Lashell Collins's Blog

Fiction Friday - Mermaid Poaching

Ok, I know I've been a little lax on the Fiction Friday Writing Challenge, and I apologize. But here's a new installment for you. As always, the rules were simple - look at the prompt for a few seconds, and then start writing. 5 minutes is all I get. When the timer dings, I have to stop. Fun, right?So this one was sort of out of my comfort zone when I first saw the writing prompt, but once I started writing the story just took shape. The prompt was this...Your character wakes up on a barge (like the one below) in the middle of the ocean.Now write!And here's what I did with it...She blinked a few times until her surroundings came into focus. Startled, she gasped and sat upright. Her gaze darted all around. A barge! She was on a barge in the middle of the ocean?What the hell? And why did her head hurt so badly?She tried to raise both hands up to her head and realized her wrists were bound together. “What?" Panic gripped her gut and quickly spread throughout her body."No, no, no, no, no," she softly chanted to herself. "Think Marla, think. What’s the last thing you remember?”She screwed her eyes shut and tried to retrace her actions. Swimming. She had been swimming down by the big rocks when something happened. She had gotten snagged on something near the coral reef and couldn’t free her fin. Her fin!Her eyes flew down to where her fin should be, and she let out a tortured yelp. Legs!And not only that. They were tied with rope, just like her hands. She’d been captured by evil mermaid hunters.

Fiction Friday - In The Cards

It's Friday, and that means it's time for another installment of the Arial BurnzFiction Friday Writing Challenge! This week's prompt was a true challenge for me because it involved Tarot Cards - something I know nothing about. So before I could begin writing, I had to look up what a certain card meant in the world of Tarot. But once I did, the little story popped right into my head. This was the prompt...Your character is visiting a psychic and getting his/her tarot cards read.The reader turns over the card pictured below. Now write! And here's what I did with it...Fear. That’s what he felt. Fear, plain and simple. It wasn’t just the usual thrill of the unknown that most sane people felt when they walked into a psychic’s domain for the first time. It was more than that. Dread. Denial. Outright frustration. This weird attractive woman in the wackado outfit that no self-respecting person would be caught dead in was going to tell him his future by looking at a deck of playing cards? Yeah, right.He drummed his fingers against the red tablecloth, half expecting her to utter the phrase “look into my crystal ball.” “There’s nothing to be nervous about, Sam. Are you ready?”He frowned at her. Easy for her to say. He swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes off her as she spread out the cards. She turned over another and looked into his eyes. “Ah. The Fool. Big changes are coming for you, Sam.”Enough was enough. He couldn't take it anymore. “You’ve been bugging me to come see your shop for weeks now, Angel. If I’d known you just wanted to read my cards, I wouldn’t have come.”A sly grin tugged at her lips. “It wasn’t about reading your cards. It was about pulling you in. Making you a believer.”He sighed and sat back in his chair. “Look, Angel. I asked you a question when I came in. The same question I've been asking you for days now. Are you going to go out with me or not?”Her mischievous grin tugged at his heart, and he could only smile back at her. She drove him crazy.“The cards don’t lie, Sam. Big change is in store for you.”“I’m gonna take that as a yes.”

Fiction Friday - Everyday Heroes

It's Friday, and that means it's time for another installment of the Arial BurnzFiction Friday Writing Challenge! This week's prompt was just one sentence, and the moment I read it, I had tons of different scenarios running through my mind. It was work to filter through them quickly and focus on just one. But the one thread I latched onto was this sweet little number. I hope you enjoy it! The prompt was:This was not the way he expected to die.And here's what I did with it...This was not the way he expected to die. Maybe strapped to a chair with a bomb tied around his middle. Or a bullet to the brain in the middle of some heated hostage negotiations. Blown up by a land mine, or even an RPG in some godforsaken, desert country, war zone. But this?Pinned down behind a wrack of snack cakes with his little girl clinging to his leg, while some doped up dirtbag with a gun demanded money from the store clerk? Not at all what he had planned for today.Jared looked down at the light of his life, wearing her pink princess dress as silent tears streamed down her chubby little face. “I need you to stand right here and don’t move. Can you do that for me?” he whispered.She clutched her ratty, much-loved plush unicorn and nodded.“Don’t worry, darling. Daddy’s going to make the bad man go away. He won’t hurt you.”That thought flowed through his mind in one instant. The next, the joker with the gun was on the ground, face first with his arms painfully restrained behind his back. He screamed profanities to no avail, but Jarod wasn't letting up.“Call the cops!” Jarod shot a look at the store clerk as he held the guy immobile. Then he looked back at his baby girl and smiled at her. She waved one chubby little hand and grinned. No, sir. This was definitely not how he was going out.

