Anthologies

Celebrating Beginnings, a salute to the first day of the new Celtic year, the first anniversary of Samhain Publishing, we begin with the first annual Samhain Anthology. Inside you'll discover wonderful romantic stories in a wide range of genres from six talented authors. Charlene Teglia brings us a tale of vampires and a chance to start over, Jennie Andrus offers a paranormal showing what might happen when a woman's death is predicted. From Cassandra Kane, an out-of-this world futuristic story of the planet Samhain. Mackenzie McKade lends her talent to a historical quickie, where witch and Beserka unite. Kate Davies explores what might happen when two people from separate times meet and Lorelei James gives us humor and passion in her contemporary story of two strangers who must depend on each other.

Lori Armstrong * Jeff Ayers & Jon Land * Beverly Barton * William Bernhardt * Allison Brennan * Robert Browne * Pamela Callow * Lee Child * J.T. Ellison * Bill Floyd * Cindy Gerard * Heather Graham * Laura Griffin * Vicki Hinze * Andrea Kane *Julie Kenner * Sherrilyn Kenyon * Dianna Love * D.P. Lyle * James Macomber * Toni McGee Causey * Carla Neggers * Brenda Novak * Patricia Rosemoor * William Simon * Alexandra Sokoloff * Roxanne St. Claire * Mariah Stewart * Debra Webb Prepare for heart-racing suspense in this original collection by thirty of the hottest bestselling authors and new voices writing romance suspense today. Go on vacation with Allison Brennan's Lucy Kincaid, where she saves a man from drowning, only to discover he is in far greater danger on land. Meet Roxanne St. Claire's "bullet catcher"—bodyguard Donovan Rush—who may have met his match in the sexually charged "Diamond Drop." Debut author William Simon shows us what happens when the granddaughter of the president of the United States is kidnapped. And Lee Child's pitch-perfect "I Heard a Romantic Story" puts a whole new spin on Love Is Murder. Bodyguards, vigilantes, stalkers, serial killers, women (and men!) in jeopardy, cops, thieves, P.I.s, killers—these all-new stories will keep you thrilled and chilled late into the night.

The bestselling authors of Three’s Company show that sometimes it only takes two to tango… Ballroom Blitz by Lorelei James Rock drummer Jon White Feather is home from tour to reassess his music career. When his shy niece begs him to take a ballroom dancing class, Jon agrees, aware he’s no Fred Astaire. Still, it stings when his sexy-hot instructor, Maggie Buchanan, tells him he has no rhythm. Now Jon is ready to prove he can rock his body—and hers—on more than just the dance floor. Where There’s Smoke by Jayne Rylon When Logan switches on the news to witness his childhood friend Kyana pulling his uncle from a burning house, he rushes home to help his uncle rebuild. But before his hammer hits the first nail, sparks are flying. The heat between him and Kyana melts old affection into a completely new—and combustible—relationship. A Touch of Confidence by Jess Dee Jack’s supposed to keep the family business on course while his grandfather is in the hospital, but his first act is to rent a shop to the wrong tenant. Now he’s faced with beautiful, Amazon warrior of a woman who’s demanding satisfaction. He’d love to give it to her, but his idea of satisfaction has nothing to do with business… Warning: Couples bump and grind, turn combustible, and even quote Shakespeare in explicit, erotic detail.

MWA Grand Master Margaret Maron, Edgar Award winner Tom Franklin, and New York Times bestselling novelist Ron Rash headline a new anthology of 21 tales spanning from traditional detective stories to comic capers to darkest noir and more—something for all tastes. Murder Under the Oaks is published in conjunction with Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, held in 2015 in Raleigh, North Carolina—the City of Oaks. As with the convention itself, the anthology spreads a broad canopy across a wide range of crime writers from across the country and around the world—including both veteran writers and the brightest up-and-coming talents in the field. Several of the stories in Murder Under the Oaks draw on the region’s history and culture—including the birth of a secret society at the University of Virginia, a mystery from Edgar Allan Poe’s childhood days, and a series of less-than-welcome visits by everyone’s favorite hometown sheriff. All participants contributed their efforts to support our charity—the Wake County Public Libraries—and by extension readers and writers everywhere. All profits go to the library. Edited by Art Taylor Including Stories By J.L. Abramo J.D. Allen Lori Armstrong Rob Brunet P.A. De Voe Sean Doolittle Tom Franklin Toni Goodyear Kristin Kisska Robert Lopresti Robert Mangeot Margaret Maron Kathleen Mix Britni Patterson Karen Pullen Ron Rash Karen E. Salyer Sarah Shaber Zoë Sharp B.K. Stevens Graham Wynd

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Alexandra Ivy & Laura Wright, Donna Grant, Lorelei James, and Lauren Blakely.Four Dark Tales. Four Sensual Stories. Four Page Turners.BLADE: A Bayou Heat Novella by Alexandra Ivy & Laura WrightBlade was held captive by Benson Enterprises and abused for decades. When he’s finally rescued, he can’t return to the Wildlands. Not without the female he was forced to watch being impregnated. Valli just wants to run away and never look back. But with the shocking news of her pregnancy fresh in her mind, she wonders if that’s even possible. Told by her captors that one of the caged animals assaulted her, she knows she must do everything in her power to keep her unborn child safe.DRAGON BURN: A Dark Kings Novella by Donna GrantA promise made eons ago sends Sebastian to Italy on the hunt to find an enemy. His quarry proves difficult to locate, but there is someone who can point him in the right direction – a woman as frigid as the north. Using every seductive skill he’s acquired over his immortal life, his seduction begins. Until he discovers that the passion he stirs within her makes him burn for more… Gianna Santini has one love in her life – work. That is until a handsome Scot strolled into her life and literally swept her off her feet.TRIPPED OUT: A Blacktop Cowboys® Novella by Lorelei JamesStirling Gradsky abandoned the corporate rat race for a more laidback lifestyle. So it’s ironic she’s stuck working with a hard-bodied, know-it-all scientist who treats her like a stoner instead of a stone cold business woman capable of running a large scale cannabis operation. Dr. Liam Argent’s doctorate isn’t in chemistry, but from the moment he meets his sexy new coworker, there’s enough heat between them to short out all the lights in the grow house. Sparks fly as their attraction blazes. But can they weed out their differences without getting burned?STUD FINDER by Lauren BlakelyMan seeking woman: Hot, rich, smart, witty, self-made multimillionaire Internet genius seeks classy, intelligent, sexy, fun-loving woman who’s interested in settling down and sharing all the good things.There. Best. Ad. Ever.I will absolutely find the woman of my dreams, someone who’ll love me for me. Let me just hit the upload button right now...* * * *No. Just no. As a woman and a professional matchmaker, I can't let Dylan Parker run this ad. He’s the catch of all catches. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t fall in love with Dylan?I mean, besides me. It totally won’t be me.Every Dark Nights tale is breathtakingly sexy and magically romantic.

Edgar & Shamus welcomes mystery connoisseurs to the Golden Age of Mystery and Murder…Have we ever really left? Has the Golden Age ever really slipped over the falls? The puzzle, the who-dun-it, the why-dun-it, the how-dun-it, and the unshakable alibi are as much afoot today as they were when Dr. Watson documented Holmes’s exploits under the glow of gaslight. As if picking up where the early masters of detection left off, Edgar & Shamus features twelve original mystery tales written exclusively by Edgar Allan Poe Award and Shamus Award-winning authors. Edgar winner Martin Edwards promises a few relaxing days at a quiet and respectable English resort with criminologist Darius Fortune—or does he? Shamus winner John Floyd’s private detective Luke Walker reserves a 1940s seat for you in the New Orleans Quarter—paid for with old money. To save a friend from a murder rap Shamus winner P. J. Parrish’s “Salvage Consultant” Mavis Magritte must untangle an unshakable alibi with a set of risqué bunny ears. Shamus winner Brendan DuBois rebuilds Boston’s historic and famed Scollay Square without pulling a single building permit. It’s anybody’s guess which master detective might solve the big caper in Edgar winner Art Taylor’s “The Invisible Band”—Nero Wolfe, Miss Marple, Charlie Chan, Lord Peter Wimsey, Father Brown, and even Mr. Holmes are among the all-star sleuths assembled to solve the baffling mystery. In post WWII Havana, “vices are annuities” for Shamus winner Carolina Garcia-Aguilera’s veteran P.I. Sophie Stevenson. Thanks to Tennessee Williams, Shamus winner O’Neil De Noux’s private dick Lucien Caye is up to his hip-pocket in extortion. Edgar winner Doug Allyn’s major crimes detective and WWII combat veteran Dolph LaCrosse returns home only to be called the “new guy” by fellow cops. The war to end all wars may be over, but political skullduggery is still afoot in Shamus winner Lia Matera’s “The Party.” When a “riverboat” gambler washes up dead, Shamus winner Kristen Lepionka’s LA homicide dicks Hewitt and Carmichael are up to their necks in suspects all capable of dealing from the bottom of the deck. It’s trouble with a capital “T” when a Tyrone Power look-a-like saunters into Shamus winner Lori Armstrong’s Marlow Detective Agency. In Edgar winner John McAleer’s “The Case of the Illustrious Banker,” 1920s London-based detective Henry Von Stray and his able collaborator in the detection of crime Professor John W. Dilpate are up against a “nippy bit of work” in one of their most baffling cases yet. Discovered more than eight decades after first penned, “Illustrious Banker” makes its debut in Edgar & Shamus . McAleer—forty years before he would win the Edgar Award unanimously beating out Christie’s autobiography—created Von Stray and Dilpate in 1937 during the Golden Age of Mystery. Praise for Edgar & Shamus Go Golden : “ Edgar & Shamus Go Golden is a 24-carat collection of stories by the best in the business, proving that we are in a new Golden Age ourselves, and lucky to be here.” —SJ Rozan, Edgar Award winner and best-selling author of Family Business “ Edgar & Shamus Go Golden is a must-read. Editors Gay Toltl Kinman and Andrew McAleer assembled a collection of stories that fit together like the songs on a Beatles album, with one story setting up the next. Each piece captures the Golden Age glow the editors promised. I highly recommend it.” —Tom MacDonald, Shamus Award nominated author of the Dermot Sparhawk P.I. series “The Golden Age of Mystery will continue for as long as writers produce stories that challenge us to find solutions alongside the detectives. These stories in Edgar & Shamus Go Golden —some of the best of the best—offer definitive proof.” —Stephen D. Rogers, Derringer Award winning author of Shot to Death