We love fiction. It’s in our blood and it’s in our souls. Great stories thrill us and inspire us in a way that nothing else can. If you’re like us, then we invite you to revel in this anthology of all-original stories we’ve created for you.

In CAST OF CHARACTERS, you’ll meet a collection of unforgettable personalities. The devoted wife who discovers her husband’s devastating secret. The Black Death survivor who reinvents herself. The woman who finds love in the arms of a dark, dangerous artist. The devoted scientist faced with a daunting ethical dilemma. The woman who hears ghosts. The gorgeous but fated young man. The small-town beauty queen with a world-class mean streak. The inventor who fears his invention. The man seeking a reunion decades later with his first love. The stalker who understands too late who he is stalking. The dreadful athlete who gets one opportunity to win. The man who loves a woman society will not allow him to love. These are only a few of the figures who will leap from the page and take residence in your heart.

In addition, CAST OF CHARACTERS is highlighted by several “events” you won’t want to miss:

• #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander delivers her first short story with a contemporary setting — as does New York Times bestselling author Tanya Anne Crosby.
• New York Times bestselling author Jo Beverley brings back the hero of her novel Forbidden Magic.
• New York Times bestselling author Angie Fox creates a new Biker Witches story.
• New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham writes her first story with her son Jason.
• New York Times bestselling author Katie MacAlister tells the story of one of her most beloved teen characters as an adult.
• National bestselling author Julie Ortolon tells the beloved Pearl Island story her fans have been clamoring for.
• National bestselling author Diana Peterfreund offers the origin story for one of the most important magical items in her “killer unicorn” series.

A huge volume of twenty-eight stories ranging from romance to suspense to fantasy to comedy to poignant character pieces, CAST OF CHARACTERS is a must-have book for everyone who loves fiction. Contributors include: Autumn Treasures by Catherine Anderson, Between the Lines by Victoria Alexander, Waiting by Barbara Bretton, Jo Beverley, Julie Compton, Tanya Anne Crosby, Carole Nelson Douglas, Rosemary Edghill, Angie Fox, Heather Graham and Jason Pozzessere, Greg Herren, Vicki Hinze, Marianna Jameson, Wayne Jordan, Kate Kingsbury, CJ Lyons, Katie MacAlister, Ashley McConnell, Jody Lynn Nye, Julie Ortolon, Diana Peterfreund, Laura Resnick, Patricia Rice, Deb Stover, Victoria Strauss, Karen Tintori, Diane Whiteside and Steven Womack.

According to Maya legend, December 21, 2012, will mark the end of the world as we know it. Is it myth . . . or will their prediction become reality?

Archaeologist Lina Taylor has devoted her life to studying ancient Maya artifacts, splitting her time between digs in Yucatan and the classroom teaching college students. But the professor’s structured, academic life is about to spin out of control. Some extremely valuable and important Maya artifacts have gone missing. Are the culprits fanatics determined to create chaos and usher in annihilation?

Helping out a friend, former immigration and customs enforcement officer Hunter Johnston is determined to recover the missing pieces and he needs Lina’s help. A man used to calling the shots and working alone, he isn’t comfortable letting anyone get close, especially a beautiful and brainy woman like Lina. His gift for reading people tells him there’s a lot going on below that professional exterior, and he’s more than a little curious to probe her depths.

Burying herself in her work, Lina’s had little experience handling men, especially one as fascinating and exasperating as the secretive, headstrong Hunter. A devoted archaeologist, she has the skill to excavate those protective layers all the way to his core.

But finding the missing artifacts is only the beginning of a mystery that will plunge these unlikely partners into adventure, romance, and danger more thrilling, sensual, and deadly than either of them knows. . . .

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Dillon Cameron believes in making his own luck, and winning Carly for a weekend is only the start of what he intends to turn into much more. All of Carly’s resolve is put to the test. When it comes right down to it, Dillon is a good man.

Geoff Burnside, a man Carly used to date turns up in the small Arizona town, and he seems to be everywhere she goes. It isn’t long before Dillon figures out something is very wrong about the man... Only he discovers Burnside’s past too late.

When Carly goes missing, it’s up to Dillon to find her—and save her.

Can be purchased for:
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Smashwords
Pink Zebra Publishing

While Joceline can’t deny that her boss is attractive, as a single mother with responsibilities, she’s determined to be professional. But when Jon is accosted by a criminal seeking revenge, she comes to his aid—fueling the spark that is growing between them.

As the danger to Jon’s safety grows, Joceline stands by his side. But when the smoke clears, will the man who avoided love realize that all he ever needed was right there all along?

