Most citizens are immune to it, but a few, always born with physical disabilities, can bend it to their will. For fifty years, the ruling Eagle Knights, who fly on the back of giant birds, have killed these Imperfects, fearing the return of the old royal family, who used icefire to cut out people's hearts, turning them into ghostly servitors. The old king's grandson Tandor only sees the good things icefire brought: power and technology now forgotten while the people of the south live in dire poverty. He's had enough of seeing his fellow kinsfolk slaughtered by ignorant Knights, of Imperfect babies being abandoned on the ice floes to be eaten by wild animals. His grandfather's diary tells him how to increase the beat of the Heart the first step to making the land glorious once more. Arrogant as he is, he sets the machine in motion. All he needs is an army of Imperfect servitors to control the resulting power.Isandor is Imperfect, an ex-Knight apprentice, betrayed by his best friend and running for his life. The queen Jevaithi is Imperfect, living like a prisoner amidst leering Knights, surviving only because the common people would rebel if their beloved queen were harmed. Both are young and desperate and should be grateful that Tandor wants to rescue them from their hopeless situations. Or so he thinks. The youngsters, however, have no inclination to become heartless ghosts, but while they defy Tandor, the Heart beats, and he alone cannot control its power.

    . .On a warm May evening in the spring of 1979, the people of Heartsridge, Massachusetts, are living the American dream. Families are gathered for barbecues. Kids are playing in front yards. Gardens are being kept. Meanwhile, Kara Price stumbles home through the woods, raped and beaten, her life shattered by a wicked act of violence, perpetrated by one of the town’s most beloved and public figures. Surrounding Kara is a cast of compelling and nefarious characters—a violent-tempered mayor who can do no wrong in the eyes of the town, a sheriff bound by the rules and plagued by a guilty conscience, a father bent on revenge, a serial killer in the midst of an identity crisis. And at the center of it all there's Kara, who just wants to move on with her life and forget everything that happened to her. But how can she do that when everyone thinks she is a liar who is only out for attention? With plot and emotion braided together by a careful hand, this haunted group of people all acting on behalf of their own interests begs the question: How far would you go to protect your own?

     Chile peppers, hot air balloons and white sand dunes mix with a small town mayor, a fake fiance, and a second chance at love. Borrowing Amor: Love is a nuisance when all you want is to disappear. Two weeks before Christmas, Katie is kicked out of her apartment. Again. Rather than wander the streets and continue to work for a dirty cop, she decides to leave the city and disappear for good. But her car breaks down in a small New Mexican town, and everything is threatened when she falls for the charming mayor. Sam Freedman is the first bachelor mayor of Amor. After convincing the locals that having a mayor without family responsibilities means he can dedicate all his time to the community, townspeople watch his every move. Then Katie Andersen shows up. Against Sam’s better judgement, he hires her to replace his event coordinator. Now he can barely think straight, let alone run a town. In the midst of half-truths and outright lies, Katie and Sam desperately search for the place where honesty and trust lead to love. But they have to find it before the past catches up with them. Borrowing Love: It’s better to have loved and lost, they said. They were wrong. Ruby Freedman hasn’t left the small town of Amor in four years--not since her husband died. The memory of his fateful accident was enough to cause her to sell her airplane, and never ride in a car again. Then Parker Loveland comes back to town. Now she has to add him to her list of things she intends to avoid.After years away, Parker Loveland is back in Amor to celebrate his parents’ thirtieth wedding anniversary. He has worked hard to escape the clutches of his hometown, but when he runs into Ruby, the only girl he cared about in high school, and the only one that ever stood him up on a date, he’s torn between the embarrassment he felt more than a decade before, and his desire to be around her.Caught between memories of the past and fear of the future, it will take leaving Amor to help Ruby and Parker find the second chance they didn’t know they were looking for. Borrowing a Fiance:  She wanted freedom. She got a fiance instead. Melinda Garrett has been stuck managing her parent’s diner for over a decade, when all she had wanted was to go to college. When her younger sister gets married, Melinda reluctantly agrees to attend with her friend, Daniel, as her date. But when the pressure is on, she claims he is her fiance, in hopes that her parents’ opinion of selling the diner will change.Daniel Armstrong isn’t the kind of guy a girl takes home to meet her parents, but when he offers to attend a wedding as Melinda’s date, he finds himself labeled as her future spouse. Now, challenges lie around every corner, testing Melinda’s claim that she and Daniel are in love.