Fiction Friday - The Timepiece

It's Friday, and that means it's time for another installment of the Arial BurnzFiction Friday Writing Challenge! This week's prompt was a very beautiful image from an artist named Ravven, and you can learn more about her work by clicking on the above link to the writing challenge. She does amazing work. Ok, remember the rules of the challenge are to set a timer and write for just 5 minutes. That's not a whole lot of time, so the exercise is teaching me to get right to the meat of the story.So here was the prompt...Isn't it a beautiful image? And this is what I did with it...I came upon her in the forest. She was lying there along the trail, looking every bit like a crimson sleeping beauty from one of those fairytales we tell our children. Indeed, she did look almost enchanted as she lay there, beautiful and serene. Her pink lips held the hint of a smile and her lovely face seemed peaceful. Only the red nightgown showed signs of something amiss, twisted about her middle and legs in a haphazard fashion. Her scarlet hair fanned out in deep waves, mingling with the russet-colored fallen leaves that were her bed. The timepiece lay open amid the waves, and my heart sank.He had done it. He had followed through with his threat to get even, and now she was gone, the timepiece dropped in his haste to get away. Now I must warn the others. Shifting to my fox form, I scurry away, stopping only once to glance back at the beautiful fallen princess.

Fiction Friday - Trembling Hands

Ok, so it's been a good long while since I participated in the Arial BurnzFiction Friday Writing Challenge, and I'm sorry about that because I've missed it. What I love about this exercise is that it really does seem to help teach me how to get to the point in my writing, how to get right to the tension so to speak. It also forces a truly horrible and irregular blogger (namely ME) to get an actual blog posted at least once a week, which I am so freaking bad at otherwise. So, I'm going to try my best to get back into the habit of doing this each week because I really do get a lot out of it. On a side note, as I worked on this writing challenge I noticed that it took me longer to find the story because I'm so out of practice. The last time I participated in this challenge, my story was much longer in comparison, which means that back then, I was able to write more/faster in the given 5 minute allotted time limit than I was today. Another reason to get back into the swing of things!This week's writing prompt was ...Hands trembling, she opened the envelope.And here's what I did with it...She stared at her name, scrawled across the plain white envelope in a creepy handwriting. How it was even possible for a handwriting to be creepy, she wasn’t sure, but that was the only way to describe it. Sure. She knew that she was probably being silly. Irrational even. She was so damn used to running and looking over her shoulder. So used to being afraid of her own shadow that the sight of a handwritten envelope filled her with the craziest sense of dread. The truth was that there was nothing unusual at all about the envelope lying in the stack of bills and junk mail sitting on the counter. It was just her overactive imagination running away with her. She hadn’t been found. The agency hadn’t caught up to her. That’s not what this was about. Besides, she doubted the agency would bother sending a polite note before they had her killed.She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly through her mouth. Then … hands trembling, she opened the envelope.

