an anthology of previously published poems, some highly recommended, some prize-winners
Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever by L.V. Lewis
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY to the second power meets Keisha and Jada from the Block.
Aspiring recording studio owners, Keisha Beale and Jada Jameson, score a rare meeting with venture capitalist Tristan White, and are thrust into a world beyond their wildest imaginations.
Lured by Tristan White and his offer of fronting the capital for her business in exchange for an indecent proposal, of sorts, Keisha finds herself with no other option. Tortured by demons from her past, Keisha’s inability to come to terms with them threatens to undermine the future of her business and her tumultuous, unconventional relationship with Tristan White.
When Morning Comes by Francis Ray
Dr. Cade Mathis learned early that he was not the son of the man who raised him. His adoptive father, a cruel, bitter man, had always been quick to tell him that he was a bastard and an embarrassment to the rich society family whose daughter got pregnant with him. So when Cade received a full scholarship to college, he was only too happy to leave the only home he had ever known behind and never looked back. Now a successful doctor and one of the best neurosurgeons in the state, the only thing he still wants are answers about where he came from. What he doesn’t expect to find is Sabrina Thomas, the new patient advocate at his hospital, or how this woman will lead him to the family he has been searching for and a love he never expected to find.
Zar: Book One in the Galaxy Gladiators Alien Abduction Romance Series by Alana Khan
Snatched from Earth. Bound for slavery. Can love offer escape?
Kidnapped from Earth, aboard a slave ship, Anya is thrown into a cell with Zar, a handsome half-lion gladiator, and forced to breed or be killed.
Zar’s life is an unbroken nightmare consisting of sleep, eat, fight, repeat. He’s not interested in helping Anya, and he’s definitely not interested in love. Except she’s the first female to ever touch his heart—or remind him he has a soul.
If you like hot alpha aliens, kick-ass Earth women who mastermind insurrections, and sexy action romance, check out Zar, the first book in the paranormal romance Galaxy Gladiators series. This standalone book contains steamy sex scenes with a guaranteed happily ever after, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.
Buy Zar to begin exploring the galaxy with Anya and Zar today!
Get Zar: Book One in the Galaxy Gladiators Alien Abduction Romance Series Here
The Happenstances at the Yellow County Community Swim and Racquet Club the Summer Before Last by Peter L. Harmon
The Happenstances at the Yellow County Community Swim and Racquet Club the Summer Before Last is a bittersweet, nostalgic, but comic novella about a team of misfits, including a loser who secretly lives in the guard house of the club, a struggling artist with webbed toes, a timid teen with a concave chest, and the beautiful heiress of the Comfort Inn fortune. They have to win the impending Tri-County Relay Race and save the club from being run by a management company that only cares about money. The management company hires an opposing relay team of ringers including a girl with a prosthetic dorsal fin and a man named Carmichael Schmelps who looks suspiciously like a certain Olympic gold medalist.
Keeping Hope Alive by Dawn Kopman Whidden
A young couple taking a leisurely walk through the woods is shocked when the quiet, peaceful stroll ends as they come across what is without question a human skull. When detectives Jean Whitley and Marty Keal are called to investigate, two more bodies are uncovered nearby in shallow graves, but unlike the first, these murder victims have just met their demise. Now, not only do the detectives have to discover the identities of all three victims, but they also have to see if the victims are somehow connected or if it’s just a coincidence all three were dumped so close together.
While Jean and Marty search for answers, Marty’s fiancée, psychiatrist Dr. Hope Rubin, is working hard to get her patient Brad Madison released from Armistace Hospital for Children, where he has been living since the brutal murder of his own parents, while trying to take care of her own personal business of planning her wedding. But then the unforeseeable happens. Hope disappears, and Brad claims he knows what happened.
Can the disturbed boy be trusted to be telling the truth, and is Hope’s kidnapping in any way linked to the three victims found in the nearby woods?
Marty and Jean’s search for the killer become much more desperate and horrifyingly personal when Hope is kidnapped. Will they find her before it’s too late? Or will she become another victim? Will the detectives be able to keep Hope alive?
A CHILD IS TORN by Dawn Kopman Whidden
When dependable Evan Madison fails to show up for work, police are dispatched to his home. His 10-year-old son, Brad, is discovered inside, unharmed and seemingly alone. He is stoic, sitting in front of the television playing his favorite video game, Super Mario – and he’s covered in blood.
Veteran Police Officer Marty Keal is the first on the scene. With his many years of experience, he thinks he’s seen it all. That is, until he discovers Brad’s not really alone after all. Upstairs in their bedroom lies the brutally bludgeoned and deceased bodies of both his mother and his father. When questioned, Brad confesses to the horrific murders.
When Brad is transferred to a local mental health institution for children, Dr. Hope Rubin is brought in to evaluate and treat the child. A preliminary investigation shows no evidence of any kind of mistreatment in his past. She must determine the disturbing truth: Is Brad telling the truth? Or is he covering for someone else?
Detective Jean Whitely rounds out the investigative team and she suspects there is much more to the case than what meets the eye. The happily married mother of two is unwavering in her determination to uncover the real truth about Brad. Was he abused? Or is he the product of an evil seed born to kill?
