From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes this e-short prequel to her upcoming novel, The Bridge, shedding light on the love story behind the bookstore and how it came to be a place of hope and encouragement.

    Fun, flirty, sweet and sassy - always with the perfect happy ending.Each story is 8,000 to 11,000 words in length (approximately 32-44 typical book pages in length. 53,000 words total, or 210 typical book pages.)The stories include:"The Hot Girl's Friend"How can a plain Jane find love when her best friend is a curvy blonde man magnet?Jane usually busies herself during a night on the town, fending off the men lusting after her gorgeous friend Miranda. When Brady the bartender overhears her inspired, ludicrous excuses, he resolves to hook up Jane with his friends. But Jane would be quite happy with him. Pine along as Jane tries to find her own happily ever after."Wrong Place, Right Guy"She's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can the guy who saves her be Mr. Right? Or will his past keep them apart?When Kristen is jumped in a parking lot, Tony jumps in to save the day. While she thinks her hero could also be her heartthrob, Tony's worried his past is reason to stay apart. Will the good guy get the girl in the end?"Not You"One night with a stranger - gets even stranger the next day.Single, lonely Carly thinks the best way to handle her mother's third wedding is by throwing her own bachelorette-party-for-one the night before. What's the harm in her first one-night stand ever? She'll find out the next day."Desperately Seeking Cupid"Does she finally have the key for finding love?Brianna has tried everything to find love - with no luck. So she's turning to feng shui to bring romance to her world. Too bad the guy she's after thinks its bunk. Will her formula for love work - or blow up in her face?"Never Been Dumped"It's a relationship with an expiration date and it's going to go bad.Rachel hates breaking hearts. She's never been dumped, and she's tired of being the one to walk away. But a handsome stranger in town for the summer promises he'll dump her after their summer fling. Will they be able to say goodbye?Flirts! Five Romantic Short Stories to make you smile and swoon. Look for Beach Flirts! 5 Romantic Short Stories due out in late summer 2011.

    Even if it means breaking down all the carefully placed defenses she’s built around her heart…Logan Grant needs to make good. After accidentally ruining his best friend’s career, he tries to make up for what he’s done in the only way this prideful family will accept. The only trouble? He never accounted for how he’d be affected by his best friend’s suddenly sexy sister…Search Terms: different worlds, deal, bargain, baseball, sports romance, sexy, romantic comedy, best friend's sister, older brother's best friend, unrequited love, reunited lovers

    There’s only ever been one guy for her—Jake Conroy, her best friend’s older brother. Now that Jake’s back in town, she’s headed to his sister’s New Year’s Eve party to make her move. Purse full of condoms? Check. Sparkly dress guaranteed to show Jake the sexy woman she’s become? Check. Carjacker that makes off with both two hours before the party? Check. When Jake finds Noelle stranded on the side of the road—looking sexier than ever in her striped socks and silly holiday shirt, damn it—he’s glad for the snowstorm that cancels his sister’s party. His and Noelle’s friendship has tormented him for years, and now, Jake wonders if he should dare to sample what he’s always wanted…and if he’ll be able to walk away when it’s over.

    . .Ellen’s figured out that finding the right guy is all about compatibility. That’s why she signs up for Detailed Dating—the local online dating scene in Sacramento. They ask men the hard questions, compare their answers with hers, then she filters through the profiles of each provided “match.” After numerous email exchanges, she narrows it down to two promising candidates she’s excited to meet in person. When Ellen’s best friend asks her for a favor, dog-sitting leads to disaster and Ellen ends up at the local vet where she meets a man she can’t get out of her mind. Henry isn’t a logical choice, but she finds herself paying for dog obedience class to spend more time with him. Ellen knows that in order to have a lasting relationship, she should take the safe route and go for one of the pre-screened guys. But, how can she think with her head when her heart keeps begging her to give Henry a chance?

    As the snow keeps falling, and a friendly game of truth or dare gets way out of control, Daniel discovers that the one girl he wants more than anything is the last person he expected.But when the snow melts, will their night together be more than just a memory? And will they make it to Beachwood Bay in time for the wedding? Anything can happen this holiday season!Fall in love with the latest installment of the internationally bestselling Beachwood Bay series by Melody Grace.

    He's juggling the family farm and a second job, his kids are a crazy handful and every time he gets close to his wife, she snaps at him. Their relationship started with a sizzling physical connection, and he needs to find a way to leverage that into reconnecting on a deeper level.Their marriage wasn't chosen for love...Carrie knows she's being too hard on her husband, but eight years ago she had a one-night stand that turned into a lifetime of diapers and dinners. She can't shake the feeling that she wants more, or the fear that her husband won't understand.But they still chose each other...time and again

    Before she knows it, she's confessed that she's never had an orgasm with a man.Now Bailey has to navigate sappy couples at work, while her friends are hell-bent on helping her get revenge on evil Craig...by dressing up as werewolves, on YouTube.And one of those friends - the tall, shy-but-gorgeous Linc - might just want to help Bailey with that other little problem...