Fiction Friday - A Halloween Visitor

Ready for this week's installment of the Arial BurnzFiction Friday Writing Challenge? Gotta warn you, it's a little bit creepy. But hey... it's almost Halloween, so creepy is the order of the day!Here's the prompt...Your character opens the front door, expecting the usual crowd of Trick-or-Treaters … and gasps!And here's what I did with it...The doorbell rings and I glance up from the TV and roll my eyes. This is the fifth time I’ve had to pause the show to get up and smile and hand the little shits some candy. I hate beggars night. The only good thing about it is you get to buy way more candy than you’ll actually need to hand out, leaving you with an excuse to eat the leftovers without too much guilt. I hurry to the door and yank it open expecting to hear a chorus of “trick or treat!” Instead I gasp and jump about a foot back from the door. I think my heart even stops for a few fleeting seconds. I’m not kidding … it stopped.The man at my door is tall and substantial. He’s dressed in dark blue coveralls, and the creepiest white mask I’ve ever seen. Just like in the movie we watched together the other day.Clutching my chest, I start to breathe again, and chuckle a little. “God, you scared me half to death, Ronnie. You’re such a goofball. Get in here.”I turn and walk away from the door, leading him into the kitchen. “You’re a real jerk for wearing that Michael Myers Halloween get up and trying to scare me. If you don’t spend the night now, I swear I’ll never be able to sleep. But I suppose that was your evil plan all along, right.”I flash him a seductive smile as I open up the oven and retrieve the plate of food I saved for him. “Here you are, Sir. Your dinner is served,” I say, adopting a playful fake British accent. Ronnie doesn’t say anything in response. He just stands there, staring at me from across the kitchen island. “Ronnie? What’s going on?”He says nothing as he takes a step around the island, coming toward me. Then another step. And another.“Okay, stop. You’ve had your fun, and it was a great joke all right? But it’s over. Take off that damn mask and knock it off, Ronnie!”“Knock what off, hon?”I turn to see Ronnie step into the kitchen. He takes one look at the guy in the Michael Myers mask and burst out laughing.“That’s a great costume! Where’d you get it? Hey, who’s under there anyway?”“I thought it was you!”“Me?” Ronnie exclaims with a puzzled expression. Then he looks back at our visitor with real fear in his eyes.Without warning, the creepy visitor grabs a knife from the holder on the island and throws it, hitting Ronnie squarely in the chest, dead center. I scream as Ronnie falls to the floor, and “Michael Myers” turns his full attention back to me...Aw, SNAP! The five minute timer went off, thus ending my writing time for this week's challenge. Happy Halloween, everybody! ;-)

Fiction Friday - Lab Experiments

I've been so busy with things going on in my real life lately that it's been a few weeks since I had time to participate in Arial Burnz's Fiction Friday Writing Challenge. But I want to make up for that today. Today's prompt is sort of creepy, at least it is to my mind. And I suppose that's fitting since today is October, Friday the 13th ... the creepiest of ALL days! Here's the prompt...Strapped to a lab table, your character regards the doctor at their side and says, “So…now what happens?”And here's what I did with it...I shiver from the cold stale air as my gaze drifts across the ceiling. The light hanging over the table is so bright I have to squint. It makes me a little nervous, and I squirm. But the movement only jars me further when the firmly placed restraints bite into my wrists. The thought of being strapped to this sterile, metal table suddenly gets the best of me, and my breathing begins to shallow. This is so not the time for a panic attack.“Just breathe,” I silently tell myself. “Take slow deep breaths. It’s all going to be ok. You volunteered for this little experiment, remember?”I glance off to the right just as the doctor steps into my field of vision, and I watch as he shoots the jade green liquid into the port that goes directly into my vein. I close my eyes tight and brace myself for whatever’s about to come.After a few seconds of nothing, I open one eye and peek at the doctor, who is smiling down at me. I open my eyes fully and regard him.   “So … now what happens, Doc?”Then it hits. Searing, almost blinding pain. I scream bloody murder as my whole body begins to convulse and mutate. I can feel the strength coursing through me, even as I howl in pain. First one arm breaks free of my restraints, then the other. I hear the screams of others in the room as my legs break free. Standing by the table, I take a deep breath and roar as my body continues to transform. I take a step toward the doctor and feel a sharp pinch in my thigh. Looking down, I see the tranquilizer dart in my leg just as my vision blurs, and I fall. 

