Calli is cursed by her beauty. Though she knows it's cruel, Calli agrees to accompany her friends to Monster House where it is rumored the beast howls at the moon each sunset. When she hears him for the first time, her heart is wrenched by the anguish she hears in the sound. Facing trespassing charges for her folly, Calli is forced to move into Monster House where she is to befriend the beast. Using the bribery offered by his father to gain some desperately needed money for her father, Calli accepts his terms. Horrified but trapped by her circumstance, Calli steps inside the doors of the great house to face the unknown. Alex is cursed by his beastliness. Alex believes Calli has bribed her way into his home in order to get a look at the beast of Monster House, and is determined to hate her. He isn't prepared as she batters down the hard walls of his soul with her kindness and humor. Alex allows Calli into his inner sanctum, sharing with her the most private parts of his heart. But when he finds out the truth, will her love be enough to convince him of her true feelings, or will she lose him forever? Note From the Author: Beautiful Beast is the first short story for Enchanted Fairytales, an anthology of modern day fairytales told as if the original fairytale does not exist. Beautiful Beast is the contemporary story of Beauty and the Beast. I have long been fascinated by fairytales, and have wanted to write re-tellings of some of my favorites. So, I decided to do something about it. New short stories in the Enchanted Fairytales will be released approximately bi-monthly (every two months) in eBook format if all goes according to plan. When all the fairytales are completed, they will then be compiled into a single anthology and will be available as both eBooks and in printed form. I consider them the lead up to my full length Rapunzel novel to be released by Sweetwater Books in February 2013. I hope you enjoy them!

Mother, wife, private investigator. . . vampire. Six years ago federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and mother, your typical soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happens, an attack that changes her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire. Now in MOON CHILD, sequel to AMERICAN VAMPIRE, private investigator Samantha Moon is faced with an impossible decision—a decision that no mother should ever have to make. A decision that will change her life, and those she loves, forever. And through it all, Sam finds herself in a lethal game of vampire vs. vampire as a powerful—and desperate—enemy will stop at nothing to claim what he most desires.

Paul is a monk, which is better than a warrior on the planet Tarot, where religions are wielded like swords.

A disappearing watch. A thief in the night. Whispers around every corner... Then a mist rolls into town and refuses to dissipate. Alva Viola Taverner has lived in her small town all of her life, working as a car tech while saving for her little sister to go to university. But everything is about to change as the veil between our world and the world of the faeries weakens and falls.A disappearing watch. A thief in the night. Whispers around every corner... Then a mist rolls into town and refuses to dissipate. Alva Viola Taverner has lived in her small town all of her life, working as a car tech while saving for her little sister to go to university. But everything is about to change as the veil between our world and the world of the faeries weakens and falls. Suddenly, even the smallest bump in the night can prove the deadliest. **This is the first installment of a serialized novelWHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:"The first great serialized novel of 2015" - Black Gate Magazine "Nigh’s first installment bodes simultaneously fantastic and terrifying for the balance of the novel." - The Page of Reviews "There’s a soothing, almost seductive quality to Marie’s writing that lulls you into a sense of ordinariness, only to slam you with a new and rapidly changing reality that leaves you as breathless and reeling as the characters…over and over and over." - Linda Poitevin, author of the Grigori Legacy "Bilodeau has embraced a storytelling method made popular by Charles Dickens, Armistead Maupin and Stephen King but she’s given it new life and an incredible sense of urgency. " - Jamieson Wolf, bestselling author

Annabelle is cybernetically augmented, and proud of it. There are those in society though, that believe such augmentations are anathema, and prey on the likes of Annabelle.Human is the sixth episode in the Braeden Wolf Short Story Collection.The first in the LiBREttO series of short stories by Crystin MorganEvery Friday afternoon four friends – Leah, Belle, Geeta and Effie – meet at the local hangout for women with impeccable nails, waiting-list handbags and banker husbands: Café Jamilla. They gossip, they giggle, they bitch, they lust after rainbow-coloured patisseries. And they drink coffee. But when Effie breaks the news that her boyfriend Rhys has asked her to marry him, the sight of her sparkling emerald engagement ring reminds Belle of an extraordinary tale she heard one booze-fuelled night some years ago. A tale of a third wife. A tale of an affair, a guilty conscience, a disappearance, a suspected murder and a desperate plan that couldn’t possibly work. Could it? A tale that’s ripe for a Hollywood treatment, the four women agree. With George Clooney playing the male lead, naturally.