    Tara shows him a raw passion and honesty he’s never encountered. For the first time, Rick wants more than one night, but he needs to catch her first... Tara Denton escaped a brutal past and needs one night with a stranger to get beyond her sexual and emotional limitations. On the brink of recovering her strength and independence, she wants nothing to do with a relationship. But Rick Steele does more than rock her body…he rocks her heart. Tara has to make a choice, but is she ready to get caught? What’s your secret desire for one perfect night? Welcome to the mysterious FANTA-C agency where everything, and anything goes…

    He could please them better than anyone else.Now he has only one woman to please.He knows what to do with her body. He wants her, needs her, takes her--until she can't take any more.But what they have is so much more than bodies moving together. He loves her, loves her, loves her.He still doesn't always know how.Breaking is an erotic novella (21,000 words) that can be read as a standalone, although it features characters from Escorted.

    

    A nervous sorority girl. A mean-spirited fraternity prank. What could possibly go wrong?As a sorority pledge, there are commandments that Katie Vickery must live by. One: thou shalt not show up for the party without a date. Two: the guy shall be an athlete, preferably an upperclassman.Unfortunately, Katie just broke up with her jerkface football player boyfriend. Even worse, her last encounter with him resulted in utter humiliation. She’d rather hide under the bed than attend a party where he'll be.Yet staying home would mean letting him win.Enjoying herself tonight was out of the question. She could only hope to get through the evening without her blind date noticing that he was spending the evening with a crazy person.Andrew Baschnagel is living proof that nice guys don’t finish first. He’s had his eye on Katie since the moment her long legs waltzed into his art history class. So when her roommate sets Andy up to be Katie’s date, he’d be crazy to say no. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a lot of practice with either girls or parties. Yet.BLONDE DATE is a 23,000 word novella covering a four hour span of Katie & Andy's night. ALSO INCLUDED: a sneak preview of the third novel in the Ivy Years series, THE UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR.

    Something new…? When Chloe Cassidy is jilted at the altar it’s all her nightmares rolled into one. Her mother is convinced she’s the victim of the family curse. Her sister believes she just hasn’t found The One yet. But Chloe’s not listening; she’s too busy taking her humiliation out on the infuriating best man, Vaughn Brooks. Three months later, Something Borrowed—her wedding planning business— is failing. In a last ditch attempt to save it, Chloe is forced to swallow her pride, and work with the enemy: too-hot for his own good, award-winning chef Vaughn. She soon realizes the sparks flying between them are nothing to do with their dubious past, but from something else altogether… This fun perfect summer read features one sizzling chef, a meddling family and a wedding planner who's given up on love.

    . . that doctor could sit by my bedside if I ever got sick. And Ned Blydon in Splendid by Julia Quinn . . . he makes me want to learn to waltz! I never thought living in a drafty castle would be much fun until Simon of Ravenswood in Master of Desire by Kinley MacGregor came along.Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that these are my men—when do they get their stories?Sincerely,A Romance Fan___________________________________ Against All Odds by Lisa KleypasWhen eminently sensible Lydia Craven decides to marry for security rather than love, she doesn't calculate on the determination of devil-may-care doctor Jake Linley to rewrite the romantic formula. A Tale of Two Sisters by Julia QuinnDashing Ned Blydon is in a most unenviable predicament—he's engaged to one Thornton sister, while being secretly in love with the other. Midsummer's Knight by Kinley MacGregorWhen Simon of Ravenswood secretly answered Lady Kenna's letters in the name of a powerful earl, he was only being polite. Little did he know the lady would fall in love with the author and come between him, his best friend, and a solemn vow made long ago.

    But time is money, and when the owner of a farm refuses to sell the land crucial to making his latest project a success, he’ll do what it takes to convince the sultry, stubborn woman to sign on the dotted line. Kayla Phillips is holding on by a thread, on the verge of losing the farm she inherited from her grandfather. It’s only a matter of time before she’s forced into foreclosure, but there’s no way she’s selling to Falco. His good looks and sex appeal might work on some women—okay, it works on her too—but she’s not about to sell to a man intent on bulldozing her family’s legacy. A war of words turns into a wager—and Kayla’s only chance to save the farm. All she has to do is prove to the billionaire that he can’t handle two weeks of living the life of a farmer. She never expected the burning desire she feels whenever Mason’s around. But are his feelings for her genuine, or just a ploy to get what he wants? With her heart and the family business on the line, will she risk it all for love?