Read an excerpt (from HC edition)

Lucas Sebastian has never been one to ignore a lady in danger, even if she is trespassing on his property. Quickly disposing of her would-be assassin, he insists they keep the matter private. There are rumors enough already, about treasure buried under his garden, and occult botanical experiments performed by his uncle — who died of mysterious causes.

With Evangeline’s skill for detection, and Lucas’s sense of the criminal mind, they soon discover that they have a common enemy. And as the energy emanating from Crystal Gardens intensifies, they realize that to survive they must unearth what has been buried for too long...

1890, Oregon. Recently widowed Kate Blakely is struggling to make ends meet on her small farm while trying to heal from the scars of her late husband’s cruelty. When her handsome, brawny neighbor, Zachariah McGovern, almost dies while saving her four-year-old daughter from a near fatal accident, Kate is deeply wary of the man she brings into her home to nurse back to health.

Gradually Kate realizes that underneath Zach’s rough exterior is a gentle, loving soul who is fiercely protective of her and her daughter. But as much as Zach longs for Kate’s love, she knows she can’t open her heart without revealing her darkest secret—a shocking truth that, if discovered, could destroy them both.

Originally published January l970 by HarperCollins and August 1993 by HarperTorch.

Sebastian Blakely, the Baron Templemore, dares not admit that he is the one Juliet seeks—much less that it is for his kiss that she still yearns. Confessing to the abduction would only bring disaster and scandal upon them both. Yet how can he convince Juliet to forsake her pursuit of her dream lover when all he dreams of is holding her in his arms again?

Originally published June 2002.

Read an excerpt (from 06/02 edition)

Molly doesn’t know why she’s attracted to a man who’s determined to dig up dirt on her, even if he is gorgeous. But cynical Keegan might be the one person who can truly understand her shadowy past—and if the two can risk opening their hearts, they just might forge a brighter future.

Originally published April 2007.

Centuries ago Broder Calderson committed murder. As punishment, he was given over to the dominion of Loki, the Trickster God, made part of the Brotherhood of the Damned and condemned to an immortal life of battle against the Blight, blood-drinkers from Hel.

A mysterious woman he can’t resist.

One thousand years to the day he was damned, Loki allows him a woman as reward for his good service and repentance of his crimes. Once Broder sees Jessamine Hamilton, he is overcome with need. But Jessa is no ordinary woman, and the truth of who—and what—she is could have dangerous consequences.

A tormented man she can’t deny.

Though a future together is impossible, the warrior’s touch ignites an irresistible passion in Jessa. But every heated kiss pushes them closer to destruction. Forced to return to the brutality of his Viking past to protect her, will Broder surrender forever to his darkest impulses?

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Former marine Tom Cavanaugh’s come home to Virgin River, ready to take over his family’s apple orchard and settle down. He knows just what the perfect woman will be like: sweet, decent, maybe a little naive. The marrying kind.

Nothing like Nora Crane. So why can’t he keep his eyes off the striking single mother?

Nora may not have a formal education, but she graduated with honors from the school of hard knocks. She’s been through tough times and she’ll do whatever it takes to support her family, including helping with harvest time at the Cavanaugh’s orchard. She’s always kept a single-minded focus on staying afloat...but suddenly her thoughts keep drifting back to rugged, opinionated Tom Cavanaugh.

Both Nora and Tom have their own ideas of what family means. But they’re about to prove each other completely wrong...

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Catalina’s father is a well-known writer, but wastrel whose disappearances continuously put them close to destitution. Something drastic must change, so it is with quill in hand, that Catalina completes her father’s latest parody of Iverson and Matson Brentwood’s spectacular arrival in London. When the story hits the newsprint, a darkly handsome man is at her door, looking for her father.

Seeing the dashing rogue in the flesh, for a bewildering moment dallying with the rake seems like the perfect fictional escape—and it’s all she can do not to give into the madness of the intriguing man.

Is he really a Viking with a vampire’s bite? An angel with the body of a thunder god? A lone wolf with love on his mind? Alexandra Kelly, his prey, thinks Vikar Sigurdsson is either flat-out crazy or he’s trying to maneuver her into his bed—which is hardly where a professional reporter should conduct an interview, tempting as that prospect might be.

SOME MEN ARE TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE...

Until Vikar does something a teensy bit unexpected, and Alex begins to wonder whether her mystery man could really be everything he says he is: a Viking Vampire Angel on a thousand-year-long mission with his pack of sinful brothers—and a man who’s finally found the woman of his dreams. By then, Vikar is already wrapping his chiseled arms around Alex’s body...and sinking his wicked fangs right into her neck. If this is sin, why does it feel so good?

