There is no road surface strong enough to resist the return to dirt in this climate.Blue touched my thigh with his nose, a gentle tap to remind me he was there. Thick jungle lined our path. This hill had the fewest homes on our route. No neighbors to wave a hello to or children to smile at as they raced by on bikes either too large or too small for them. There was just me, Blue, the burst of vegetation, and this road of rocks. I reached the top of the hill, my thighs and calves burned. Panting, I struggled to keep my pace.A low growl narrowed my attention onto a black and white street dog in the brush. Ears flat to her head, she curled her lips and showed teeth. Noting the swollen teats hanging low and exposed, I kept moving. "I'm not going to bother you, mama," I said in a steady voice. "We are just passing by."Blue slowed, and when I patted my thigh for him to catch up he stopped. I turned to look back at him, my senses on high alert. Blue was a mutt the height of a Great Dane with the coat of a wolf and the long snout of a Collie, with one blue eye and one brown. Blue has saved my life more than once so when he stopped, so did I.I recognized a twitch on his lip and saw the hackles raise off his shoulders and back making him appear even larger. A deep and rumbling growl left his chest. It was answered behind me. There were suddenly three dogs in our path. None as big or strong as Blue but together they looked dangerous.I'd been warned about this pack. Growing larger by the day, it was led by an aggressive alpha male the color of dirty water. This must be him, I thought, as the largest of the three, his head wide, fur the silt brown of an engorged river, growled at Blue. The compactness of his body spoke of strength and survival. When he barked, the saliva that shot from his mouth caught a ray of sunlight streaming through the thick foliage around us.The alpha stepped forward, revving his growl like a teenager on a motorbike. The bitch in the brush flanked our left side and when I turned right, two young dogs, their ears still soft from puppyhood, glowered at me.The owner of the guest house where I lived warned me to take a stick if I planned on running. "Just in case," she'd said with a dip of her head and a flip of her hand. Because of her advice I carried a light but solid piece of bamboo about twice the thickness of my thumb. I tapped it on the ground in front of me as I backed toward Blue, keeping my eyes forward, focused on the alpha but paying close attention to my peripheral vision, watching the dogs to my sides.When I reached Blue he moved backwards with me, slowly and deliberately. But the dogs followed. We stopped, and raising the stick over my head, I brought it down hard onto a rock. The loud sound and sudden movement spooked the pups to my right, but the alpha male just growled louder.The two dogs flanking him went crazy barking, the force of their calls lifting their front paws off the ground. The mother and the young ones joined in raising a ruckus that certainly beat mine. Blue, his front paws planted on the road, exposed his teeth and growled, his pitch wavering up and down. He wanted me to tell him it was okay to attack. I could feel his energy bundling up inside him, roiling around.Soon I'd have no control.P.S. The dog does not die.**Beware: If you can’t handle a few f-bombs, you can’t handle this series.**

    

     Borderland Bride Jake stumbles across a woman badly beaten and with no voice. But she brings along a whole host of trouble. That doesn't stop him from wondering if he could ever be worthy of a woman like her... but honor must prevail. And he must give her to her brother. Borderland Beauty Lucy Montgomery loathes Dominic of Thornewall. She always has and always will. No marriage contract or his attempts to charm her will win her over. Borderland Betrayal Captain James has little time for women. At least until the captivating Ellise takes him into her bed for one night then vanishes...only to turn up on his castle doorstep. But what is she hiding?

    Snuggle up and let six of The Authors’ Billboard New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Authors entertain you with romance from sweet to spicy from locations around the world.Mimi Barbour – Loveable Christmas Angel: Christmas in Hawaii! How lucky can a girl get? Or so Leilani thinks...Susanne Matthews – Holiday Magic: Is there enough magic left in Christmas to help them overcome the past?Taylor Lee – Special Ops and Cops Christmas: What could be more perfect than a Christmas wedding? Ask the terrorists who plan to keep ‘Happily Ever After’ from happening?Taylor Lee – Blue Christmas: Even Blue Christmases can be Red HOT!Susan Jean Ricci – Because We’re Snowflakes: After an accidental meeting on Christmas Eve, Rosie and Magoo are about to discover if their mutual attraction supports a future despite their diverse, cultural traditions.Rachelle Ayala – A Father for Christmas: A homeless veteran meets a single mother whose daughter asks Santa for an unusual gift.Rachelle Ayala – Deck the Hearts: Can Holly’s jolly Christmas spirit help Grinchy Gordon Gills save the town of Christmas Creek?Dani Haviland – A Stingray Christmas: Love had nothing to do with it…at first.

    Especially relationships. Yes, she was a superstar as a kid, but as a woman by herself in the big city, Pro doesn't always feel like she's living up to her nickname. These days she can't get a win. One day she'll be struggling to pay for rent. The next she'll be dealing with the downfalls of internet dating. She's all alone in the big city and fighting to keep her business afloat while trying to find love, and none of these things are going her way. When Pro finally lands her dream client she takes herself out to bask in her small success, but her celebration gets sacked when she catches her new guy out on the town with another girl! Hurt, upset, and a hot mess, Pro abandons her night of celebration in tears, running out of a champagne lounge and accidentally slamming into the chest of a man on the street–David. Kind, considerate, and absolutely massive, David plays for a local professional football team. Nicknamed "Meat Mountain," he's huge everywhere and has rich brown eyes, a chiseled face, and a heart of gold. Eventually Pro starts living up to her superstar nickname. She’s got it all going on! But if it’s not one thing, it’s another. From a dangerously jealous coworker to mixed messages to a media frenzy, lots of things seem to be trying to stand between Pro and her happily ever after. Will somebody end up with a ring at the end of these season? Read the steamy, yet sweet, Going Pro series to find out.

     When a stranger crashes into her life and lifts the concealment that has marred her face since childhood, Rosie Avalon leaves everything she knows behind. Pulled into a realm teeming with magical creatures, Rosie must navigate this new, broken world while avoiding capture by the evil queen, who knows there’s more to Rosie than meets the eye. Bastien is an Untouchable, feared and shunned by all but a handful of elite warriors. His realm has been ravaged by the evil queen’s reign, but he will stop at nothing to save the land he loves, even if it means pushing Rosie past her breaking point. Thrust into a quest that threatens to destroy her, Rosie’s path is clear: she must sacrifice all she holds dear to save a world on the brink of collapse. This is books 1-3 in a 14-part fantasy romance series written by USA Today Bestselling Author Mary E. Twomey. Download now to start this heart-pounding adventure!

    A sinister key whose history changed the course of a world war. A cursed chalice that's gone missing in the city of sin. An Icelandic town with a terrible secret. Join retired detective Virginia Holmes on the adventure of a lifetime as she investigates some of the most hair-raising cases in the history of sleuthing! This complete collection is guaranteed to keep you guessing and enjoy a few laughs along the way! This collection contains: MURDER AT THE FILMORE A murder has occurred at the Filmore Hotel, one of Madison, Wisconsin's most discreet lakeside resorts. It looks cut and dry: a suspect fleeing the scene, a scorned wife, a mythical murder weapon. But then a retired detective by the name of Virginia Holmes arrives. There's more to this mystery than meets the eye ... and the murderer might still be inside the hotel. THE VANISHING SPY A murdered French butler. A missing skeleton key. For retired detective Virginia Holmes, this case should be no problem. But when Holmes and her assistant travel to France to investigate, the sleuths find themselves embroiled in a far deeper mystery that leads all the way back to the French Resistance of World War II. Spies. Nazis. Deception. And a town that may hold a terrible secret. DEADLY ODDS An ancient chalice. A missing man. A mysterious death ... Retired detective Virginia Holmes arrives in Las Vegas and quickly finds herself taking on more than she bargained for! With the help of her plucky assistant, she'll need to uncover the mystery of an ancient artifact if she has any hope of finding an important executive who's gone missing in the Sin City. But the closer they get to the truth, the faster the bodies pile up. And if she's not careful, Holmes will be next! ICED OUT IN ICELAND When a grisly murder occurs in a remote Icelandic town, it's up to Detective Virginia Holmes to fit together the pieces! But with no leads and only a few clues, she'll have to dig deep into the town's history. What she finds is almost as explosive as the volcano threatening to erupt at any moment ...

    In a downward spiral of misfortune, she’s lost everything she holds dear—her parents, her job, her home…even her cat. Falling through the porch of the decrepit sorority house at which she now works is only the icing on the cake. And then she meets Michael, with those deep blue eyes...Determined to start over, Emily throws herself into her new life. While learning the finer points of adulting, such as how to live on a budget and how to get a man that’s not gay, Emily begins to unravel the mystery surrounding her parents’ untimely death—the catalyst of her own misfortune. But as she gets closer, Emily must ask herself if she’s willing to risk her own life, and a new chance at love, to learn the truth. Because sometimes, digging up the past can have deadly consequences.

    The Homecoming Dance is just one night away and she can already feel the weight of the crown upon her head. But when she leaves her home that Friday night, it’s for the very last time. When her body is found in a park the next morning, a whole town is turned upside down and a family is torn apart. Fifteen years later, Olivia still hasn’t moved on from her sister’s murder. Not only does she still see the ghost of her dead sister, she is pursuing a career studying the very monsters that destroyed Rosie and hundreds of other helpless victims. Olivia is desperate to find closure, but a new murder with connections to her past has reopened old wounds. Nate Tucker is a successful Chicago detective. He also happens to be Olivia’s best friend. Nate has been fascinated by the Thompson case since the first time Olivia mentioned her dead sister to him. When a dead girl shows up in the city under circumstances eerily similar to Rosie’s murder, he is quick to make the connection. Now, with stale evidence and fifteen-year-old memories to guide him, Nate has the chance to solve the current murder case, as well as the death of the Homecoming Queen that refuses to stop haunting the people she left behind. Dark and haunting, Ring Around the Rosie is utterly suspenseful and surprising to the end.

    Join Polly Giller, her expanding family, and new friends as they meet murder and mayhem, crises and catastrophes together. Be sure to look for the first two boxed sets to become acquainted with the wonderful small town of Bellingwood, located in the heart of Iowa. Book 7 - Tomorrow's Promises: Polly's friends from Boston have arrived in town to help celebrate her upcoming wedding to Henry. They aren't the only visitors in town. An old friend of her father's asks her to help find his runaway daughter and a serial killer preys on elderly men. This wedding stuff isn't going to be easy. Book 8 - Through the Storm: When Polly's world falls apart, everyone gets involved. Jason Donovan's high school career is off to a lousy start, Jessie Locke's independence is more than she can handle, Sylvie's ex-husband reminds her of her weakest moments, and Rebecca's mother continues to get sicker. If that wasn't enough, Polly is attacked while driving her father's truck and she uncovers the truth about the murder of Henry's Uncle Loren. Book 8.5 - One Perfect Honeymoon: Polly and Henry are finally able to get out of Bellingwood for their honeymoon - a trip on Route 66 to the Grand Canyon and then up to Utah. Of course there is excitement along the way and they return to Bellingwood with Polly's newest rescues. Book 9 - Pages of the Past: Lydia Merritt is at her wit's end. Her sheriff husband, Aaron, has been pulling away. In all the years they've been together, he's never hidden anything from her. Her friends know how to console her - a party. Don't miss that one! Polly knows the murder of a man walking beside her has something to do with Aaron's behavior, but his department won't listen, so Lydia brings in the big guns - Aaron's older sister, Helen Oswald, a force to be reckoned with. Welcome home to Bellingwood.

    

    Literally. Life, for Maxie, has never been the same since. Amelia has rotten taste in clothes, a fondness for single malt scotch, and an annoying penchant for meddling where she’s not wanted. As far as Maxie’s concerned, her fairy godmother’s “assistance” isn’t wanted anywhere, at any time, for any reason whatsoever. Unfortunately for Maxie, when it comes to heeding hints (not to mention demands and outright threats), Amelia has the hide of a rhinoceros—nothing gets through! Maxie is the owner and sole employee of Maxie Peterson Investigations. When she discovers her newest, richest, and (sadly) only client dead on her office floor with her letter opener through his heart, she isn’t surprised to find Amelia’s already on the job—Amelia can always be counted on to be in the middle of things, making them worse. What Maxie isn’t prepared for is the hunky new detective in charge of the case. Ben Trueblood is as hard-nosed as Maxie, and just as determined to find the killer, but he’s got a major advantage—he doesn’t have a fairy godmother making a mess of everything before he even gets started!

    They are full books, not samples or novellas. Book 1: Accidentally Married Madison get swindled into pretending to be Jared's girlfriend for a family dinner. When she finds out he lied to her, she gets him back by telling his family they are engaged. A hilarious rom com with a great cast of characters. Book 2: Reluctantly Married Megan and Adam have knocked heads for some time. When forced to pretend to date on a TV show, real feelings get in the way. And when they say I do, Megan worries her heart will not be able to take it. Book 3: Mistakenly Married Things get a little crazy when Penny accidentally marries the wrong man. Then when he convinces her to stay married just until he gets his inheritance, she agrees. What she didn't expect is for her heart to get involved. Book 4: Blissfully Married Sydney pretends to be engaged to help her matchmaking business succeed. Luckily, she's got a fake ring on her finger when her childhood crush walks in the door. Blake stays at arms length from Sydney until he realizes she's been lying to him. He makes it his mission to get her to admit she's not really engaged. Book 5: Acting Married When Tara agrees to marry Rick Shade as a publicity stunt, she doesn't expect to fall for him. She can't get her heart involved, she needs stability in her life.

