I am a beast. A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster. You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell. Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

London, 1820 Miss Meagan Tavistock doesn’t believe the talisman her friend purchases from a so-called witch is truly a love spell—that is, until the love spell backfires, catching her in it with the handsome, ruthless Grand Duke Alexander, ambassador to England from the far-off kingdom of Nvengaria. The last thing Alexander needs is to be swept into a wild love-spelled frenzy with an innocent miss. He has problems of his own—memory losses, strange and terrible dreams, and a shape-shifting logosh called Myn following him around. Alexander is honorable enough to ensure Meagan is not ruined by their love-spell induced encounter. He thinks to marry her, conquer his seeming madness, and carry on with his task of intimidating King George of England for the good of his beloved Nvengaria. What he doesn’t figure into the equation is Meagan—a very determined and lovely young woman who seeps into his every thought. Meagan is resolved to have a real marriage and a real family, and to see that Alexander does too. She will ensure Alexander takes up his duties as her husband and father to his nine-year-old son, even if she has to resort to some very Nvengarian intrigue to accomplish it. Alexander admires her resilience, but the secret he harbors about himself and his past is sure to endanger her and his son, two people he swears to protect and love even at the cost of his own happiness and quite probably his life. Welcome back to Nvengaria, a land of intense beauty and wild magic, where shape-shifters are real and fairy tales might just come true. Each Nvengarian story is based loosely on a well-known fairy tale: Penelope and Prince Charming—Cinderella The Mad, Bad Duke—Beauty and the Beast Highlander Ever After—Snow White and the Seven Highlanders The Longest Night—Little Red Riding Hood (and the Big, Bad Wolf)

Emily's uniquely strange homeschool syllabus includes: Time Travel 101 Advanced Spy Photography Bonnet Basics Great Aunts Through the Ages Intro to Germ Theory Care and Feeding of 'Squito Fish Fundamentals of Black Rock Spiderweb Embroidery Historical & Contemporary Felines Pop Quizzes Foodstuffs of the 1780s Thwarting Ancestral Enemies Techniques in Parallel

The undead of Rome race to unravel an ancient mystery--and only one woman can stop them... As Rome prepares for its Carnivale, the new leader of the city's vampire hunters--Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy--must prove herself as never before. For, in order to gain access to the secrets of a legendary alchemist, Rome's vampires have allied themselves with creatures as evil and bloodthirsty as they are. Reluctantly, Victoria must turn to the enigmatic Sebastian Vioget for help--just as Max Pesaro arrives to help his fellow slayers, no matter what the cost. Desire puts Victoria at the mercy of Sebastian, while loyalty binds her to Max...but can she trust either man? Especially when a seductive vampire begins luring her into the shadows... Praise for the Gardella Vampire Hunters "Gleason is really on a roll!" --Publishers Weekly "Gleason keeps upping the ante with each novel, weaving the characters around her readers with each engaging conversation and narrative, every stage set of all the appropriate gothic gloom and melting beauty. --Book Fetish “Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Jane Austen.” —The Book Standard

Three comrades from a reconnaissance space ship go against orders and end up crashing their rover on Planet Argel. Their little jaunt thrusts them into life changing experiences. The three face death by the planet’s royal government and reassessment of their own values. They must make the decision to stay or return to ship. However, it may not be their call.Strange sounds emanating from the swamp startled Jack during the night. Alone in the house, he wondered what was outside. Would he determine what was tormenting him before it was too late?A short story with about 2300 words.

“Being a werewolf is harder than it looks. Everyone thinks it’s just morph at the full moon, kill, morph back. That’s not true. It’s a lot harder than that. Especially if you are seventeen years old.”“Being a werewolf is harder than it looks. Everyone thinks it’s just morph at the full moon, kill, morph back. That’s not true. It’s a lot harder than that. Especially if you are seventeen years old.”Willow has the worst luck. First she has to deal with her narcissistic foster mother, Bella; then of course there’s her horrid little sister Ivy; not to mention the pack of werewolves that belong to Bella. Now, they have to move and start a new school - again.Just when Willow thinks things can’t get any worse, Blake shows up from a council she never knew existed to name her leader of a pack she never knew existed. How was she supposed to teach a bunch of teenagers how to be wolves when she herself hated everything about her life?