Fiction Friday - The Surprise Visitor

Today's Fiction Friday writing prompt from author Arial Burnz hasn't gone up yet (as of the writing of this blog post), so I thought I would go back and find an older one that I missed. So this prompt was the first one I came across, and the instant I read it, the entire scene just came to me. I hope you enjoy it. The prompt was:His eyes were cold and lifeless as he stared at me.“You have no idea who I am, do you?”His eyes are cold and lifeless as he stares at me.“You have no idea who I am, do you?”“Nope. But why don’t you sit down beside me. You can tell me all about where we’ve met before, and then you and I can get … reacquainted.” A spark of lust fires in his gaze as he slowly looks me over from head to toe. I swallow back the bile and nausea, and take a deep breath to steady my nerves. This wasn’t happening, was it? How could he not recognize me? I didn't come all this way for him not to remember.My head begins to swim as a sleazy sort of smile drifts over his lips. “Well? You sitting or not, baby?”“Yeah, sure. I’ll sit for a minute.” My breathing shallows as he pulls out a chair and positions it right against his. I sit down gingerly, absentmindedly rubbing the palms of my clammy hands over my jeans. He leans in close and drapes his arm over the back of my chair, and grins at me.“Now then. Tell me sugar … where do we know each other from?”My mouth is suddenly dry as the desert highway outside the door of the dank bar we’re sitting in. I take a breath and shore up my courage. I can do this. This is why I came here, right? To find him. To confront him. One last breath and I look him in the eyes. “My name is Erin Brooks.” His sleazy smile fades in an instant and his eyes register both shock and disbelief. Yeah. That's right dirtbag.“I’m your daughter.”

Fiction Friday - The Last Thing I Wanted...

This week's installment of the Fiction Friday Writing Challenge from my wonderful friend, and fellow author, Arial Burnz, was a little tricky. The prompt was a single sentence:"The last thing I wanted to do was see her again, and yet I headed straight toward her."Once I read it, a storyline began to unfold. A storyline that I had a hard time turning off and letting go. I have to say that participating in this writing challenge has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I'm learning to get right to the point when I'm writing my books, and that is a very valuable skill for a writer to possess. But it's also been a curse because I find that with each new prompt, I'm drawn into a storyline that grabs my attention and begs to be explored outside the confines of this 5 minute exercise. Unfortunately, pursuing these attractive plot bunnies isn't something I always have the time to do. But it's all good, because at least I'm building a little cache of story ideas ... just in case I ever run out. ;-)The last thing I wanted to do was see her again, and yet I was headed straight toward her. I had no choice. As much as I wanted to turn and run in the other direction, I couldn’t. I didn’t have that luxury. My feet felt heavy as lead, and getting heavier with each step I took. She didn’t want to see me any more than I wanted to be here. Hell, for all I knew she would spit in my face, or at the very least she might flat out deck me. That would be ok. Lord knows I probably deserve it after what went down between us ten years ago. After the way I’d treated her.I never meant to hurt her, and that’s the God’s honest truth. I loved her. I loved her as much as I knew how to back then. I would give anything to be able to go back and make different choices. But that was impossible now, and all I could do from here was my job.“Hello Lisa.” Why did her name feel like a desperate whisper on my lips? I stare into her bright blue eyes and get instantly lost in them. Fuck. Why the hell is she still so damn beautiful? “Carter?” She stares at me, then slowly looks around at my men before her gaze finds me again, and I can see the understanding begin to dawn.“Oh, don’t tell me you’re the private security specialist my agent hired to protect me?”I take a deep breath and slowly nod. “That’s right. My crew and I will be overseeing your personal security matters, starting immediately. I personally will be guarding you from here on out.”

Dare to discover what lurks in the shadows...

