way Helena has always viewed the monsters once and for all?

    In Jim Butcher’s ”Curses”, Harry Dresden investigates how to lift a curse laid by the Fair Folk on the Chicago Cubs. In Patricia Briggs’ “Fairy Gifts,”, a vampire is called home by magic to save the Fae who freed him from a dark curse. In Melissa Marr’s “Guns for the Dead”, the newly dead Frankie Lee seeks a job in the afterlife on the wrong side of the law. In Holly Black’s “Noble Rot”, a dying rock star discovers that the young woman who brings him food every day has some strange appetites of her own.Featuring original stories from 20 authors, this dark, captivating, fabulous, and fantastical collection is not to be missed!Contents:Curses / by Jim Butcher --How the pooka came to New York City / by Delia Sherman --On the slide / by Richard Bowes --The Duke of Riverside / by Ellen Kushner --Oblivion by Calvin Klein / by Christopher Fowler --Fairy gifts / by Patricia Briggs --Picking up the pieces / by Pat Cadigan --Underbridge / by Peter S. Beagle --Priced to sell / by Naomi Novik --The bricks of Gelecek / by Matthew Kressel --Weston walks / by Kit Reed --The projected girl/ by Lavie Tidhar --The way station / by Nathan Ballingrud --Guns for the dead / by Melissa Marr --And go like this / by John Crowley --Noble rot / by Holly Black --Daddy longlegs of the evening / by Jeffrey Ford --The skinny girl / by Lucius Shepard --The Colliers' Venus (1893) / by Caitlín R. Kiernan --King pole, gallows pole, bottle tree / by Elizabeth Bear.

    The first of his novels, Charming, will be out in September 2013. Nothing with the Cunning Folk is ever free. When John Charming goes to Sarah White for help with a minor ghost problem, he soon finds himself dealing with a restless spirit on a completely different scale. And the last thing you want to be when hunting a water spirit is out of your depth... Other Short Fiction by Elliott James: Charmed I'm SureDon't Go Chasing WaterfallsPushing LuckSurreal EstateDog-Gone

    Three Curses. Two Heirs. One Choice… Forbidden love or the throne of the dragons? Isola Dragice thought she knew what her future would bring. Only, one earth-shattering moment destroys everything. When war threatens her home, Isola returns from earth to the world of dragons she knows nothing about, and to Dragca Academy. When the four most powerful dragon guards in history are ordered to protect her, they didn’t expect to be protecting an accident prone princess. One who, accidentally, nearly kills her whole class at Dragca Academy in her first week. What happens when fire falls for Ice? Books one to five in the Protected by Dragons series (RH & 18+)- Wings of Ice (Book One) Wings of Fire (Book Two) Wings of Spirit (Book Three) Wings of Fate (Book Four) Wings of Dragca (Book Five) Including exclusive to the collection bonus scenes.

    . . A magical storm that rocked the supernatural world left Tara Knightley’s mother dying of a mysterious wasting ailment. No one understands the disease or how to cure it. When her mother slips into a coma, Tara decides to take matters into her own hands. In the middle of the night, she sneaks away swearing she won’t return home until she’s found a cure. Tara’s quest takes her into the dangerous world of the Fae, a world forbidden to her despite the trace Fae blood running through her veins. With the help of another part-Fae, she finds a way into Faerie and seeks out a man with Fae mob ties and a collection of rare magical things. He claims he can save her mother. But the cure comes at a steep price. And in Faerie, words are weapons and promises are forever. What will Tara have to sacrifice to save her mother’s life? The events in Oath of Blood (Tara Knightley Prequel) take place 10 years before Edge of Magic (Tara Knightley Series Book 1). Oath of Blood is a novella approximately 150 pages long.

    Bear Shifter Cormac is determined to take single mom Nell as his mate, despite her objections—until her sons are endangered and she desperately needs help.National bestselling author Jean Johnson returns to her Vulland Chronicles with The Hunter’s Cabin. On the run after being falsely accused of treason, ex-prince Kiereseth and his companion Vielle take refuge in a snowbound cabin—and in each other’s arms.In No Surprise More Magical, Hanna Martine expands on the fascinating world she introduced in Liquid Lies. After dissolving their arranged marriage, Ofarian guard David pairs up with the heartbroken Kelsey to try to thwart an enemy to their race and win her heart on his own terms.

    The mission is a dark and deadly affair which takes Celaena from the rooftops of the city to the bottom of the sewer--and she doesn't like what she finds there.

    While the massive amount of data Bethany Anne’s team was throwing at him was more than enough to assuage his curiosity, he had never felt this way in the last one hundred and fifty-two years.He wanted a vacation.He pulled the top manila-folder and took a look at the name, “Clarissa Bernier, CEO.” He opened the folder, and it was now in the agreed upon fashion. There was one page with her typical information of name, age, location, and a two paragraph background and the requested punishment. It was a type of joke now between Barnabas and Bethany Anne. No matter the requested punishment, she would strike it out and write “DEATH” and put a happy face on, with fangs.It let him know that she was not letting up on her desire to make a lot of people pay for Michael’s death. Sued for Peace Greed and Fear, two emotions that rule both individuals...and Countries.Now, China has decided that they will do whatever it takes to acquire TQB technology.There was a glaring flaw in their plan. When they kill an unborn little baby in a raid, the Queen Bitch is Released.Now, China has two options...Kill Bethany Anne, or Sue For Peace. We Have Contact When you least expect it, expect it.Bethany Anne has been notified there is a spaceship inside the system...but they can't find it. Is it Kurtherian, someone else? The governments have to be told about aliens, which sparks a worldwide effort by Governments to find what TQB has... My Ride is a Bitch It's out there, it's always been out there - just no one believed it.Governments, Black Ops, Rich Businessmen...All want alien tech and some are going to great lengths, illegal lengths, to procure it. Someone went so far as to endanger a young girls family.  A young girl who wrote a letter to the Queen Bitch. Now, those that are searching for the technology will have to deal with TQB.  If there is one thing that will get Bethany Anne's attention...