As the layers of truth about Brad are systematically peeled away, you will be compelled to ask yourself, which is the more dominate factor in contributing to who we are – nature or nurture?
STOLEN by Dawn Kopman Whidden
Another homicide has rocked the small town of Fallsburg, New York. In a cabin nestled deep in the woods, two male victims are discovered, both gunshot victims. One is deceased the other one is barely alive. But it is not the murder itself that has detectives Jean Whitley and her new partner Marty Keal frantic to find out the answers of what occurred in that cabin, but it is the identities of the two small children also found at the scene. One child is quickly identified, but the other, a young boy, remains a mystery. The only one with possible answers is the man who lays critically wounded and unconscious in the hospital, because the unidentified boy either cannot or will not speak. What happened in that cabin that left one man dead and another barely hanging on…?
The Untethered by SW Southwick
THE UNTETHERED is a philosophical techno-thriller that spans the globe, weaving five seemingly unrelated characters into a web of impossible conflict and unlikely friendship. And while they battle against their own internal demons in an attempt to achieve their selfish pursuits, the self-righteous mobs of the world are closing in to stop them.
The Fix: A Single Mom Romantic Comedy by Sylvie Stewart
My life is a friggin’ fairytale—just not the kind any single girl would ever want to star in.
LANEY:
Like any good heroine, I have challenges to face. Getting my son to wear pants is one; dealing with my snooze-fest of a job is another. Then there’s the Beast, my freeloading brother who’s worn a permanent dent in the couch at my new place. And no fairytale would be complete without a smoking hot prince, of course. Too bad he’s a complete ass.
My instincts scream at me to steer clear of Nate Murphy. Because, if life has taught me anything, there is no such thing as happily ever after.
NATE:
I may not be a superhero, but I do my best to come to the rescue when I’m needed. And, hey, I just moved halfway across the country after a single phone call from my mom. But being back home and taking on the responsibilities involved makes me a bit cranky at times. Unfortunately, the one time I completely lose my cool is in front of the hottest girl I’ve ever met. I’ve got my work cut out for me if I’m going to fix this. But I will fix this.
I’ll be anything Laney Monroe needs me to be … a superhero, a prince, or just a guy she might take a chance on.
Area Bird-Duty Doesn’t Always Follow the Rules by Susan I. Spieth
Change is coming to West Point!
One drives off a cliff. An alarming number of others resign. Something at the military academy is causing the unusually high attrition of women cadets. Jan Wishart aims to find out before she’s the next statistic at West Point. Her second year at the formerly all male citadel should be the fun year. But when one friend shows signs of abuse and another friend suddenly resigns, Jan’s coming of age year becomes anything but enjoyable. The culture of hazing and harassment must be addressed, but it’s almost impossible to get results through the chain of command. In a closed academy environment, sometimes the best way to call attention to an issue is to leak it the press.
In order to fulfill her duty, Jan must break with tradition and the longstanding culture of the United States Military Academy. Yet not everything is as it seems. Once again Jan’s worldview is about to be upended by the secrets of West Point.
5-star Readers’ Favorite Review, 2015 KINDLE BOOK AWARD semi-finalist!
Spirit Trail by Darrel Sparkman
Revenge is a blade that cuts both ways. Sean MacLeod loses his family to renegades, but in his quest for retribution, he nearly loses his soul. Searching for redemption, he follows the Spirit Trail down the Missouri River, leaving the Blackfoot nation of the north behind for the rugged frontier of the Ozark Mountains. Sean’s plans to rebuild his life take an unexpected turn, however, when a local girl is taken hostage by the Osage. Haunted by the ghosts of his past, his choice is a painful one-turn away and do nothing, or get involved and risk losing everything once more.
Lady Justice and the Bad Seed by Robert Thornhill
Walt is surprised to learn that his old partner, Ox, has a brother. Ox had never mentioned Lenny who was serving time in prison.
Ox was just as surprised when Lenny showed up at his door claiming he had found religion and turned his life around. He was even more surprised to learn that his brother, the bad seed of the family, was now an ordained minister.
As Lenny’s ministry grows by leaps and bounds, Walt and his friends are skeptical. Was Lenny’s conversion real or is it an elaborate con?
Walt is faced with the age-old question – can people really change? What do you think?
Wild Hare by Laura Koerber
“When you fight a violent and mean enemy, it’s difficult not to become violent and mean yourself,” an old friend advised Bobby Fallon.
Bobby is a trickster—half human, half nature spirit of the wild hare clan. He is also the guardian of a remnant of old growth forest near a small town in northern Wisconsin. He lives a marginal existence as a card shark, shoplifter, and small time criminal while participating in the secret culture of the forest spirits. His small town life is thrown into danger when his effort to get his friend Arne out of jail leads to involvement in crimes out of his normal range of misbehavior.
FACELESS by Dawn Kopman Whidden
Fallsburg, New York, has a killer on the loose – one who’s leaving their sadistic, telltale marks on innocent victims.