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Renegade warrior Damion Browne is a soldier of soldiers, an enforcer of the code of honor. With ruthless precision, he calculates risks as deliberately as he does his lover’s satisfaction. Now it’s up to him to defeat a new generation of female Super Soldiers, including the one woman perfectly programmed to be his downfall.

His enemy...or his soul mate?

Lara Martin has never felt powerful, until she’s brainwashed to destroy the one man who can help her find the answers she so desperately seeks. Alone and embroiled in lies, Lara must turn to Damion for the key to the truth ...

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Police Officer Dare Barron has had a crush on Liza McKnight ever since he was a teenager. But despite his lifelong attraction, the closest he’s ever come to interacting with her is watching Liza regularly bail out her brother at the station.

Dare’s dark past with Liza’s brother, Brian, has always kept him from pursuing her. But suddenly Liza finds herself in need of protection and Dare appoints himself as the man for the job. And while the sizzling attraction between Dare and Liza draws them together, the past that Dare and Brian share threatens to keep the two apart forever.

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A member of the Shadow Hunter clan, Christopher has defied his own father to lead his people away from affliction and violence. Yet he cannot ignore his duty to carry on his ancient bloodline. Stunningly beautiful and brimming with an erotic life force, Victoria is everything Christopher ever hoped for in a mate . . . but as a Light Hunter, she’s his mortal enemy. Together, they could unite their warring tribes. But murderous factions on both sides don’t want peace—and they’ll stop at nothing to keep light and darkness apart forever . . .

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Cassie Fox lost everything in the chaos of revolution, leaving only a determination to help destroy Napoleon’s empire through her perilous calling. “Rescuing Grey” is merely one more mission. She hadn’t counted on a man with the stark beauty of a ravaged angel, whose desperate courage and vulnerability thaw her frozen heart. But a spy and a lord are divided by an impassable gulf even if they manage to survive one last, terrifying mission...

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When a hurricane roars through Lacey Armstrong’s home on the coast of Barefoot Bay, she decides all that remains in the rubble is opportunity. A new hotel is just what Mimosa Key needs, and Lacey and her teenage daughter are due for a fresh start. And nothing, especially not a hot, younger architect, is going to distract Lacey from finally making her dreams a reality.

A second chance is the only thing you have left.

Love has already cost Clay Walker everything. And if he’s going to have any chance of picking up the pieces of his life, he needs the job as Lacey Armstrong’s architect. What’s not in the plans is falling for the headstrong beauty. Her vision of the future is more appealing than anything he could have ever drafted for himself. Will Clay’s designs on Lacey’s heart be more than she can handle, or will she trust him to build something that will last forever?

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He’s no fairy-tale prince. But he just may be the hero she needs.

Ren has always danced along the fine line between being a little bit crazy and being overcome by a darkness that’s haunted him since his mortal days. As an empath, he prefers to live far from people who would leak their emotions all over him, so he’s not expecting the woman who drives right into the heart of his wood. She has a cursed book with her and demons hot on her heels. Even more surprising are her abilities and the reaction Ren has to her.

Aileas is on the run. She just isn’t certain if she’s running from something real or imagined. One thing is for sure, her brother is dead and she’s certain the book she found has something to do with his death. She really starts to doubt her sanity when she meets a hot but somewhat crazed man in the middle of nowhere.

He calls himself Ren, and although he doesn’t seem to be out to hurt her, he definitely seems to want something. She just doesn’t understand what. She does know what she wants though. She wants him, and the shadows and darkness she glimpses inside him don’t matter. At least, right up until he claims to be a guardian angel.

And she thought she was going crazy.

Read an excerpt (from e-book edition)

Tarnished Knight (Book 4 in Grimm’s Circle series — originally published 10-26-10 in e-book format)

The mind forgets, but the body remembers. Everything.

One look at Jack Wallace and Perci knows he’s going to be trouble. Even surrounded by soul stealers, he’s a one-man wrecking crew. What does he need Grimm training for? He’s already hell on earth, a warrior bent on destruction. And something...more.

He’s too strong and fast to be a mere mortal. Even covered in blood, he makes her forget she’s only here to do a job and get out. It’s twisted. Sick. She hasn’t felt this alive in three centuries.

Born with a natural talent for killing unnatural things, Jack has always known things he shouldn’t. The fact that Perci is one of them glows all over her. Giving him an unholy urge to see just how far he can push her before don’t touch me melts into touch me there.