ChiarOscuro is an online fantasy series being published at https://chiaroscuroseries.wordpress.com/. In an alternate world where humanity survived an event which almost brought their extinction five millenia ago, the ancient power has returned and now a select few in this world, whether willingly or unwillingly, will play a role in keeping humanity's flame burning.ChiarOscuro Episode Four Welcome Back (Words 5,023).Koatsu & Skora are on a train towards the inner ring of the capital of Aludin and as they arrive closer old memories of their time back here are brought back only, their time being free may soon come to an end...SERIESChiarOscuro is an ongoing online fantasy series being published at https://chiaroscuroseries.wordpress.com/. Taking place in an alternate world where humanity is just discovering it's full potential after nearly being brought to extinction five millenia ago, the darkness that once threatened humanity has returned, seemingly with the intention to finish what they failed to do 5,000 years ago.ChiarOscuro is made up of 'Books' each one containing an Episode (these normally span a week or two) and a chapter is released throughout the duration of an episode. The official site will be the first place to find the newly released chapters at first, as well as extra pieces that delve deeper into the lore, world and characters of ChiarOscuro and once the Episode has concluded, it will be shortly be available as a single 'Book' to read in full.So follow a small select few in this time where the world's and humanity's certain is uncertain and travel with them to meet many different cultures, people, beliefs, customs through deserts, mountains, the city of nine walls and even the parts of the world the human eye cannot see...SERIES SUMMARYTaking place in a world where at the dawn of human civilisation, a catastrophe struck nearly bringing humanity to extinction and close to forever changing the world as we know it.They called them Demons, twisted, ruthless creatures with no seemingly other drive than to conquer all those weaker than them as they were the strongest and fittest and Earth seemed close to falling into the hands of these strange beings, who came to our world with no warning and legends speak of skies literally tearing open as Demons invaded our world.However, humanity as it always seems to do, fought back and though most of the people living at that time were forever lost, the Demons were defeated, the remaining leaving this world or scattered as they fled the humans only hours before they had been slaughtering mercilessly.It’s been 5,000 years since those events, though many dismiss the tale as legend and humanity has only recently started picking up again, there have been some strange reports recently across Aludin and with the mysterious Decabia to the east, the era of peace may soon be coming to the end and new heroes will have to answer the call to defend humanity’s flame once again, as they did so 5,000 years ago.

Three times. Three tales. Three tails. Journey back in time to the days of pirates to watch a colony attempt to take root on an island ruled by mermaids. Then, travel to the present for the comedic romance of a mermaid who wants to dance. Finally, jump into the future and see what happens when two Marine Biology majors, one of them in search of a mermaid, end up on an environmental pirate ship.In "The Red Siren," travel back in time to the island of Mystycetii in the days when mermaids ate oysters and were ruled by a mer-king. Follow the journey of the naturalist Dove as he attempts to fall in love with his betrothed, Rowynne, and comes crashing down hard for a local mermaid. Then, fast-forward to the present for "Ocean Girl," the story of a mermaid named Luna who wants to win a human dance contest - will she get up after her fall from the spotlight? Finally, jump into the near future with "People with Fishtails," the tale of two landlubbers who find themselves on an environmental pirate ship. Gayle is searching for her mother, whom she believes to be a mermaid ,while Sander is on the lookout for unusual marine specimens. Neither of the two knows they're also looking for love...Enjoy a journey through the ages with these three tales of mermaids!

With his disarmingly simple style and complex imagination, Ray Bradbury has seized the minds of American readers for decades.This collection showcases thirty-two of Bradbury's most famous tales in which he lays bare the depths of the human soul. The thrilling title story, A Sound of Thunder, tells of a hunter sent on safari -- sixty million years in the past. But all it takes is one wrong step in the prehistoric jungle to stamp out the life of a delicate and harmless butterfly -- and possibly something else much closer to home ...

If you could change your story, would you? Jane has lived a mostly ordinary life, raised by her recently deceased aunt Magnolia, whom she counted on to turn life into an adventure. Without Aunt Magnolia, Jane is directionless. Then an old acquaintance, the glamorous and capricious Kiran Thrash, blows back into Jane’s life and invites her to a gala at the Thrashes’ extravagant island mansion called Tu Reviens. Jane remembers her aunt telling her: “If anyone ever invites you to Tu Reviens, promise me that you’ll go.” What Jane doesn’t know is that at Tu Reviens her story will change; the house will offer her five choices that could ultimately determine the course of her untethered life. But every choice comes with a price. She might fall in love, she might lose her life, she might come face-to-face with herself. At Tu Reviens, anything is possible.

In the fourth and final installment, Maggie and Caleb must tie up all the loose ends of their lives and make a way to be together completely on their own. With everything that happened with Bish and Maggie's father, she's almost reluctant to move on and move out. And now she must figure out all of this...stuff...with Haddock. But of course, nothing can stay simple for the Jacobsons. Enemies who were thought to be dissolved have decided to not go down so easily. And old flames come calling for more than just Maggie. Caleb is torn between leading his family and personal wants. Maggie is torn between Caleb and being the leader of their people. But neither will let what they need most to be pushed to the wayside. They are determined to make it all work, design a plan toward destiny, and make everything right again for themselves and their family. And then there's a wedding...

A serial killer who strikes by the light of the full moon has made Mary McLean his next target. She knows she should be cautious, but she can't stay away from Michael Gray, a mysterious man with an unearthly secret. But is he there to protect her? Or is he the real danger?

A Novella of the Mirus: Trouble. That’s what wolf-shifter Mick Guidry thinks when a beautiful woman appears in his New Orleans bar with a hurricane at her back. His first impression is confirmed when Sophie starts asking questions about his missing waitress, Liza. Mick will do anything to rescue a member of the pack he’s made for himself, including forming an unlikely alliance with a woman with a badge.

Bruno and Waldo Gillespie are orphaned brothers living with the extremely eccentric Professor Phaeton Featherwit. One day they set off in one of the professor’s machines to investigate a tornado at close range and accidentally get sucked into it! They are then transported by the tornado and find themselves in a barren, uncharted wasteland wherein lies a city– a long lost Aztec city! Find out what happens next to the brothers and the professor in this harrowing and exhilarating adventure!

Craig is a crocodile shifter who loves nothing more than to sit in the river all day among his pure croc brethren. Over the past few days, he's been watching this cute conservationist gather data about his dwindling habitat. But when Grady falls into the mud and the rest of the crocs think lunch, Craig thinks love.Tessa macFindlaech meets three witches on a Scottish hillside as she leaves her home to join the household of her uncle, Thane Macbeth. The weird women make predictions for her future, but Tessa sees no likelihood of truth in them. After all, the first crone claims Tessa is on her way to England, which is in the opposite direction.Surprises await that make her reconsider the prophecies. When Tessa discovers that Jeffrey Brixton, a guest in her uncle's castle, is a spy, he captures her and takes her to his home in England. There she must face the fact that her only asset is her beauty, her only friend the woman she believes to be Jeffrey's mistress.After a year in England, Tessa is married but not a wife, which the witches predicted. When Jeffrey is reported dead, she returns to Scotland. Her uncle's life has taken several ironic turns: he gained the throne he wanted so badly but lost everything he loves. Tessa does what she can for him, but by now Macbeth is his own worst enemy.Chased by murderous outlaws, trapped in a loveless marriage with a man who will not give her up, and alone except for an elderly but faithful servant, Tessa meets the witches once more and this time finds hope in their message. Now her quest is to find love, but love is not always wise. Does the man she loves return her affection, or will he plunge her into danger again, as he has done before?Set against the backdrop of Macbeth's rise and fall from power in Scotland, this historical novel provides both romance and adventure. Like her famous uncle, Macbeth's niece Tessa refuses to settle for an ordinary life, no matter how difficult the extraordinary becomes.