I just LOVE that tagline for the new anthology I'm in. The set is called Cimmerian Shade, and the tagline just goes perfectly for a title like that, I think. Together, they conjure up images of romance, mystery and intrigue, and that's exactly what you'll get when you allow yourself to get lost within these pages. Here's the official blurb for the set...Dare to discover what lurks in the shadows in **New & Exclusive** paranormal and urban fantasy stories from your favorite NY Times, USA Today, and International Bestselling authors. Under moonlit skies, witches, werewolves, vampires, dragons, and more, battle not only for their mates, but to stay alive...Fall for the alphas who play by their own rules despite the odds, whether century-old curses or forbidden love, or worse. For them, what lies in the darkness is worth the fight when it comes to romance.Here's a closer look at each story in the Cimmerian Shade set...What Lies Within Us by Kiki Howell & Gina KincadeKyna Hughes travels to Ireland only to find out her whole life has been a series of well-orchestrated lies. Thrust into days of dark magic, secret societies, mystical hauntings, and ultimately, kidnappings and satanic weddings, she struggles not to lose her heart to one of two men—a hunky former Navy SEAL hired to protect her, and a sinister Wizard hired to train her to develop her hidden powers.Dating 911 by Kathleen GrieveCommiserating with girlfriends over butterscotch martinis, emergency room nurse, Roxanne Carter creates the idea of The Dating Manifesto—a not so scientific research project which promises to point the way to dating success. She wades through a series of unsavory, stale dates while gathering data to find the potentially most suitable single men available, literally putting her back at ground zero. Just when she is ready to give up on dating, in walks sin personified in the form of a sexy firefighter, tainting all of her previous data.A traumatic warehouse fire leaves firefighter Jett Avery's closest friend dead. The false mask of charm and pretense is slipping as Jett tries to repress his turbulent emotions, remorse, and guilt. After months of anguish, the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder seems to be taking over his life and he needs an outlet, fast. In an attempt to combat the worst of his depression, he decides to use his brand of therapy—Sex. The remedy, usually a quick pick me up for Jett, has lost its luster. He is almost ready to give up until he encounters a wicked seductress who ignites a fire he's not ready to put out any time soon. The bonus? She's an ER nurse with just the right kind of healing, the missing element Jett's search had not yet uncovered. He finally feels alive when he's in her presence. Jett’s twin brother, emergency room Doctor Cruz Avery, the playboy of the ER, decides Roxanne is the woman for him. He places all brotherly affection aside and is in hot pursuit, complicating an already tricky situation.Roxanne finds herself battling a growing competition between brothers for her affection. She discovers she’s drawn to both men, making it difficult not to compare them, and finds herself with an important choice to make. Jett hounds her during every date, and the irresistible hunk generates an indomitable need to play with fire. Yet, there are qualities in Cruz that slide right into the appropriate dating criteria of her Manifesto. Does she choose the brother who by analysis is the perfect match? Or the one she can’t resist?Torch Song by Lashell CollinsDominic Draco has no illusions about who he is. As alpha of the dragon clan, he is also the leader of the shifter Alliance, and that sometimes requires him to be ruthless. He’s a dangerous man to know. In fact, he’s a heartless bastard. That’s the real reason he’s kept the beautiful Lucinda Lindley at bay for so many years, despite the longing he feels for the sexy human singer. But in granting an old friend’s dying request, watching over Lucinda is now his responsibility. Can he keep her safe from the perils of his cut-throat world when the Alliance’s enemies begin to circle? Or will Lucinda become a casualty of the shifter faction war?Ethereal Witness by Angelica DawsonMagic just became real for Paige Brown. Since she helped her roommate cast a spell, she has wanted to explore her new-found talent. Flashbacks to her ancestor give her clues, specifically to a love spell that she hopes will snag the professor she has been fantasizing about. Both Paige and her previous incarnation, Jane, find that controlling magic is more than a simple recipe. Will Paige be able to break her own spell? Will she discover the love that is closer than she knows?Love Story of a Reaper by Elvira BathoryWhat would you do if you found out that you weren’t like everyone else? That you were special, but only in a way no one could find out about? What lengths would you go to prove yourself to your family? A family that you didn’t know you had?Morrigana was moving through life with a