Curiosity gets the better of Craig West when he hears a metallic 'bang' from the abandoned foundry. His attention is drawn to a figure at the window and he makes the decision to investigate.INSIDE — 2012’s SEXIEST WOMAN ALIVE: VENICE’s Nadia Bjorlin! Exclusive Interview: Why She Turned Down DAYS; Her New CSI Role; VENICE Sex Scene Secrets; And Mama Fary! Source: ABC Refused To Pay For AMC’s WGA Table! More Chaos Behind The Scenes at GH? Also: Are GH’s Jason and Franco Twins? Spoiler: Is Robin Really Dead? DAYS: Will Kisses a Boy; Ejami Exposed! Plus: Will John and Hope Kiss? Why Did Andrea Evans Not Submit Herself For Emmy Consideration? Exclusive: Pre, Pre-Noms Revealed — Plus, Supporting Actress and Lead Actor Emmy Reel Deets! Lauralee Bell’s Prime-Time Gig! GH’s Jenn Lilley Staying On! Bren Foster Out At DAYS! Exclusive Interview: Cameron Mathison Hosts Oscar Special! DAYS Casts Celeste’s Son! Brittany Underwood’s New Soap Role! GH Stars Mourns Wife’s Death! Plus: Last Week's Reviews, Unbelievable Blind Items, and Next Week's Cheat Sheet!

Connor Matthews was born with powers that human beings can only dream of, and he could care less. All he wants is to be with his wife, who yearns for a quiet life, and his son, who wants nothing more than to train his dad for the superhero he will one day become. And that day has just arrived.Connor Matthews was born with powers that human beings can only dream of, and he could care less. All he wants is to be with his wife, who yearns for a quiet life, and his son, who wants nothing more than to train his dad for the superhero he will one day become. And that day has arrived. When a villain comes to his doorstep, demanding his allegiance, he must embrace the powers he has been given, and ultimately become the Champion of the world.

Dmitri Kovtun's life was never easy. Once his destiny was revealed then it became a horror. As a mere boy Fate overstepped boundaries not meant to be broken and set Dmitri's life into a flux that he very nearly did not recover from.But Dmitri is far from ordinary. Far from it.In the Meandering Line Dmitri Kovtun was a man on his last legs. As a wolfen, a werewolf, he had been taken as a slave by the evil vampire Blago. Beaten and whipped into submission Dmitri had suffered for nearly three decades beneath the iron talons of this demon nightwalker.Then an outsider came to his aid. Von Trapp, a man who had once been in a similar state of anguish, freed the beleaguered Russian by slaying his cruel master. But what put the brow beaten, alcoholic and depression riddled Dmitri onto this horrible path in the first place?In this companion piece set long before the Meandering Line, the story of where Dmitri began and the choices thrust upon him become clear. Just what tragedies lie in the wolfen’s past that would send him down dark pathways to this terrible future? And what part does Fate itself play in the unfolding life of a wolf who would be King?

The Boggart is back for a new adventure of magic and mayhem from Newbery winner Susan Cooper. Magic is in the air when Allie and Jay Cameron visit their ancestors’ ancient Castle Keep in Scotland, tucked in its unspoiled loch. The twins wake the mischievous shape-shifting Boggart and his infamous cousin Nessie, of Loch Ness fame. But a summer of fun-loving trickery with the Old Things is invaded by a dangerous real estate developer called William Trout. Trout has big plans for a luxury resort on the loch, and little care for its people or the law. Bulldozers get to work. The future of the loch, its seals, and all its beauty are threatened. The twins and Angus Cameron, their grandfather, mobilize to save his shop and the loch, but it’s soon clear they will need help of a different sort… In a race against time, the Boggarts recruit help from other Old Things of Scotland: hair-raising creatures of the Wild Magic. But are the Blue Men of the Minch and the Nuckelavee too terrifying for humans to handle? How can they drive out the invader? What’s certain is that Mr. Trout is in for a wild ride in this comical, page-turning adventure from Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper.

