Sedona Ramos is a dedicated public servant. Fluent in three languages, with looks that allow her to pass for Hispanic, Native American, or Middle Eastern, she is a valuable asset to the super-secret National Security Agency. When she accidentally stumbles upon a mysterious series of satellite images revealing activity at a shuttered nuclear facility in war-torn Iraq, somebody wants her dead. With danger lurking at every turn and not knowing who among her colleagues might be involved, Sedona risks her life to get the information to the one person she can trust-the president. The implications of Sedona's discovery are clear and quite possibly catastrophic. Potential suspects include foreign terrorists, high-ranking Cabinet members, and assorted others. Whomever the president picks for this mission must be above reproach. Vaughn Elliott is enjoying her self-imposed isolation on a remote island, content to live in quiet anonymity. But when old friend Katherine Kyle brings an urgent SOS from the president of the United States, duty trumps comfort. Time is of the essence. Vaughn, Sedona, and a hand-picked team of ex-operatives and specialists must figure out what's really going on outside Baghdad, stop it, and unmask the forces behind the plot. If they fail at any point along the way, it could mean the loss of millions of lives.Will Vaughn and company unravel the mysteries in time? The trail of clues stretches from the Middle East to Washington. The list of people who want to kill them is long. And the stakes have never been higher... Views: 49
High school senior Meredith Bedford is a social outcast. Her family recently moved from the Catskill Mountains to the sprawling suburbs of Albany, the capital of New York State. Shy and self-conscious about her acne scars, she stays to herself and tries to remain invisible. Her twelve-year-old brother, Mikey, has Down Syndrome and she tries hard not to blame her troubles on him. Despite verbal and sometimes physical harassment, she survives because she has her art. She was selected to be part of the elite Advanced Placement art class and is quite good at capturing the emotions of her subjects in her portraits. Art is the one thing, besides her family, that helps her cope with her outcast status. One day, at a senior class meeting, she sees Dani Lassiter, president of the senior class, captain of the lacrosse team, and knows that she must paint this enigmatic young woman. One class period later, Dani manipulates things to have Meredith as her partner for a history project. Meredith is suspicious of Dani's motives, but takes a chance. And it pays off. Meredith slowly sheds her invisibility cloak and allows Dani in - a little at a time. They explore an old Victorian house for their history project and become close with Esther and Millie, the two older women who own the house and who've lived together for about forty years. But, when Dani reveals to Meredith that she is gay, Meredith simply can't deal with the news. How had she not known? What is it that won't allow her come to terms with this unexpected news? Will Meredith control her own homophobia or will she reject the one person who had taken a chance on her and made her feel human? Views: 49
Desperate and running for her life, Darin has left behind the world she's known and hidden her gifts. With hunters on her trail, nowhere is safe but a night's respite in an out-of-the-way barn seems worth the risk. Suspicious of Northerners, