The widow of the owner of Jameson Mansion lost her mind and committed suicide, vowing to come back in 100 years to deliver good news from the afterlife. On the exact day of her return, a young group of thrill seekers locked themselves down in the mansion to experience her return. But will this tale of paranormal suspense end the way you would expect? Probably not.John Aalborg's distinctive and poignant short story collection illuminates the volatility of the human character in six different shades of good and evil. Literary pulp fiction!"Morton's Fork Crossing" — Bull Schaffner, Aalborg's signature, wannabe private investigator, finds himself in a community of backwater Florida misfits. While working to locate a stolen 18-wheeler he falls in love with the missing driver's girlfriend only to discover that his choices for the future are typically limited."Giorgio Possum" — An old man misses the young wife he treated badly."Passion's Perch" — Young love powered by imagination, a classic American car, and parental guidance fueled by alcohol."Furby Mountain Florida" — On the day after he receives seriously bad news, a truck driver is invited to ride along with a garbage hauler who wants to take the man's mind off his troubles and see life in a different way. A hungry little Furby does his sweet part."Exile" — The quest by a 14-year-old illegal and his sister to solve the mystery surrounding the middle-aged American who is trying to befriend them."Bible School Tattoo" — A seasoned tattoo artist and his beautiful but atheist nurse/wife ink a Christian girl.

"Edwin" is a fantasy short story about a Storyteller who suffers from blank spots in his memory. The problem is when he wakes up one time covered in blood. Read it for free at https://stories.osterin.comSeaside Summers are a series of stand-alone romances that may also be enjoyed as part of the larger Love in Bloom series."You can always rely on Melissa Foster to deliver a story that's fresh, emotional and entertaining. Make sure you have all night, because once you start you won't want to stop reading. Every book's a winner!" New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak"Melissa Foster is synonymous with sexy, swoony, heartfelt romance!" New York Times Bestseller Lauren BlakelyIN SEASIDE DREAMS...Bella Abbascia has returned to Seaside Cottages in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, as she does every summer. Only this year, Bella has more on her mind than sunbathing and skinny-dipping with her girlfriends. She's quit her job, put her house on the market, and sworn off relationships while she builds a new life in her favorite place on earth. That is, until good-time Bella's prank takes a bad turn and a sinfully sexy police officer appears on the scene.Single father and police officer Caden Grant left Boston with his fourteen-year-old son, Evan, after his partner was killed in the line of duty. He hopes to find a safer life in the small resort town of Wellfleet, and when he meets Bella during a night patrol shift, he realizes he's found the one thing he'd never allowed himself to hope for--or even realized he was missing.After fourteen years of focusing solely on his son, Caden cannot resist the intense attraction he feels toward beautiful Bella, and Bella's powerless to fight the heat of their budding romance. But starting over proves more difficult than either of them imagined, and when Evan gets mixed up with the wrong kids, Caden's loyalty is put to the test. Will he give up everything to protect his son--even Bella?***READY FOR MORE SEASIDE SUMMERS? Seaside Dreams (Bella)Seaside Hearts (Jenna)Seaside Sunsets (Jamie)Seaside Secrets (Amy)Seaside Nights (Sky)Seaside Embrace (Hunter)Seaside Lovers (Grayson)Seaside Whispers (Matt)***SEASIDE SUMMERS is part of the Love in Bloom big family romance collection. Characters from each series appear in future books. Each book may be read as a stand-alone novel, or as part of the series. Visit Melissa's website for a series guides and checklists.READ THE FULL LOVE IN BLOOM SERIES:SNOW SISTERS: Sisters in Love, Sisters in Bloom, Sisters in WhiteTHE BRADENS (Weston, CO): Lovers at Heart, Destined for Love, Friendship on Fire, Sea of Love, Bursting with Love, Hearts at Play, Promise My Love (novella), Daring Her Love (novella)THE BRADENS (Trusty, CO): Taken by Love, Fated for Love, Romancing My Love, Flirting with Love, Dreaming of Love, Crashing into LoveTHE BRADENS (Peaceful Harbor, MD): Healed by Love (Nate), Surrender My LoveRiver of Love, Crushing on Love, Whisper of Love, Thrill of LoveTHE REMINGTONS: Game of Love, Stroke of Love, Flames of Love, Slope of Love, Read, Write, Love, Touched by Love THE RYDERS: Seized by Love, Claimed by Love, Chased by Love, Rescued by Love, Swept Into LoveWILD BOYS AFTER DARK: Logan, Heath, Jackson, CooperBAD BOYS AFTER DARK: Mick, Dylan, Brett, Carson HARBORSIDE NIGHTS: Catching Cassidy, Discovering Delilah, Tempting Tristan***AUTHOR BIOMelissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance--perfect beach reads--with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa's emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented. Melissa enjoys chatting with readers and book clubs. Send her an email invitation to your next event!

Tarvin is shy, intelligent, and awkward, all of which he gets to prove when his crush from school pays him a visit for help with her homework. It all goes further downhill when she convinces him to break into a private garden. Read it for free at https://stories.osterin.comSeaside Summers are a series of stand-alone romances that may also be enjoyed as part of the larger Love in Bloom series."You can always rely on Melissa Foster to deliver a story that's fresh, emotional and entertaining. Make sure you have all night, because once you start you won't want to stop reading. Every book's a winner!" New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak"Melissa Foster is synonymous with sexy, swoony, heartfelt romance!" New York Times Bestseller Lauren BlakelyIN SEASIDE DREAMS...Bella Abbascia has returned to Seaside Cottages in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, as she does every summer. Only this year, Bella has more on her mind than sunbathing and skinny-dipping with her girlfriends. She's quit her job, put her house on the market, and sworn off relationships while she builds a new life in her favorite place on earth. That is, until good-time Bella's prank takes a bad turn and a sinfully sexy police officer appears on the scene.Single father and police officer Caden Grant left Boston with his fourteen-year-old son, Evan, after his partner was killed in the line of duty. He hopes to find a safer life in the small resort town of Wellfleet, and when he meets Bella during a night patrol shift, he realizes he's found the one thing he'd never allowed himself to hope for--or even realized he was missing.After fourteen years of focusing solely on his son, Caden cannot resist the intense attraction he feels toward beautiful Bella, and Bella's powerless to fight the heat of their budding romance. But starting over proves more difficult than either of them imagined, and when Evan gets mixed up with the wrong kids, Caden's loyalty is put to the test. Will he give up everything to protect his son--even Bella?***READY FOR MORE SEASIDE SUMMERS? Seaside Dreams (Bella)Seaside Hearts (Jenna)Seaside Sunsets (Jamie)Seaside Secrets (Amy)Seaside Nights (Sky)Seaside Embrace (Hunter)Seaside Lovers (Grayson)Seaside Whispers (Matt)***SEASIDE SUMMERS is part of the Love in Bloom big family romance collection. Characters from each series appear in future books. Each book may be read as a stand-alone novel, or as part of the series. Visit Melissa's website for a series guides and checklists.READ THE FULL LOVE IN BLOOM SERIES:SNOW SISTERS: Sisters in Love, Sisters in Bloom, Sisters in WhiteTHE BRADENS (Weston, CO): Lovers at Heart, Destined for Love, Friendship on Fire, Sea of Love, Bursting with Love, Hearts at Play, Promise My Love (novella), Daring Her Love (novella)THE BRADENS (Trusty, CO): Taken by Love, Fated for Love, Romancing My Love, Flirting with Love, Dreaming of Love, Crashing into LoveTHE BRADENS (Peaceful Harbor, MD): Healed by Love (Nate), Surrender My LoveRiver of Love, Crushing on Love, Whisper of Love, Thrill of LoveTHE REMINGTONS: Game of Love, Stroke of Love, Flames of Love, Slope of Love, Read, Write, Love, Touched by Love THE RYDERS: Seized by Love, Claimed by Love, Chased by Love, Rescued by Love, Swept Into LoveWILD BOYS AFTER DARK: Logan, Heath, Jackson, CooperBAD BOYS AFTER DARK: Mick, Dylan, Brett, Carson HARBORSIDE NIGHTS: Catching Cassidy, Discovering Delilah, Tempting Tristan***AUTHOR BIOMelissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance--perfect beach reads--with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa's emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented. Melissa enjoys chatting with readers and book clubs. Send her an email invitation to your next event!

The Reaper war has destroyed their worlds leaving entire star systems decimated and whole civilizations erased from history. The people of the galaxy look to one person - one human - for salvation. Can the efforts of one woman succeed where innumerable peoples before her kind have failed? Join Commander Karen Shepard in this re-imagined ending to the Bioware game "Mass Effect 3".The Reaper war has destroyed their worlds leaving entire star systems decimated and whole civilizations erased from history. The people of the galaxy look to one person - one human - for salvation. Can the efforts of one woman succeed where innumerable peoples before her kind have failed? Join Commander Karen Shepard in this re-imagined ending to the Bioware game "Mass Effect 3".The story of Bioware's Commander Shepard continues with this full-length work, "EndShard: A Mass Effect Fan Novel", by Karen E. Politte ("VakarianGirl"). Taking place after the ending of "Mass Effect 3", this novel re-imagines the end story of the franchise, its central protagonist Commander Shepard, and the pivotal and peripheral characters of the Mass Effect universe.What does love truly mean when worlds are aflame and death waits in the void? Who would truly follow you through fire and pain to death? How do you keep going when you can barely crawl? This is a story not only of Commander Karen Shepard's battle with the Reapers, but also of her deepest fears and most closely-held hops.---------------------------------------------This novel contains adult language, adult situations and scenes of conflict.---------------------------------------------Suggested reading device: Kindle (.mobi).---------------------------------------------

Book 1 in the Conchos and Lace Series: Charlie Horn, the orphan son of a sea captain, is given a second chance at survival when a wealthy ranch owner in Monterey, California, becomes his benefactor. Don Topo treats him like a son, and Charlie, who dreams of becoming a vaquero, loves working on the Monterey estancia.Book 1 in the Conchos and Lace Series: Charlie Horn, the orphan son of a sea captain, is given a second chance at survival when a wealthy ranch owner in Monterey, California, becomes his benefactor. Don Topo treats him like a son, and Charlie, who dreams of becoming a vaquero, loves working on the Monterey estancia. Life would be uncomplicated, except that Charlie is irrevocably in love with Lucinda, Don Topo's beautiful blue-eyed daughter—and he has been ever since he first saw her. 
The proud and vibrant Lucinda has a thirst for life and a dangerous lack of fear, but she has no interest in Charlie, except to taunt and torment him. To her he is nothing but a family servant. 
Everything changes when Lucinda's lust for life and danger leads her into the arms of Tiburcio Vasquez, an outlaw wanted for the murder of a Monterey constable. Lucinda's dalliance with the outlaw results in a pregnancy, but Don Topo refuses to allow such a scandal to sully the family name. Instead, he insists that his daughter marry Charlie, thereby forcing him into a lifelong relationship with a woman who is part nightmare and part sweet dream. Set in the ever-changing world of the Alta Sierra in the late eighteen hundreds, Scent of Tears is a story about an unlikely marriage between a young man trying to find his place in the world and a young girl whose heart belongs to a charismatic bandit.

A special short story about a Valentin’s Day that changed one's life for all fans of "Be Lovefool" saga. Angellinni shows she can write about disappointment and getting new hopes with a dosis of sarcasm and she still stays lyrical. Few words that could give you some real issues to think about. Story in English, German and Polish.Apocalypse: keep it in the family…It's been three years since Chief Constable Paddington became a werewolf and thwarted the family of vampires who tried to fulfil an ancient prophecy and destroy the world. Three years of peace. Paddington was almost starting to believe that the hard times were over. That he could settle down with his wife. Think about starting a family.Unfortunately, family and Paddington don't go well together. His father died of a heart attack a few days after Paddington's birth. His mother's dying words still haunt him.Yeah, family's never been his strong suit, but Paddington is about to become a dad himself. Happy day.Except now the vampires have disappeared and the Supernatural Help and Investigation Team are demanding Paddington help bring them back. The werewolf pack, though, are howling for bloody revenge. So to speak.Oh, and there's some question about Paddington's father's death. Specifically, whether it actually... happened.Just like old times, then. Still, at least there isn't a prophecy foretelling the end of the world...Right?

Apocalypse: keep it in the family.Ah, the problems never cease. The Team want Paddington to help contain a family of vampires before they fulfil another vague, ancient prophecy that will destroy the world. The werewolf pack wants revenge. His wife wants him to stay away from it all. Oh, and there’s some question about Paddington’s father’s death. Specifically, whether it actually happened...Apocalypse: keep it in the family…It's been three years since Chief Constable Paddington became a werewolf and thwarted the family of vampires who tried to fulfil an ancient prophecy and destroy the world. Three years of peace. Paddington was almost starting to believe that the hard times were over. That he could settle down with his wife. Think about starting a family.Unfortunately, family and Paddington don't go well together. His father died of a heart attack a few days after Paddington's birth. His mother's dying words still haunt him.Yeah, family's never been his strong suit, but Paddington is about to become a dad himself. Happy day.Except now the vampires have disappeared and the Supernatural Help and Investigation Team are demanding Paddington help bring them back. The werewolf pack, though, are howling for bloody revenge. So to speak.Oh, and there's some question about Paddington's father's death. Specifically, whether it actually... happened.Just like old times, then. Still, at least there isn't a prophecy foretelling the end of the world...Right?

This book has everything, a dark family secret, adoption, a Scottish/Chinese social worker, a gay physiotherapist, romance, an Asian matchmaker, a fatal degenerative disease, a catholic funeral, a talking dog, religious conflict and much more, in a fast paced Scottish family saga set in the village of Carfin in Lanarkshire. Despite the drama it is a book that will hopefully make you laugh and cry.The story takes place in a village in Lanarkshire, Scotland, called Carfin. This is a unique place as it has a large Catholic population, a replica Lourdes grotto, an Islamic Mosque, a greyhound racing track, and a small Lithuanian community.Mags (Margaret O’Hara) is a twenty eight year old single Mother of three children. She is emotionally strong and capable, and has a sense of humour that sees her through most situations. She has a close relationship with her brother and sister, and tries hard to keep things on an even keel with her Mother. She has a romance with her sister’s social worker which is fraught with doubts, and she has a reasonable fear that there is Huntington’s Chorea (sometimes called Huntington’s disease) in her family history, but it has been kept a secret. As this is a hereditary condition with an onset in the middle years, sufferers often have their own children, and have passed on the gene, before they show any signs of the disease. If people were aware of their family history and the odds of having the damaged gene, they might wish to put off having their family till later, but Catholic teaching does not allow contraception, so there is a real dilemma for the religiously inclined.Tommy is a social worker in the nearest town of Motherwell, he is single, knows the family through Mags’ sister Kate, and has a romance with Mags. He finds it difficult to make decisions in his own life, but has to make life and death decisions at work.Mary Coyle, Mags’ Mother is a middle aged respectable member of the local community, early widowed and lives alone. She has kept secrets, family and personal, for years and finds it hard to give emotional love to her children unless they behave as she wants them to. She realises that the truth has to come out in the end.Mickey is Mags’ brother he gets involved with an Asian doctor who already has an arranged marriage planned. He is gay but has kept this a secret from some of his family.Harry Wang is a Scottish/Chinese social work manager who tortures the English language with inaccurate clichés.The story opens with the death of an Uncle and the funeral. It describes Mags, her children and her relationship with her ex-husband. Kate is the older sister and she and her husband are going through an assessment to be adoptive parents. Tommy the social worker is preparing the assessment. Mickey, the younger brother, is gay and has a relationship with a Pakistani Doctor whose nephew is in school with Mags’ oldest child, John.Mary Coyle (Mags Mother) drifted into marriage just after the war and made the best of her life, with a few mistakes here and there. She has knowledge of the family illness, and another big secret, but has delayed telling her children.Twins become available for adoption and there is great excitement in the family, at the same time Mickey’s romance goes wrong because he discovers that the Doctor has an arranged marriage planned. Mags tries to root out the truth about the Huntington’s Chorea from other family members and comes up against a lot of avoidance.. Issues of religious differences and hatred and a divided education system are also highlighted as they play a big part in Scottish culture.There are many more characters that play minor but colourful parts in the story. It is told in a fast paced style, and takes place over only about seven weeks. The mood is humorous and emotional with plausible characters.

Ty grew up alone with his mother always wanting to get out and be free to see the world, unbeknownst to him that is exactly what is about to happen when a war between vampires and wielders of magic collides with his own everyday life destroying everything that Ty knows about the world and how it is supposed to functionThe Hunted is a Prequel Novella to the Blood Series Books starting with Blood of a Werewolf. As an added bonus the first ten and a half chapters of the first book are included with The Hunted. Devon and Blake have been running from hunters most of their adult lives. They're used to life on the run - so much so that they've got it down to a science. Meet our brother duo before they venture to California and meet up with their destinies in the shape of the O'Rielly sisters.

The movements of life and the pauses in between are revealed in this short narrative. From the perspective of a single man,neither hero nor villain; he is like us. His story doesn't begin here and even with his last words his story continues beyond the words THE END. But this short blurb is enough for now. In this post-apocalyptic short are the revelations, not of humanity, but of a simple man.The Hunted is a Prequel Novella to the Blood Series Books starting with Blood of a Werewolf. As an added bonus the first ten and a half chapters of the first book are included with The Hunted. Devon and Blake have been running from hunters most of their adult lives. They're used to life on the run - so much so that they've got it down to a science. Meet our brother duo before they venture to California and meet up with their destinies in the shape of the O'Rielly sisters.

A masked ball, on a dark and stormy Halloween night, leads to the innocent and sheltered Annabelle finding the woman of her dreams with the seductive Trinity. But Annabelle gets more than she bargained for when her fantasy turns into a macabre nightmare.The Hunted is a Prequel Novella to the Blood Series Books starting with Blood of a Werewolf. As an added bonus the first ten and a half chapters of the first book are included with The Hunted. Devon and Blake have been running from hunters most of their adult lives. They're used to life on the run - so much so that they've got it down to a science. Meet our brother duo before they venture to California and meet up with their destinies in the shape of the O'Rielly sisters.

The Hunted is a Prequel Novella to Blood of a Werewolf and the blood series. Bonus content included. Devon and Blake have been running from hunters most of their adult lives. They're used to life on the run - so much so that they've got it down to a science. Meet our brother duo before they venture to California and meet up with their destinies in the shape of the O'Rielly sisters.The Hunted is a Prequel Novella to the Blood Series Books starting with Blood of a Werewolf. As an added bonus the first ten and a half chapters of the first book are included with The Hunted. Devon and Blake have been running from hunters most of their adult lives. They're used to life on the run - so much so that they've got it down to a science. Meet our brother duo before they venture to California and meet up with their destinies in the shape of the O'Rielly sisters.

Three authors, four fascinating tales and four bonus chapters!Featuring Brendan Carroll with A Dark Council and A Dark Matter -- two tales from within Brendan Carroll's Red Cross of Gold series.Featuring Maureen Miller -- A young adult story of alien abduction.Featuring Trish Lamoree -- A short story in the middle of her PSI Consulting series that happens right after Court of Miracles.

These are just a few of my short stories I created in my head and turned them into real documents for you to enjoy. I hope you enjoy all three of them, for they are very different from each other.Wothlondia Rising: The Anthology is a collection of prequels that launches the Beginnings series in the Realm of Ashenclaw. The events covered in this collection are intended to introduce you to these characters and give insight into their pasts, their motivations and the distinctive events that place them on their destined paths to become the heroes they were born to be, such as…A Rose in Bloom recounts the thrilling events of a young Rose Thorne, not yet a woman, who is trying to find her way in the city of Oakhaven. Orphaned and discarded, she finds refuge in a kind madam at a local brothel and eventually meets a man who is more than she bargains for.... Maturation Process is the telling tale of the high elf, Elec Stormwhisper, who lives in the overbearing shadow of his father, Keryth. Treated as an outcast and feeling alienated from his own people, he exiles himself for a decade, finding a friend in a strange place and begins to accept his own unique destiny. Will this young and inexperienced elf ever find his true calling? Tears of Blood is the amazing recount of the attacks on the region of Stonehill by the ancient and malevolent undead that are known as Blood Rot Zombies! Saeunn and the barbarians of both Chansuk and Greymoors must find a way to stop the undead infestation before they spread their miasma all across the face of Wothlondia! It is a tale that will forever change the young barbarian woman in more ways than one... Strength of Faith is a tale that places a young acolyte of The Shimmering One, Garius Forge, on a path that tests his spirituality and also places him face to face with a demonic presence that has the power to alter the face of Wothlondia forever! Will his reverence and devotion to his deity be enough to overcome this horrible demon? Reflections is an exploration into the true classifications of self-image. This short and sweet tale tells of the half-ogre barbarian, Orngoth, who begins to realize the true picture of what he is and where he comes from. During a raid with his ogre barbarian kin--the Ironskulls--Orngoth has an impromptu meeting that could forever change his own destiny. Will he see his true self in time or will he continue down the path of reckless endangerment? Distant Familiarity is the tale of three legendary figures in the history of Wothlondia, who are attempting to recover an ancient evil that was stolen away from them. Tiyarnon the High Priest, Rolin Hardbeard and Nimaira Silvershade set out to recover the artifact that has forever altered their former companion Sadreth, twisting him into something altogether evil. Can these ancient heroes find and recover the item before it is reunited with its former host?

Wothlondia Rising: The Anthology is a collection of prequels that launches the Beginnings series in the Realm of Ashenclaw. The events covered in this collection are intended to introduce you to these characters and give insight into their pasts, their motivations and the distinctive events that place them on their destined paths to become the heroes they were born to beWothlondia Rising: The Anthology is a collection of prequels that launches the Beginnings series in the Realm of Ashenclaw. The events covered in this collection are intended to introduce you to these characters and give insight into their pasts, their motivations and the distinctive events that place them on their destined paths to become the heroes they were born to be, such as…A Rose in Bloom recounts the thrilling events of a young Rose Thorne, not yet a woman, who is trying to find her way in the city of Oakhaven. Orphaned and discarded, she finds refuge in a kind madam at a local brothel and eventually meets a man who is more than she bargains for.... Maturation Process is the telling tale of the high elf, Elec Stormwhisper, who lives in the overbearing shadow of his father, Keryth. Treated as an outcast and feeling alienated from his own people, he exiles himself for a decade, finding a friend in a strange place and begins to accept his own unique destiny. Will this young and inexperienced elf ever find his true calling? Tears of Blood is the amazing recount of the attacks on the region of Stonehill by the ancient and malevolent undead that are known as Blood Rot Zombies! Saeunn and the barbarians of both Chansuk and Greymoors must find a way to stop the undead infestation before they spread their miasma all across the face of Wothlondia! It is a tale that will forever change the young barbarian woman in more ways than one... Strength of Faith is a tale that places a young acolyte of The Shimmering One, Garius Forge, on a path that tests his spirituality and also places him face to face with a demonic presence that has the power to alter the face of Wothlondia forever! Will his reverence and devotion to his deity be enough to overcome this horrible demon? Reflections is an exploration into the true classifications of self-image. This short and sweet tale tells of the half-ogre barbarian, Orngoth, who begins to realize the true picture of what he is and where he comes from. During a raid with his ogre barbarian kin--the Ironskulls--Orngoth has an impromptu meeting that could forever change his own destiny. Will he see his true self in time or will he continue down the path of reckless endangerment? Distant Familiarity is the tale of three legendary figures in the history of Wothlondia, who are attempting to recover an ancient evil that was stolen away from them. Tiyarnon the High Priest, Rolin Hardbeard and Nimaira Silvershade set out to recover the artifact that has forever altered their former companion Sadreth, twisting him into something altogether evil. Can these ancient heroes find and recover the item before it is reunited with its former host?