From the New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2 and Horns comes this award-winning collection of short fiction. Imogene is young, beautiful . . . and dead, waiting in the Rosebud Theater one afternoon in 1945. . . . Francis was human once, but now he's an eight-foot-tall locust, and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing. . . . John is locked in a basement stained with the blood of half a dozen murdered children, and an antique telephone, long since disconnected, rings at night with calls from the dead. . . . Nolan knows but can never tell what really happened in the summer of '77, when his idiot savant younger brother built a vast cardboard fort with secret doors leading into other worlds. . . . The past isn't dead. It isn't even past. . . .

She expected to die saving her world… Magna’s existence was once filled with laughter, love and joy. Her life changes in a single night when a mysterious object falls from the sky into the ocean and she wakes to find herself held captive in her own body. As the centuries pass, she becomes known as the Sea Witch—a creature who is feared and reviled. Her efforts to save the Seven Kingdoms and destroy the alien creature living inside her should have ended both their lives—instead, Magna wakes to find herself in a strange, new realm. Gabe Lightfoot and his best friend, Kane Field, have stood side by side through thick and thin. Brothers by circumstance, they have seen the darker side of life and lived to remember it. When Gabe rescues a wounded woman in the waters off the coast of Oregon, they have no idea what’s in store for them. It doesn’t take long for Magna to learn that she is no safer in this new world than she was in her own. Fearful of endangering the two men who have taken her under their wing, Magna is torn between trying to return to her world or staying in this one. The choice may be decided for her when strangers come to town searching for clues regarding a series of strange disappearances. Can Gabe and Kane protect her from those who would lock her up to study her, or will the curse of the Sea Witch destroy them as well?

Terrified, a young Navaron child watches helplessly from his hiding place as a young Shinili woman is brutally beaten and abused by a group of drunken Navaron men. Too frightened to answer her pleas for help, the child runs away, taking with him the sacred bone carving of the Shinili people. In doing so, he forever binds himself and his fate to them. Gabriel is no ordinary boy. His life is now marked out for greatness by powers beyond his understanding...He's never wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a wealthy, sea-faring merchant, celebrated by all in the ancient empire of Navora - but cold and distant to his family. Haunted by a terrible childhood secret Gabriel spurns family tradition and duties as the eldest son, to pursue a life of helping others. Derived from a deep sense of guilt and strange mysterious visions Gabriel knows that he is destined to become a healer, with the power to decipher dreams, no matter what his overbearing family argues. But against his will, Gabriel finds himself caught up in the power struggles of a corrupt Empire, endangering all that he loves. His decision to hold true to his destiny is one that will cost him dearly, and one that threatens to tear apart the entire Navoran Empire - but which might just end up saving an entire people.

A novel of loss, identity, and, in the strangest of places, hope. Max Trader is a luthier, a maker of guitars. Johnny Devlin is chronically unemployed. Max is solitary, quiet, responsible. Johnny is a lady-killer, a drunk, a charming loser. When they inexplicably wake up in each other's bodies, Johnny gleefully moves into Max's comfortable and stable existence, leaving Max to pick up the pieces of a life he had no part in breaking. Penniless, friendless, homeless, Max begins a journey that will take him beyond the streets of the city to an otherworld of dreams and spirits, where he must confront both the unscrupulous Johnny Devlin and his own deepest fears.

What would you do if you were born to be a predator? Would you fight your natural instincts or give in to your nature? Eden is a soul eater closing in on her awakening. Her family has convinced her that soon she will have to take a life in order to save her own. It’s a decision Eden doesn’t want to deal with even as her hunger for souls grows stronger every day. To complicate her impossible position, new guy in school Noah Valois’ determination to befriend her puts Eden in touch with a humanity she’s never known. Addicted to his company, his friendship and affection, she becomes more and more terrified that giving into her hunger will mean losing him forever… … But when she discovers that Noah is not what he seems, his betrayal forces her to face two choices. One will offer her revenge and the destruction of a boy she loved. The other may offer her a life of eternal redemption…