    And holiday kisses...the Season of Magic. Wrap yourself in the holiday spirit with five romantic stories filled with fun and forever after.Noel Noel Noel by Merry Holly (Marian Lanouette)Dumped and lonely, is it possible to find love at the local mall? Noelle thinks not, but a chance encounter with Chase Clayborne has her rethinking her rigid set of rules as sparks flare between them. A Cinderella Christmas by Cara Marsi Jessica Gallo no longer believed in fairy tales or happy endings. And she certainly didn’t believe she’d find her Prince Charming at Saks Fifth Avenue. Her Fairy Godmother thought differently. Matchmaker Matchmaker by Bobbi LermanWith Chanukah around the corner, is there enough magic left for a matchmaker to bring a cynical heart back to life. Holiday Disaster by Vicki BatmanThe week before Christmas and all is in disarray when a librarian experiences horrible plumbing issues and a Mr. Maintenance Man who isn’t nearly as jolly as Santa Clause. This Christmas is a disaster. Yuletide Bride by Gerri BrousseauThe Dowager Duchess’s decree that her grandson must marry before Twelfth Night or relinquish his title and fortune sends him into a tail spin. Without any prospects and with only two weeks until Christmas will Stuart Nelson find himself destitute or will he find The Yuletide Bride.

    One Wilde Night Tarot-reading artifact hunter Sara Wilde has had her share of tough assignments, but this one just might take the cake. When her newest client hires her to steal a fertility idol from an Amazonian sex-and-death cult, she finds herself south of the equator and shoulder deep in true believers, while Rio de Janeiro gears up for the closing celebrations of Carnival. Stealing the idol is one thing, however. Keeping it is another.The arcane black market has drawn a host of cutthroat operatives and Sara's now in their sights. In a race across one of the most colorful cities in South America on its most famed night of the year, Sara must navigate cunning enemies, backstabbing allies, a fifty-foot wedding cake float and a new, sensually mysterious contact who may be friend or foe...and whose name she’ll never know if she doesn’t make it to dawn alive. Getting Wilde Using her well-worn Tarot deck, magical-artifacts hunter Sara Wilde can find anything--for a price. And the price had better be right, since she needs to finance her own personal mission to rescue several young psychics recently sold on the paranormal black market. Enter Sara's most mysterious client, the wickedly sexy Magician, with a job that could yield the ultimate payday. All she'll have to do is get behind Vatican walls... and steal the Devil himself. But play with the Devil and you're bound to get burned. From the twisting catacombs of Rome to the neon streets of Vegas, Sara confronts ancient enemies, powerful demigods, a roiling magical underworld about to explode... and immortal passions that might require the ultimate sacrifice. But oh, what a way to go. No matter how the cards play out, things are about to get Wilde. Wilde Card All that glitters may not be gold. When an antique gold show comes to Vegas, artifact-hunter Sara Wilde's job is simple: to locate and liberate a set of relics rumored to give their bearers access to an ancient, incredible power. Yet within the Connected community, whispers of a war against magic draw every psychic, mystic, warlock, and witch to Sin City. The most powerful Connected also covet the infamous relics, but no one wants them more than Sara's client--the insufferably arrogant, criminally sensual, and endlessly evasive Magician. Sara's heist takes a turn for the trickier as the smoky-eyed specter from her past, Detective Brody Rooks, is assigned to investigate a break-in at the gold show, forcing her to confront the one man in Vegas she can't bluff. Worse, as the game changes anew, Sara is forced to turn to the one person she knows will manipulate, obfuscate and beguile to get whatever he craves. Only now, it seems, the Magician wants her. Sometimes, when the deck is stacked against you... you've got to play the Wilde Card. Born To Be Wilde The past has a way of catching up with you.If there's one thing that Tarot-reading magical artifacts hunter Sara Wilde has never been able to track down, it's the truth about her own past. But now a powerful new threat to the psychic community will take Sara back to where it all began: the last job she worked with Officer Brody Rooks as "Psychic Teen Sariah," the job that destroyed her life and sent her on the run. Because the enemy she fled all those years ago has returned... with a posse of demons as his personal entourage.