When they come together, it isn’t careful or cautious. It’s heaven and hell, exposing all their raw and wounded places to healing heat, resurrecting memories of a destined love from the distant past. But the evil that destroyed them once before has tracked them here, threatening their second and last chance at forever. Demanding a sacrifice no one—Grimm or human—should ever be asked to make...

Read an excerpt (from e-book edition)

Moira Dunne is a witch—the quantum physics kind. Time and space are her playthings. Which might explain why her one-night stand from a hundred years ago has turned up to “claim” her—and request her family’s assistance with the war he’s brewing. But the more she learns about Connlan Kayrs, the more she comes to think this is normal behavior for him...

There’s Nowhere to Hide

When Conn and Moira tumbled on the moonlit grass, Conn hadn’t meant to mark her for his mate for all time. She was only twenty! But it wasn’t easy to wait for her. It was even harder to forget her. So when he finally returns for his wicked-hot witch, he’s ready to let the sparks fly. Even if he burns up in flames...

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As a deputy, Alma knows how to keep her emotions in check. It’s not easy, especially when Cash looks into her eyes. He hurt her once, yet she can’t resist having him in her life again. Alma sees he’s troubled, and she wants to help—if she can keep love out of the equation. But it just might be the answer they both need!

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On the run with a stranger, Megan wondered how her quiet life had changed so drastically. Having Evan as her protector was comforting and she knew he’d do anything to keep her alive. But he was also a man who had her questioning her belief that she’d never love again. And that was even more dangerous....

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In the kitchen, pastry chef Melinda Edgeworth creates pure magic. Too bad that magic doesn’t translate into her personal life. And that has never been more obvious than at her brother’s wedding. Lucky for her, one very eligible groomsman Pete Dale has her in his sights. The sizzle between them is almost too intense and Melinda walks away with a definite smile on her face.

But their one night won’t stay that way. Because suddenly they’re working together at Pete’s hotel. All that chemistry is interfering with their jobs. Maybe the only way to fix this is to get this attraction out of their systems. And never has a solution been so delicious!

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By rights, they should hate each other.

Filmmaker Jennifer Hunter doesn’t want to make a hockey documentary any more than hockey defenseman Axel Rankin wants to star in one. But neither of them anticipates the molten rush of pure lust for each other, and they can’t help but give in, on and off camera....

The last thing Axel needs is a camera shoved in his face, probing into his life and his rocky past. Especially if the woman calling the shots is a mouthy, assertive, drop-dead sexy redhead—who makes him want to do things that definitely require an adults-only rating!

His favorite game just got a whole new set of rules....

Double Overtime

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Posing as a masseuse to gather information at a ritzy, secluded mountain spa is way outside Phoenix’s skill set. But how hard can it be to smooth oils over muscular men, especially when Phoenix is searching for her missing best friend—the woman whose place she is taking at the exclusive pleasure club?

Very hard and increasingly treacherous when the muscles she works on belong to Roman Wilde, an ex-navy SEAL working undercover. Roman is on his own mission—to unravel a sinister criminal ring with long tentacles.

Roman and Phoenix are an unlikely pair pushed together—uneasily—as hunting partners. Passion and power can make irresistible bedfellows . . . or a deadly combination.

Originally published August 1995 and September 2003 by Zebra Books.

Can be purchased for:
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Forces beyond their control drove them apart, but fifteen years later life has changed for both of them. When they meet again, they discover their smoldering attraction has turned into a mature, burning need. Too bad some of the same forces gather to pry them apart again, this time with more sinister reasons.

Originally published June 1996 and October 2002 by Zebra Books.

Can be purchased for:
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Nasty Ferrito, ex-Navy SEAL, falls hard for the small screen beauty and Polly isn’t fighting the attraction as strongly as she thinks she is.

In a town with its own guilty secrets, a shadowy menace more complicated than she or Nasty could have imagined closes in. Every pleasure has its price and every desire its dangerous side. Love changes everything.

Originally published March 1997 and July 2002 by Zebra Books.

Can be purchased for:
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Tristram Tremaine has never fit in with his large and boisterous family. They believe they carry a magic gene that comes alive only when they fall in love with another who carries that gene. After disappointing his parents one too many times, Tris, the bad-boy brother, hits the road on his cycle, drifting away from his destiny.

That is, until he meets Maggie O’Brian, a spit-fire rodeo rider with a strange ability to calm wild horses. Maggie lives on the road too, avoiding relationships. Her mother left her, the boy she loved left her, even her dog left her. The last thing she wants in a man is a tomcat with “love ’em and leave ’em” written all over him.

But the connection between Tris and Maggie is instantaneous. After a mysterious accident nearly kills Tris, he and Maggie must learn to believe in their destiny and each other to stay one step ahead of those who will do anything to prevent them from claiming it.

Can be purchased for/from:
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Smashwords

In his mortal life, the only thing Jacob liked better than money was a good brawl—until he stuck his fist into the wrong fight, and a demon sent him spinning into a new life as a Grimm.

Now, a hundred years later, he’s been called to protect someone too much like himself. A woman who could let the chains of her past drag her down unless she learns to let go. A woman who fights like there’s no tomorrow, because she clearly doesn’t want a tomorrow.

Celeste thought her second chance at life would be an opportunity to fix some of her worst mistakes, to set things straight. She couldn’t have been more wrong. She’s trapped by the past and her regrets, and nothing—not even her darkly sexy new trainer, Jacob—has a blade sharp enough to cut her loose.

Chains are Jacob’s specialty, but his help comes with a price. To her, the cost is her heart. To Jacob...something much more.

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Can be purchased for/from:
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Samhain Publishing

Meanwhile, Kol—the Twilight Lord—revels in his victory. The exquisite Domina is now in his possession, and her powers will soon help him to conquer first Hetar and then Terah. But Lara will not stand for his treachery, even as she is seduced by his charisma. She calls on all of her strength—and the passion in her heart—to once again rise to the challenge of her destiny.

Originally published May 2007 in trade paperack.

Madeline, Avery, and Nicole are strangers to one another, but they have one thing in common. They each wake up one morning to discover that their life savings have vanished, along with their trusted financial manager...leaving them with nothing but co-ownership of a dilapidated beachfront house.

No one is going to save them but themselves. Determined to fight back, they throw their lots in together and take on the challenge of restoring the historic mansion to its former glory. But just as they begin to reinvent themselves and discover the power of friendship, their secrets threaten to tear down their trust, and destroy their lives a second time.

Read an excerpt (from TP edition)

Originally published in trade paperback May 2011.

Renovating her family’s once-posh resort is a labor of love for Olivia Bellamy. When duty calls, she forgoes a fast-paced Manhattan summer for the Catskills retreat, where her grandparents want everyone together for one last gathering of family and friends.

But the camp is in disarray, and reclaiming its lost greatness seems beyond Olivia. Forced to hire contractor Connor Davis, she is caught between her irritation at his laid-back attitude and a still-smoldering flame for the man arising from her own summers at camp. As the days grow warm, not even the inviting blue waters of Willow Lake can cool the passions flaring between them—or keep her family’s shocking secrets at bay.

Originally published August 2006.

Jenny Majesky is devastated when she loses everything in a house fire. But among the ashes she finds an unusual treasure hidden amid her grandfather’s belongings, one that starts her on a path toward a life that she never imagined.

The Winter Lodge, a remote cabin on the shores of Willow Lake, becomes a safe refuge for Jenny, where she and local police chief Rourke McKnight try to sort out the mysteries revealed by the fire. But when a blizzard traps them together, Jenny, accustomed to the safe predictability of running the family bakery, suddenly doesn’t feel so secure. For even as Rourke shelters her from the storm outside, she knows her heart is at risk. Now following her dreams might mean walking away from her one chance at love.

Originally published February 2007.

With her daughter grown and flown, Nina Romano is ready to embark on a new adventure. She’s waited a long time for dating, travel and chasing dreams. But just as she’s beginning to enjoy being on her own, she finds herself falling for Greg Bellamy, owner of the charming Inn at Willow Lake and a single father with two kids of his own.

Greg lost his first marriage to a demanding career. Now he’s determined to make a new start before it’s too late. Juggling work, raising his young son and helping his nearly grown daughter face life’s ultimate challenge, he has no time to fall in love. Still, with Nina Romano, love feels just right this time around.

Originally published August 2007.

International lawyer Sophie Bellamy has dedicated her life to helping people in war-torn countries. But when she survives a hostage situation, she remembers what matters most—the children she loves back home. Haunted by regrets, she returns to the idyllic Catskills village of Avalon on the shores of Willow Lake, determined to repair the bonds with her family.

There Sophie discovers the surprising rewards of small-town life—including an unexpected passion for Noah Shepherd, the local veterinarian. Noah has a healing touch for anything with four legs, but he’s never had any luck with women—until Sophie.

Snowfall at Willow Lake speaks from the heart about all the loves that fill a woman’s life, and all the ways that love is tested and made to grow. It’s the story of what comes after a woman survives an unspeakable horror and finds her way home, to healing and redemption and a new chance at happiness.

Originally published August 2008.