history: the internment of Japanese-Americans during WW II. In 1941, 18-year-old Hiroko Takashimaya, the beautiful, painfully shy daughter of a modern-thinking professor and a tradition-bound mother, is sent from her home in Kyoto to live in California with her American cousins and attend a prestigious women's college. Terribly homesick yet determined to make her parents proud, dutiful Hiroko begins to adjust to her new life and even does the unthinkable when she falls in love with Peter Jenkins, a handsome American professor. The joys of Peter's love painfully contrast with the humiliation Hiroko suffers at the hands of her racially prejudiced school mates, but worse is to come when war breaks out and Hiroko and her cousins are sent to segregated camps. Separated from Peter, now a soldier fighting in Europe, Hiroko sheds her sheltered, girlhood innocence and evolves into a strong, independent woman. Steel's slapdash prose and stereotypical characterization produce a formulaic tale, albeit more earnest and didactic than her usual fare, but she does succeed in telling a poignant story.

    Melody Tarleton is driving home for Christmas when a man--clad in Revolutionary War-era costume--appears out of nowhere, right in the path of her car. Shaken, she takes in the injured stranger, listening with concern to Jake Mallory's fantastic claim that he's a Patriot soldier, sentenced to death by British authorities. The last thing he remembers is the tug of the noose.Safe at her parents' house, Melody concocts a story to explain the handsome holiday guest with the courtly manners, strange clothes and nasty bump on the head. Mark, her close friend who wishes he were more, is skeptical and her family is fascinated--though not half so fascinated as Melody herself. Jake is passionate, charming and utterly unlike anyone she's ever met. Can he really be who he claims? And can a man from the distant past be the future she truly longs for?With the aid of enchanted petals, ancient potions and the peculiar magic of the season, Melody and Jake embark on an unimaginable Christmas adventure--and discover a love that transcends time.

     "Possession in Death" / J.D. Robb: Lieutenant Eve Dallas has always sought justice for the dead, but now, a victim will seek her own vengeance-through Eve. "The Other Side of the Coin" / Mary Blayney: An earl and his countess struggle to understand one another, until they spend a day in each other's shoes-and bodies. "The Dancing Ghost" / Patricia Gaffney: To prove her ancestral home is haunted, a woman hires a spirit investigator, but they end up debunking the mystery of love. "Almost Heaven" / Ruth Ryan Langan: A couple who dies in a car accident struggler to stay in their daughter's life to save her from the wrong man. "Never Too Late to Love" / Mary Kay McComas: A practical woman is faced with the most impractical ghosts, who can't rest in peace until they find what they have lost.

    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.

     Romance and fantasy collide in these enchanting stories featuring dragons-and love-in all their many forms. Four of today's most popular authors bring to life mythical creatures, otherworlds of yesterday and today, and the passionate melding of hearts. From a virgin princess's first love to a shape-changing samurai bridegroom, from a young widow and her sexy handyman's secret project to a knight and his distressed damsel, the courage, beauty, and strength of dragons inspire the most unforgettable stories ever told.

    But is he mortal? Or is he an ancient god, a sorcerer, or a mythical beast who can possess a woman's heart...and her very soul?Four of romance's most popular authors have created this spellbinding collection of stores filled with dark passion and desire. Under the cover of darkness, their heroes inhabit worlds haunted by ageless hungers and deadly forces stronger than any seen by day...and vanquished only by the power of love.Now travel into realms where dazzling wonders roam the night, where magic replaces reason, and where a kiss unleashes a raging fire in the blood. And here, if you dare, discover the seduction that begins at the bewitching hour when a man and woman partake in...Midnight Pleasures.Darkfest by Amanda AshleyThe price of saving her dying mother is Channa's promise to spend a year at the castle of tormented nobleman, Lord Darkfest...to obey him as his servant or, as his secrets are revealed, to become his salvation. And her own.Phantom Lover by Sherrilyn KenyonHaunted by recurring nightmares of terrifying beasts, Erin McDaniels is afraid to sleep-until a hero arrives in her dreams to save her...and makes erotic, incredible love to her. But can she find him again when she is awake?NOTE: This story has been re-released in the Dark Bites anthologyUnder Her Spell by Maggie ShayneA consultant for a TV series about one gorgeous witch, "white witch" Melissa St. Cloud plans to make the show authentic. But once on the set she is pulled into the arms of a man who opens up a doorway to the darkside and chilling peril.A Wulf's Curse by Ronda ThompsonRunning away from an arranged marriage, Elise steals aboard a wagon in a traveling circus and finds herself in the bed of the Beast Master, Sterling Wulf, who is something other than he seems...and suddenly all Elise desires.

    Renowned Indian affairs lawyer Dillon Wolf wants to shut the project down. But when Ryan is given an old tribal tipi, she journeys to the past -- where the tension between her and a Lakota warrior named Wolf erupts...into passion.

    Venture into a world beyond the ordinary, where the dark passions and voracious appetites of vampires, werewolves, demons, and a few undaunted mortals combine to unleash a potent spell.

    The prints vanish with the melting snow…only to reappear seventy years later near the gruesome killing of Rachel DeLaune.Years after her sister's unsolved murder, New Orleans tattoo artist Sarah DeLaune is haunted by the mysteries of her past. Sarah has always believed that her sister was killed by a man named Ashe Cain. But no one else had ever seen Ashe. He had "appeared" to Sarah when she needed a friend the most, only to vanish on the night of her sister's murder. The past bleeds into the present when two mutilated bodies are found near Sarah's home, the crime scene desecrated by cloven footprints.