part-time, minimum wage job, and only a handful of friends. She was different from other people and they treated her that way. However, she was happy with her life until the day she met Kheelan; that is when her life was turned upside down. She finds out that she isn’t even human, and that a family she wasn’t aware she had needed her to complete a mission. As Morrigana and Kheelan's adventure progresses, will their focus on business remain professional or will their growing passion take over?Burning Midnight by Erzabet BishopA triumvirate of blood and fire…Diana Robichard runs Moon Called, an antique shop specializing in cursed objects. A new antiquity falls into her possession and promptly disappears, her tidy world is upended. When faced with a threat to those she loves the most, witchcraft alone may not be enough to save them.Alpha Aristide Benoit is a wolf on a mission. When multiple pack members and finally his daughter go missing, he is ready to do whatever is necessary to find them as well as save the woman who has claimed his heart.Vampire Regent, Rand Sinclair has a problem. His vault is missing an amulet never meant to see the light of day. Endangering a treaty with the wolves, he must act quickly before the woman he loves is swept into an ancient curse that will destroy them all.With This Heart by Red L. JamesonTalk about a killer kiss…Being a former soldier with PTSD takes its toll on Aaron and has wiped him clean of optimism along with having dreams. But he’s no longer sure if he’s living in reality or fantasy after he tries to save a friend and finds his world filled with women who have wings and…Valkyries.Adala kills. Not on purpose. She’s a Valkyrie—from just one touch, she takes warriors to the afterlife. Oh, but she’d give anything for a break, for normalcy, to have one day of not wearing her legionnaire uniform. When she’s asked to talk to the human Aaron to help him understand just what he’s in for when he tripped into her world, she jumps at the chance, even though she knows Aaron more than she cares to admit, even though she has an insane crush on him, even though she can’t touch him at all. But she gets to wear jeans and talk to a man—a real-life, hero of a man.From her adorable made-up swearwords to when she wears his clothes, from the fact that she’s hundreds of years old to her pet Pegasus, Aaron falls hard for the shy Valkyrie. Dare he risk his life for a kiss? He’s thinking about it, because already he’s given her his heart.With This Heart is a standalone story, that’s part of the With These Wings Series—books that mix rock-hard military men with feathered-fantasy femme fatales for a sizzling hot adventure to find love. Join Chanticleer winner, Red L. Jameson, for more of this heart-tugging fairy tale series.Saltwater Siren by Muffy WilsonWas it love at first sight? Perhaps. Many thought it might have been the work of the unscrupulous Sea Witch, Hermione, long a bitter and banished King’s Court Matron. So, was it the crafty wiles of Hermione, scheming to seek her sordid revenge, or was it a simple matter of serendipity? All we know for certain is that two young royals, one landed and one not, met during a raging storm as fierce and intense as the love they would none too soon escape. Was it fate, design, or—perhaps—black magic? Who’s to say?What we do know is that it was sensuous, erotic, and insatiable as they fought to extinguish the passions that flamed their heat by indulging in every desire that swept them into one another’s arms. Their shared carnal voracity fanned an appetite no amount of indulgence could satisfy.After all, it happened…Once upon a time…Dangerous Beauty, Sexy Beast by Dariel RayeDrayden saved her life— but her incessant need for vengeance could mean the end of his.Thirteen years after the brutal murder of Treva Evers’ entire family, a cloaked stranger shows up just in time to save her from the same fate. When he disappears as quickly as he appeared, she is drawn into an underworld replete with magic and long forgotten customs, a place where nothing is as it seems, including her mysterious savior, and every word or action could result in brutal consequences.Rose Tears by Amanda PillarDeath is coming for Lori Hardcastle.Half-Succubus, half-Sídhe, Lori has been on the run since she was seventeen. Worried that her vengeful family will find her, she’s been hiding in the Borderlands, a magical plane nestled between the fae and human worlds. However, when her path crosses that of a dangerously sexy fullblooded fae, will she be able to survive the encounter?Conrad Death is a cleaner (he doesn’t like the term ‘assassin’) for the fae White Queen. His latest mission: find the half-breed daughter of the Count of Tears. Easy. Except no one knows what she looks like, her real age, or even what name she uses. However, Conrad isn’t daunted by simple details – he’s finished every job he’s ever started. But when he meets a smoking hot Succubus in a Borderlands bar, his life is thrown into turmoil.Rogue by Savannah VerteEveryday immortal Bree Brigand gets a rude awakening as her family is slaughtered. Not only is the cursed, suicide blade of legend and lore real, but it has chosen her. She must quickly learn to fast-track a course she’s never navigated, in a world she thought only existed in campfire stories. But, only after coming to terms with the facts…her family is not her family.Truths and lies collide in a world where the hunters and the hunted trade places faster than she can discern who is which, and everyone is an assassin. Can she find and claim her destiny? Or, will being marked by a male who is not her one true mate ruin everything, and clip this dragon’s wings before she can become all she is meant to be?Hexing Hearts by Alyssa DrakeAt eighteen, undeveloped witch, Remy Vasile abandoned her island home without a backward glance. Five years later, circumstances outside of Remy’s control have drawn her back to Firefly Island, dredging up painful memories which lay dormant during her absence.Sebastian Ayres enjoyed a life of pleasure pursuits. However, his blasé attitude evaporates the moment Remy’s hand brushes against his. Irresistibly drawn to his mate, Sebastian must undertake the daunting task of persuading Remy that he is not just any man, but the only man, for her.Unbeknownst to either, dark secrets, hidden since Remy’s birth, are about to be uncovered and Remy will be confronted with a life-altering decision. With the help of her sister and some unexpected allies, Remy must decide if she will fight and risk her heart or continue running from her destiny.Dragons Curvy Concierge by Mychal DanielsWhen Bronwyn Scott finds herself way over her head as the first-time business owner of a personal concierge service, she’s not about to fall for a rich mystery man trying to test her professionalism at every turn.Determined to make her business a great success to find and show the mother who left her at birth that she made something of herself, Bronwyn has no time for games or entitled, gorgeous rich dudes.MacMillan “Mac” Kelnar is at that time in his life where his business can run itself, he’s successful, powerful, and a mature Dragon who’s paid his dues.When he sees his mate across the parking lot of a Home Improvement Center parking lot as she suffers a hit and run, he’ll stop at nothing to have her, even if that means pretending to hire her as his personal concierge.Determined to have his mate, this Dragon won’t stop at nothing until his mate realizes that the only services he’s interested in are having all of her.Credence - Moon Dragons by Decadent KaneTorren is days away from competing in the Draconic Challenge and earning the prize he needs to complete his magic credence. His sky-high dream of apprenticing with the Ancients is finally in sight. The last thing this solitary moon dragon needs is a mate dragging him down to earth, and a human one at that. Not that his body will listen.Dovie is minding her own business—literally—when a handsome stranger walks into her bookstore. One spontaneous orgasm later, she’s left with no choice but to close up shop. The last thing she needs is an overbearing dragon dragging her to his mountain and telling her to shelve her dreams in favor of a stupid contest. Not that her body will listen.Torren and Dovie must fight their treacherous attraction to each other or sacrifice their ambitions forever. But moon dragon magic doesn’t choose lightly, and when darker forces shatter the peaceful mountain enclave the dragons call home, human and moon dragon alike will have to reconsider just what they need to achieve a happy ending.Kiss of the Fallen by Kharma KelleyDear Readers,I just wanted to be left alone. I wanted nothing to do with the war brewing among all the Supernaturals and have grown tired of fighting all these centuries. All of us are screwed up anyway; but who am I to judge who drinks blood and who eats souls? As luck (or lack thereof) would have it, I get sucked into one last mission with the vampires and the next thing I know, I find a half-naked demon chained to my bed; and let's just say she is not happy. And, as much as I enjoy seeing a beautiful woman grace my bed, unfortunately, I'm not happy either.Of all demons, someone delivers to me a Black Blood Slayer; demons bred to do one thing and one thing only: kill vampires. Her blood is spiked with a desire I long to tame, but if I do, I could be six-feet under... again. And this time forever. But her fighter's spirit and tenderness shakes me to my missing soul, wanting to claim her with a need I cannot name. But with both of us on the run and my people gunning for us, how can I be sure she wants me to love or to kill?~ Commander Tristan Castillion, Vampire Royal GuardSelene by Shelique LizeMy name is Selene and I am a moon goddess. Between my siblings and me, we control the balance of the universe. Without us, the mortal and immortal realms would be thrust into eternal chaos. Don’t ask me what that means. It’s what I’ve been told for as long I can remember. I have never questioned my existence because it was the only life I have ever known. Then one day, everything changed when I became enthralled with the earth.I couldn’t resist the alluring beauty that beckoned me almost every single night. My curiosity was so fierce and dominate, it was becoming impossible to ignore it and I gave in. I found the only god brave enough to take me to the mortal realm but he wanted something in return. He wanted my body, and I gave it to.I went to earth and experienced life like never before. It was like my eyes were opening and I started to question my entire existence. Feelings all of a sudden are very present and then everything changed again, when I fell in love with a human.Being a goddess has never been so complicated.One Last Lullaby by KallystenWhen Kirsten walks back into Jacob’s life after years of estrangement, it’s not to resume the relationship she once ended abruptly. Instead, she’s there to work as a mage for the same agency in which Jacob is a Special Enforcer… or at least, that’s her story and she’s sticking to it. Whether Andrew, her boss and one of Jacob’s fathers, hired her for her skills or to get her back in Jacob’s life is anyone’s guess.Although Jacob is determined to see in Kirsten a co-worker and friend, he still loves her as much as he ever did. He used to believe she was ‘the one,’ and even years after she broke up with him he still doesn’t understand what happened. It doesn’t help that every little thing she does reminds him of what they once shared.As the agency battles deadly demons night after night, the relationship between Jacob and Kirsten goes from awkward to downright painful… until one botched magic spell traps them in a strange world inhabited by the demons, and the only way back will require them to reveal to each other their most painful secret…Lust by Liz GavinMagical, sinful New Orleans attracts many lost souls who find haven at kinky Club Desire. Marcel Revault is the real deal: bound to the house, haunting it for over 150 years. Clara Hervaux, movie-star extraordinaire, indulges in her dark side as a club regular. As an empath, she’s gotten hooked on Marcel’s otherworldly sexiness. When Clara goes missing, Marcel uses their empathic link to find her, but can he break the curse to save her? Or will Clara fall prey to the jealous witch who cursed him?Witch Playground by Isis PierceWhen Samantha Smith agreed to cast a spell to sneak her friend Sassy into the hottest paranormals’ club in Vegas, she never thought she’d actually get caught. Now she’s facing a trial and the possibility of losing everything—including her magic, and maybe even her life. To get out of legal trouble, she might have to sleep with a vampire or go to hell with a bounty hunter. Maybe both. And that’s a whole new kind of trouble.Frozen Soul by Catherine BanksA wolf's love is forever...and so is the bond of the pack.Even after she broke it off with their Alpha, Tysen, the pack still loved Jess. So when they discover her current boyfriend, Jon, is literally draining her soul, her wolf family is right there to come to her rescue. Back amongst their ranks, the bond she shares with them, and Tysen, grows stronger than ever, and she can't deny how desperately she's missed them all.But now the truth of Jess and Jon's relationship comes blasting through the door and brings everyone to their knees; she's sacrificed more for the pack than any of them realized.The question now remains: is there a way for Tysen to save her soul?Taste Of Darkness by Catherine ValeNatalya should have known better than to watch the handsome fisherman from the shadows, but she found herself drawn to him, night after night. If she had only stayed away from him, he would not be facing the darkness that will now haunt him for eternity. But she couldn’t stay away, and now it’s too late; he’s been turned into an abomination, a creature that will never again be free.Natalya is all that Caine has left. He just doesn’t know it yet.Natalya knows better than anyone what it’s like to have her world ripped out from under her, forced into the darkness, never to walk in the sun again. It wasn’t long ago when she was turned into a blood-sucking vamp, a ruthless killer. So when she finds herself to blame for an innocent human being turned, she knows that it’s up to her to save his life. But when Caine awakens to discover what he has become, will he ever be able to find his place in a world, where he just doesn’t fit in? And can he learn to forgive Natalya long enough to fight alongside her?When a merciless pack of werewolves scent the newly created vamp, they will stop at nothing to destroy him, and everything he loves. Caine must learn to embrace his darkness, if he wishes to survive.Cimmerian Shade is available for just .99 cents right now. But you'd better hurry. That price is going up after release day on Sept. 12th! Get Cimmerian Shade here:Amazon  ||  iBooks  ||  Nook  ||  KoboOr add it to your Goodreads TBR List