A pretty teenage girl is found dead in the woods, her face horribly mutilated. A few days later, a second girl, also strikingly beautiful, is attacked in a similar fashion. Who would do such a brutal thing – and why? Is there some sort of psychopathic monster lurking out there, preying upon vulnerable females? Or are the victims being targeted by someone they know?
It’s up to two of Fallsburg’s finest – Detective Jean Whitley and her new partner, Marty Keal – to find out who’s responsible for the grisly crimes. When she starts digging up clues, Jean is startled to learn that the crime has hit uncomfortably close to home. The victims – and many of the potential suspects – are classmates of Jean’s 14-year-old daughter, Bethany. To make matters worse, Bethany’s behavior has drastically changed. Jean’s sweet, loving child has become a sullen, secretive stranger. How much does Bethany really know about the victims – and the crimes that are taking place? Does Bethany’s hunky new heartthrob have anything to do with the crimes? And why does the mounting evidence keep pointing to a popular parish priest?
Suddenly deprived of her longtime police detective mentor and friend, Jean is forced to take the lead in this latest investigation, while breaking in a new partner. As they dig deeper into the case, Jean encounters threats to her career, her family relationships…and quite possibly her own daughter’s life. Through it all, Jean and Marty must unravel a multi-layered mystery and put a face on the unseen villain, before anyone else ends up dead…and faceless.
Starting Each Day in a Powerful Way by Skip Johnson
At the beginning of each day you have two choices:
To start out inspired, empowered, and open to the possibilities ahead of you OR or to start with the same, uninspired routine over and over again and hope for a better day.
Inspirational author Skip Johnson gives you the tools – in a quick 30-second “happiness boost” each day for 30 days – to totally change the way your day starts and how inspired and motivated you feel.
The Misspelled Charm by Shereen Vedam
The battle against magic is easily won, but not even magic can truly control love…
Like her mother and grandmother before her, Charmaine casts charms for a living. As a witch, she spends her life helping others, not being helped. So when her spells begin misfiring, she has nowhere to turn. Until a handsome farmer arrives demanding she break a love spell, and Charmaine realizes he holds the key to her misspells. But what if solving his problem comes at the cost of her heart’s desire?
Grasping at Eternity by Karen Amanda Hooper
Leave it to Maryah Woodsen to break the one rule that will screw up eternity: Never erase your memories.
Before entering this life, Maryah did the unthinkable – she erased. Now, at 17 years old, she’s clueless that her new adoptive family has known her for centuries, that they are perpetually reincarnated souls, and that they have supernatural abilities. Oh, and she’s supposed to love (not despise) Nathan, the green-eyed daredevil who saved her life.
Nathan is convinced his family’s plan to spark Maryah’s memory is hopeless, but his love for her is undying. After spending (and remembering) so many lifetimes together, being around an empty version of his soulmate is heart shattering. He hates acting like a stalker, but has no choice because the evil outcast who murdered Maryah in their last lifetime is still after her.
While Maryah’s hunter inches closer, she and Nathan make assumptions and hide secrets that rip them further apart. Maryah has to believe in the magic within her, Nathan must have faith in the power of their love, and both need to grasp onto the truth before they lose each other forever – and discover just how lonely eternity can be.
Never (Prequel to The Amber Isle) by Ashley Capes
Adventure? Check. Magic? Check. Sarcasm? You bet.
Roguish Never is sure he has hunted down every relic and every clue possible on his quest to finally lift the curse on his blood and hopefully learn his true name. However, convincing the wealthy Lord Firmita to part with a map to the sunken city proves to be far more dangerous than he first imagined.
Corvus by L.E. Harrison
A witch and a son of Corvus must combine their powers to defeat the witch goddess and save the souls of the Merulas trapped inside the Shadowlands.
As host of the newscast, The Scoop At Five: Live!, Catriona Remington prefers to show the world a brave face. Inside she’s barely keeping it together, worrying over the fates of Sarina and Jonathan Lance. After they located the twins’ missing father in Blackwater Hills, Sarina stayed behind by choice. Jonathan, however, is being held prisoner in the castle dungeon for the crime of homicide.
When she receives disturbing news from the senior Medicus of Blackwater castle, Catriona enlists J. Lance Sr.’s help to infiltrate the dimension of the children of Corvus and aid her friends. But an irresistible attraction to Samuel Singleton, the newly crowned leader of the tribe, awakens a power she’s been suppressing since leaving the coven. Also complicating matters, is Sarina’s mystifying and debilitating illness. When Catriona follows Samuel into the Shadowlands to rescue his father, she finds herself at the mercy of the witch goddess and her demons.
To save his father’s spirit and protect his mate, Samuel must learn to embrace his power and his duty to his tribe as the Merula. He must also learn to accept Bestiae–the god-like part of himself he can’t control.
Can Catriona be the bridge that ends the centuries’ long feud between the sons of Corvus and the daughters of Venefica? Or will the mere fact that she was born a witch irreparably damage the Balance in Blackwater Hills, and provoke the wrath of the Raven of Otherworld?
CORVUS is book three in the compelling contemporary fantasy trilogy about a tribe of shapeshifters, deep within the inhospitable forest of northern Maine USA, in an alternate dimension known as Blackwater Hills.