    Mature/Explicit content alert - Readers should be 18 years of age or olderBrock Knight, a retired rugby player from Wales, moves into his new beach house in North Carolina before Samantha Carlisle has a chance to relocate. When he spots her shagging trophies, he's not sure he wants her to move out. After a devastating breakup, Sam has sworn off men. In effort to keep her distance from her sexy new landlord, she pretends she prefers women. Will Brock convince her to stay, or will she convince him she's gay?With an ostrich farm and a slew of naughty naked seniors, Pleasure Island is loads of fun. If you like romance with plenty of sizzle and giggle, this book is for you!

    She’s my everything — my baby. Sleek, fast and doesn’t take any crap. Neither do I. When I met Mollie DuBois at the local clinic, my whole life changed. She’s beautiful, smart, and totally out of my league. I’ll have to up my game if I want her — and I want that sweet lady like I’ve never wanted anything else in my life.

    The big bike in her garage hasn’t been ridden for a couple years now. It is no more than a symbol of her loss and reminds her of her own lack of usefulness.When the very large, very excited Mikkel Gunnarsen arrives to buy it, his pleasure in the bike makes the decision to sell to the younger man much easier than she imagined it would be. The same is also true for the decision that ends with Mikkel spending the night in her bed.Kia knows the blissful moments with Mikkel are only momentary relief, but being with the younger man is certainly inspiring.

    But when a friend's party means facing her ex and the woman he left her for, Teagan skips town and heads to the scorching heat of Arizona.She never expects to meet Aaron, an Army Major who's smoking hot... and also coming off a divorce. He's so not her type, but he gives her two days and one sizzling night to remember.When Teagan returns to Colorado and her man-free existence, Aaron keeps finding excuses to see her and inch his way into her heart. But when Aaron's past finds them, it threatens to shatter their connection... and break Teagan's heart for good.If you love steamy romance with heart-stopping twists and an HEA, you'll love Afterglow.Afterglow is a standalone novel in the Four Corners series.

    At least that's what she's told her sisters... But when Mason shows up at her best friend's wedding, talking sweet and looking even sweeter, Lark can't deny the man still gets to her in a major way.Mason Stewart was a messed up kid, but he's a man now, a man who knows what he wants and won't stop until he's convinced the only woman he's ever loved that they are meant to be. He persuades Lark to give him seven days to remind her why they belong together. At the week's end, Lark may tell him to get out of her life for good, but Mason's betting on true love for the win.But when old secrets come to light, Lark and Mason will find their rediscovered love tested, and happily ever after harder to hold on to than either of them wagered.Fans of Bella Andre, Kristan Higgins, and Susan Mallery will love the Always a Bridesmaid romance series, stories featuring sassy Southern women and the alpha males who love them.The complete Always A Bridesmaid series is available now!Book 1: Betting on YouBook 2: Keeping YouBook 3: Wild For YouBook 4: Catching You (A Summerville Short Story)Book 5: Taking You (A Summerville Novella)Jessie Evans gave up a career as an international woman of mystery to write the sexy, contemporary Southern romances she always wanted to read.A Southern girl, born and bred, Jessie loves writing Southern romances with just the right amount of sizzle, and hopes you'll enjoy her stories set in the fictional town of Summerville, Georgia. Especially the "Always a Bridesmaid" series!

    Edward Carnarvon III is rich, handsome and hers. But at the final fitting of her wedding gown, one of the seamstresses pricks her and a tiny blood spot appears on the outrageously expensive gown. Its famous designer fires the clumsy seamstress on the spot, whereupon the girl puts a curse on the dress and storms out. Kate doesn't believe in curses. She’s modern, American and in love with the perfect guy. What could go wrong? But that very evening she meets a man who makes her question her future. And then she discovers that Edward has been hiding a secret or two… and before you can say, “This dress is so cursed,” she’s on the run from Edward, his family, her mother, the paparazzi and the person she thought she was. When the man who discovers her hiding place turns out to be the last man she should trust, it’s time to throw her cautious good sense out with the satin shoes she won’t be wearing. Playing it safe hasn’t done her much good. Maybe it’s time to play by a new set of rules. Her rules. Sometimes Prince Charming is the one who turns out to be the frog, and true love appears in the most unexpected places. Follow the cursed dress through five sets of bridal hands as four more women join The Almost Wives Club. These are complete novels. Watch for: Secondhand Bride coming in April, 2015 Bridesmaid for Hire coming in May, 2015 The Wedding Flight in June, 2015 If the Dress Fits in July 2015

    All she wants is her late father's dream to come true by making his beloved King's Department Store thrive again. However, her stepmother has other ideas. Charlie agrees to help her stepmother find grooms for her sheltered stepsisters. In exchange, the stepmother will release her stronghold on the store's budget. After all, one good deed deserves another, right? But, Charlie has no idea what her heart's in for when... Alexander (Alex) Royale, dubbed by society newspapers as Prince Charming, arrives for dinner to meet the all-female King family. His ailing grandparents yearn for his marriage and then the baby carriage. Well, that and running the family company. Having unsuccessfully searched for months, Alex doesn't hold out any hope in finding his future bride among the King sisters. However, all his expectations, including his idea of a business-like marriage of convenience, vanish the moment Charlie crashes into him. When Alex sets out out to win over Charlotte, he has no idea he has to bargain with the stepmother, secretly buy the store, court Charlotte after the wedding, and, oh yeah, be featured in Charlie's new fairy tale ad campaign, The Charmings, based on them. Can a guy ever get a break? The couple never factored in falling in love with each other. Now, faced with losing all their families ever wanted, Charlie and Alex must choose: Do they live their families' dreams or do they finally live their own?

    He is uptight. Never the twain shall…kiss? A deadline-driven workaholic assistant school principal who meticulously plans his schedule months in advance meets an easygoing art teacher and studio potter with no sense of time, living her life as the seasons come and go. When they cross paths again at the Summer by the Sea Day Camp sponsored by his church in Nassau, Bahamas, how can they get along if they cannot see eye to eye? Byron’s Burden… This is what I’ve always wanted, right? Then why does this assistant headmaster position hem me in? I feel constricted, restricted, afflicted. I fear I have taken a wrong turn in my career. What is God’s will for my life? And what does Tina think about— Tina? What does she have anything to do with my career decisions? Tina’s Turn… Go to the Bahamas, they said. It will be fun, they said. Well, arriving in Nassau, I feel I could enjoy myself if Byron’s not around. I made it, right? I’m here! That’s good enough for me, but apparently it’s not good enough for Mr. Uptight. Why does he bother me so? I don’t need his approval— Oh yes, I do. As a volunteer art teacher at the day camp, I have to answer to Byron for four weeks. Well, thank God it’s only for four weeks. And then I’m outta here, and he’ll be out of my hair.

    A new life. An old flame?Lizzie Hampton is literally a shadow of her former self. Having lost half her body weight, she's headed to her small hometown to test out her new body on an old flame. Just a harmless fling to get her self-confidence back before she returns to the city and the new man in her life.But Lizzie's plan has a few bumps in the road.Finn Robbins can't believe Liz is back in town. Desperate to be the holder of her innocence eighteen years ago, he never got the chance. Now she's back and he can finally check her off his to do list. But her friends, his son, and the mysterious Annie may have something to say about that.

    It’s been more than a year since her husband died and she’s spent most of that time helping everyone else heal. This vacation is for her, but taking a beer to a stranger at the insistence of the staff, and making a five-minute friend? That won’t cut into her time too much, right?How do you adjust to palace life when you've been a soldier for ten years? For Dante, it’s flying halfway around the world to a beach where no one knows who you are. He's been called home to fulfill his duty to family and country, filling the princely role he left ten years before when he joined the military. His father gives him mere weeks to figure out how to adjust to royal life again.Neither is looking for anything more than a friend in a remote land, but after spending a week together, will they really be able to walk away and find their happy ever after with someone else?Romance meets duty in this modern day love story. Can Dante convince Olivia to take a chance on a future with him, or will Olivia’s past hold her back?

    She accuses him of spying for the English, and he thinks she's a reckless troublemaker.All Jimmy wants is to earn enough coin to buy passage to America. But when the English turn his trading patch into a gallows, Jimmy finds himself drawn into the very conflict he's spent his whole life avoiding.

    The last place Finley ever want to be with college basketball God, Jake LaShae. She is losing her mind trying to figure out what this guy wants from her. Between their late night phone calls, cuddle sessions and him showing up at parties, causing a scene, his mixed signals are giving her whip lash. When a mind-blowing betrayal knocks the wind out of Finley and she thinks she can’t feel any lower, Brody stumbles into her path—barefoot and charmingly sexy. This boy next door is a breath of fresh air. And he’s not shooting her any mixed signals. But even he has a past. A past that makes him anything but perfect. When Finley begins to think she’s found the one in Brody, will Jake try to make one final play and ruin the game for everyone?~The college prequel to the London Lovers Series~