She's used to being overlooked until the day the circus rolls into their quiet little town of Willow Grove. The crew only has eyes for her while she can't get hers off their boss.Thoryn feels her presence before he sees her. The others have too, especially Ken. Thoryn must move quickly and bind her to him before another claims what was always meant to be his. And his she will be, for eternity.

    Alexander, Shifting Reality, Book 1. Thomas Lyons is your average cat shifter. Cool, seductive…and bored out of his mind. He doesn’t like hiding, and with the new popularity of all things paranormal, he doesn’t see why he should. When his roommate Saint, a half demon technofile, gets him hooked up with his own computer, he has an idea. He starts a weblog called Shifting Reality, announcing to the world who and what he is. Oddly enough, the more he shares, the less he is believed. In fact, people begin thinking it is a new online series with fantastic effects. Margo Anderson prefers not to be noticed, she is no longer the wild young thing she used to be. No more dancing on tables for her. Not after her reckless behavior cost her so much. Her only guilty pleasures are dark chocolate and shoes—and a certain website with a man whose purring voice sends shivers down her spine. She never thought she’d win a trip to spend a week in a haunted Scottish castle with the men of Shifting Reality. Or that her boss at the production office would want her to mix business with pleasure…or else. When Margo and Thomas meet, its love at first scent for the usually fickle Casanova. It’s hard to host the show when his attention is taken up by the luscious handful. And it’s hard for a girl to think about contracts when she’s surrounded by newlywed ghosthunters, a matchmaking demon and a man whose addictive touch makes her head spin. Warning: Tons of explicit sex. A cat shifter with an oral fixation, voyeurism, anal sex, sex in pantries, with ghosts…you get the idea. *Previously published in 2010.

    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.

    though I did leave out some of the original "diary" entries that appeared on an earlier version of the Morganville website, simply because they were just scenes and not stories, and were generally really short snippets. This is all short fiction, and it's been carefully organized into the timeline, so you can read from the earliest adventures (some of which belong to vampires) all the way through some post-Daylighters goodies.MIDNIGHT BITES includes a total of more than 50,000 words of brand new content, which makes me very happy indeed (and I hope will also make you happy, too). From stories featuring our favorite bunny-slipper-wearing mad scientist to a mystery solved by police chief Hannah Moses, I think you'll find this is a diverse group of stories that will shine a little more light in the murkiest corners of Morganville.

    Hartness. Lila Grace Carter is your favorite new detective, you just don’t know it yet. She’s determined, smart, caring, and sassy as the day is long. She also talks to dead people. Of course, as she puts it, “I’m Southern. We all talk to dead people down here. The difference is, they talk back to me.” Lila Grace has lived in Lockhart, S.C. her entire life, and has always been shunned for being different. Discovering her ability to see and talk to ghosts at an early age, she used her ability to help people settle disputes, communicate with lost loved one, and generally make life better in small ways. Until poor dead Jenny Miller showed up on her doorstep. Now Lila Grace has a teenaged ghost following her around, a handsome new sheriff in town, and a murderer in her sleepy southern town. This ain’t Mayberry, kids. Award-winning author and poet John G. Hartness has mined his southern roots for inspiration and color in this supernatural love letter to small-town Southern life. "A modern Southern Gothic with charming characters—living and dead. Hartness expertly blends a sinister, small-town murder with the warmth, humor, and innocence of a cozy mystery. Lila Grace is an entertaining amateur sleuth. Highly recommend." —E.J. Stevens, award-winning author of the Ivy Granger Psychic Detective series "More twists than a tangled ball of twine! Great fun and more Southern than grits." -Charlotte Henley Babb, author of Maven Fairy Godmother

    Dancer Layla Rue Le May's childhood prepared her to handle just about anything, including her aloof partner, Sean McClendon, a three-hundred-year-old redheaded vampire. Even so, when she somehow acquires a stalker, Layla Rue is surprised to find that Sean is the only one she can trust....Originally published in Night's Edge (HQN Books, October 2004)"The Britlingens Go to Hell" is set in the Sookieverse and features the vampires Dahlia and Taffy. Bodyguards Batanya and Clovache, previously introduced in All Together Dead, battle demons, wolfwomen, and two hellhounds guarding some unusual prisoners.Originally published in Must Love Hellhounds (Berkley, September 2009)