    It can also be an exchange, a betrayal, an assault, a promise, a hope...or it could be a goodbye. The intimacy of a kiss cannot be denied. Whether shared, stolen or simply dreamed of, its recipient will be affected. Thirty-one stories by authors from around the world will tease your imagination as you anticipate ‘The Kiss’ in each weird or wonderful tale. This cross-genre anthology contains stories by Kate Aaron, Saxon Andrew, Jacques Antoine, Alison Blake, E. B. Boggs, Shirley Bourget, Ben Cassidy, Jason Deas, Sharon Delarose, Meghan Ciana Doidge, Suzy Stewart Dubot, Corrie Fischer, Brandon Hale, Traci Tyne Hilton, Colleen Hoover, Mona Ingram, J. L. Jarvis, Elizabeth Jasper, Anna J. McIntyre, Jess Mountifield, C. A. Newsome, S. Patrick O'Connell, Suzie O'Connell, Jeanette Raleigh, J. R. C. Salter, Molly Snow, Holli Marie Spaulding, Cleve Sylcox, Robert Thomas, Chris Ward and George Wier. 130,000 words

    When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing-not the tragic car accident that put her there, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply "B", asking her to leave her husband. Years later, in 2003, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper's archives. She becomes obsessed by the story and hopeful that it can resurrect her faltering career. Perhaps if these lovers had a happy ending she will find one to her own complicated love life, too. Ellie's search will rewrite history and help her see the truth about her own modern romance. A spellbinding, intoxicating love story with a knockout ending, The Last Letter from Your Lover will appeal to the readers who have made One Day and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society bestsellers.

    Add sexy treats and satin sheets...then turn on the heat. VONNA HARPER Virgin Afternoon It's been a long time since Lara had a man in her garage, but as her late husband Spence's best friend, Bryan, checks out her truck, she can't help but notice he still has that tan, athletic build from college. If she could only get her hands on his body. She needs to move on from Spence's death -- into Bryan's powerful arms, or at least into his pants. When she invites him in for a beer, she doesn't plan to let him leave -- not that he wants to. Sex with conservative Spence left a lot to the imagination, but her naughty afternoon with Bryan is one she'll never forget. LENA MATHEWS Stud Muffin Wanted According to a magazine quiz, Karon is a Little Miss Goody Two-shoes. So what if she can only check off five "bad-girl" behaviors? Her friend Jacque convinces her to make her own sexy wish list. Mmm...#22, with a side of #9...and a whole lot of #1. Now all she needs is a stud. Hunky Tristan has his own list -- and Karon's at the top. When he overhears her conversation, he wants to wrap his muscular arms around her luscious curves and slide his thick...well, now he just needs to convince her he's the man for the job. But when he does, they conquer every steamy move she desired...and add a few naughty tricks of their own. RUTH D. KERCE Virgin Seeks Bad-Ass Boy Alice has been watching bad boy Caleb since he moved in. Tall, built, and irresistibly confident, he's perfect...for taking her virginity. One peek at him pounding away at a buxom blonde sprawled across his motorcycle, and Alice has been fantasizing -- her skirt flipped up, him taking her rough and hard from behind. So she marches right across the street and asks him. He refuses at first, but he's too impressed by her gutsiness, and too aroused by the idea of kissing her pouty lips and feeling her soft naked body writhing underneath him. If she wants passion, he'll give it to her...and much, much more.

    Now, desperate for another chance to love her, he wants redemption for the mistake that cost her life.She’s haunted by dreams of her own death…After catching her fiance with another woman, Kate Bradley returns to San Diego to clear her head. The last thing she needs is romance, but after meeting Calisto she’s drawn to him in ways she doesn’t understand.They’ve waited in the shadows for centuries…Calisto has no doubt Kate is the reincarnation of his lost love, but the Fraternidad Del Fuego Santo has a new watcher with dark ambitions of his own. As old enemies reemerge and a new threat arises, the betrayal that enslaved Calisto to the night might destroy the only woman he’s ever loved again.

    . .Prepare to meet four heroes as captivating as the Highlands. A dashing laird with an appetite for more than a Scottish beauty's culinary skills. . . a proud lord on a journey of rescue and desire. . . a sensual warrior at the center of one woman's dreams. . . and a handsome but somber Scot whose joy is reawakened by true love. These passionate romances will thrill you, seduce you, and warm your heart. . .Praise for Hannah Howell and her Highland novels. . ."Few authors portray the Scottish highlands as lovingly or colorfully as Hannah Howell." --Publishers Weekly "Expert storyteller Howell pens another Highland winner." --Romantic Times

    Thirsting for vengeance against the enemy who made him something less than human, Sam returns to England and crosses paths with Cassandra Fielding. His best friend’s little sister has become a fearless woman on a dangerous mission of her own. And against all odds, she sees past what he’s become, and stirs a desire he thought he’d lost forever…“Simon Says” by Bianca D’ArcSpecial Forces soldier Simon Blackwell ended his affair with Mariana Daniels three years ago, but he hasn’t stopped protecting her. Mariana has no knowledge of the dark, deadly creatures that lurk in the forest surrounding her clinic, or of the mysterious powers that make Simon the only one who can defeat them. But soon he’ll have no choice but to reveal the truth, and urge her to trust in an explosive passion that never faded…