    Their arrival sets off a series of events that will transform human/Draconian relations - and eventually, the entire planet. Using state-of-the-art technology, the Draconian mating lottery matches each dragon shifter with his ideal human woman. Sparks fly and tempers flare as the couples work to bridge their interpersonal and inter-species differences. Each alien and his feisty, curvy mate must also grapple with a host of other problems: forbidden dark technologies, anti-Draconian terrorists, hostile alien invasions, devastating attacks, and more. The books win praise from readers for their humour, spice, enticing seven-foot-tall warriors, and otherworldly details. For lovers of shapeshifters, sci-fi romance, and paranormal romance, The Draconians is a feast for the imagination. Alien Commander's Bride (Draconians #1) She’ll do anything to protect her family… even mate with the sexiest alien she ever hated!Lexi Garcia is fed up with Draconians. The dragon shifters have ruined her life! They came to Earth asking human women to sign up for their mating lottery. In exchange, they've offered to share advanced technology with humanity. But someone on their armada is selling other - forbidden - Draconian technology to greedy criminals, and the black market in advanced technology has ensnared Lexi’s family. Her father owes money to a tech-dealing mobster - who wants her sister as payment. To save them both, Lexi has no choice but to join the lottery and submit herself to a Draconian. Sure, the one she’s been matched with is super sweet, seven feet tall, muscular... devastatingly sexy. But she hates him. Doesn't she? Nash Or, Commander of the Draconian Navy, knows Lexi is meant to be his. Her strength and loyalty are as compelling as her sexy curves. He just needs to convince her that not all Draconians are bad. Can Nash put a stop to the underground technology that’s enslaving humans while he woos his sassy bride? Alien Warrior's Mate (Draconians #2) She's looking for a job, not a mate... but fate has other ideas...Loretta Franklin hasn't paid much attention to Draconians, the dragon shifter aliens who've come to Earth looking for human mates. She's been too busy getting her MBA so she can take care of her grandmother and younger siblings.But when she comes to NYC from Alabama for an interview, anti-Draconian terrorists attack the building she's in. They want the dragon shifters to leave forever, and they don't care who they kill.Fortunately for Loretta, Draconian commandos come to the rescue. And their leader, General Mylash Shin, might be intimidating - but he's also the sexiest male, human or alien, she's ever encountered!Mylash is certain the curvy human is his mate, and urges her to take the DNA test to prove it. Loretta finds the seven-foot-tall warrior hard to resist... but she doesn't want to leave her planet and her family. Can the general win his most important campaign ever, and persuade Loretta that he's worth it? Alien Fighter's Woman (Draconians #3) She needs a way off the planet... but she gets a lot more than she bargained for.When Tabby Wilson has to run from her techno-drug-dealing boyfriend, she figures the Draconian mating lottery will be her ticket to safety - and the good life. Then her new mate is forced to take her along on his commando mission, but she soon learns that the dragon shifter alien provides benefits far greater than luxury.Oro Nix can't afford distractions - he's an elite fighter facing a serious human threat. Nonetheless, he quickly succumbs to the lure of his sassy little human mate, her sexy curves, and the roar of his inner dragon.But he and Tabby soon discover that his mission is more complicated than either of them realised - and she's part of it. Alien General's Wife (Draconians #4) He’s her last hope… and she might be his... A devastated woman… When Indigo Robertson learns that her name has come up in the Draconian mating lottery, the timing couldn’t be worse. The benevolent dragon shifter aliens need human women to replenish their DNA… but their ancient enemy, the Mulgor, have followed them to Earth and invaded.The news that she’s been matched with a Draconian warrior comes just after the Mulgor kill Indigo’s entire family. Filled with grief and guilt, she can’t allow herself any happiness. Not even with a seven-foot-tall, sexy as hell dragon shifter! A determined alien… Vlosh Torr can’t afford distractions. The highest-ranking officer in the Draconian military, he is charged with driving the Mulgor invaders from Earth. But he cannot resist the lure of his resilient little wife, her sexy curves, and the roar of his inner dragon. Two crucial battles... Vlosh must fight the Mulgor while he courts a mate who’s fighting her feelings. But when Indigo makes an important discovery, will it mark a turning point in their relationship… and the campaign to protect Earth? Alien Architect's Bride (Draconians #5) She survived the destruction of her world, but can she survive him? A determined woman... Octavia Reynolds is living in a refugee camp in Central Park amidst the ruins of her beloved New York City. She's one of the only people left who understands what the city needs to rebuild, and feels the weight of that responsibility keenly.When she finds out that the Draconians - the dragon shifting aliens who came to Earth six years ago to mate with human women - plan to reconstruct her home in a totally unacceptable way, Octavia is furious. She'll do whatever she can to save what's left of the city - even mate with an alien. A man on a mission... Grand Architect Joss Noro has come to Earth on appointment from the president himself. He expects to construct a typical Draconian colony, not have primitive [or uncultured, or unrefined, or ignorant] humans questioning his plans.Joss rejected love long ago when his first love fell into the mating thrall with another man. When his general tells him he'll be getting a mate, like it or not, it only makes the already-surly dragon even crankier. A change of plans... Octavia joins the Draconian mating lottery as a last-chance gamble, hoping she can persuade the architect to listen to reason. She never expects her mate to be the very man she hates the most.Joss and Octavia butt heads with as much passion as they give each other in the bedroom. But can Joss listen to the words of a backward human female, or will Octavia have to watch her city be destroyed once more?

     Please be our guest as the National Association of the Lycan Brotherhood hosts the seventy-eighth annual Gathering. The biggest event of the social season, the Gathering has become the favorite method of networking among packs and bringing together fated mates. At the Gathering, shifters from across the country show up to show off and to see who's the true leader of the pack. Four stories, three matings, and a homecoming five-hundred years in the making. Come and enjoy tales from the biggest shifter event of the year as wolves from around the country fall in lust, in love, and in fate at the Gathering.

    Zitora resigned from the Sitian Council over two years ago to search for her lost sister, and no one has heard from her since. The letter is probably a trick, but Opal refuses to pass up the opportunity to help her mentor, who may be in genuine trouble. Good thing Opal isn't that easy to fool. With her two soldier friends Nic and Eve providing backup, the three travel to a small town in the Jewelrose Clan. But can they rescue the Master Magician without being caught in the same trap?

    For Tom Dargin, courting an ailing spinster was only one duty in a long life of service to his sire. But after he meets the curious Miss Shaw, will Tom become the seducer or the seduced? Can a love fated to end in tragedy survive a looming grave? In Gaslight Hades, Nathaniel Gordon walks two worlds—that of the living and the dead. Barely human, he's earned the reputation of a Bonekeeper, the scourge of grave robbers. He believes his old life over, until one dreary burial he meets the woman he once loved and almost married. Lenore Kenward stands at her father’s grave, begging the protection of the mysterious guardian, not knowing he is her lost love. Resolved to keep his distance, Nathaniel is forced to abandon his plan and accompany Lenore on a journey into the mouth of Hell where sea meets sky, and the abominations that exist beyond its barrier wait to destroy them.

    . .I’m being haunted.As Gin Blanco, aka the assassin the Spider, I’m used to being haunted by all the bad things I’ve done over the years. I suppose it was only a matter of time before an actual ghost came back to haunt me. But for once, I’m not the bad guy, and I wasn’t the person who sent this ghost—this haint—into the afterlife.But this haint definitely wants something from me, and I can’t help but think that it’s revenge on the person responsible for her untimely demise.Good thing revenge is my specialty, whether it’s among the living or the dead . . .Note: Haints and Hobwebs is an 11,000-word story that takes place after the events of Tangled Threads, book 4 in the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. Haints and Hobwebs first appeared in The Mammoth Book of Ghost Romance in 2012.

    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?

    But once her fiancé learns of her descent into danger—and of the strange, new powers she's discovered—saving her family may come at the high price of her heart.When Lord Benjamin Archer's one chance for redemption is destroyed by corrupt London antiquarian Hector Ellis, he vows to take what Ellis values most—his daughter Miranda. Forced to hide his face behind masks, Archer travels the world hoping to escape the curse that plagues him so that he can finally claim his prize.But once Archer returns home to London, will it be revenge he seeks? Or will the flame-haired beauty ignite new, undeniable desires?

    Banks, Kelley Armstrong, and many more! Horror fiction explores the dark side of human nature, often pushing the limits of violence, graphic gore, and extreme emotions. But with the popularity of shows and movies, such as "The Walking Dead," "True Blood," "Twilight," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," audiences have demonstrated their love for the genre--especially accompanied with a dose of humor to tone down the terror."Blood Lite III: Aftertaste" continues to put the fun back into dark fiction, featuring a wide range of humorous and highly entertaining horror-filled tales. Edited by Horror Writers Association founding member and award-winning author Kevin J. Anderson, the stories vary in tone from wry to downright laugh-out-loud funny. Featuring such well-known horror writers as Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christopher Golden, and many others, this collection of tales is perfect for anyone who enjoys being entertained as much as they love a good scare.Contents:I was a teenage Bigfoot / Jim Butcher --Blood-red greens / Joel A. Sutherland --V plates / Kelley Armstong --Put on a happy face / Christopher Golden --Devil's contract / E.S. Magill --Nine-tenths of the law / Eric James Stone --Scrumptious bone bread / Jeff Strand --Let that be a lesson to you / Mark Onspaugh --Mint in box / Mike Baron --Great zombie invasion of 1979 / J.G. Faherty --Dating after the apocalypse / Stephen Dorato --Typecast / Jeff Ryan --Making the cut / Mike Resnick, Lezli Robyn --Acknowledgments / Will Ludwigsen --Mannequin / Heather Graham --Short term / Daniel Pyle --Distressed travelers / Nina Kiriki Hoffman --Bayou brawl / L.A. Banks --Steeple people / John Alfred Taylor --For sale / David Sakmyster --Man who could not be bothered to die / Norman Prentiss --Last demon / Don D'Ammassa --Misadventure to call your own / Adrian Ludens --Smoke and mirrorballs / Chris Abbey --Brians!!! / D.L. Snell --Still life / Ken Lilli-Paetz --Day in the life / Sherrilyn

    Butcher.The guilt that Defender Dakota Kacey feels about her brother’s death is all-consuming, making her determined to find and kill the demon who murdered him. But the leader of the Defenders is worried about what Dakota is capable of, and calls in Liam Lann to keep an eye on her.Dakota knows what kind of power a Theronai like Liam possesses, and agrees to bind herself to him if he’ll help her exact vengeance. But a bond to a Theronai is not a decision to make lightly, and as the search for the killer intensifies, Dakota will have to learn to trust Liam completely, or risk losing everything.Includes a teaser chapter from the newest Sentinel Wars novel, Dying Wish.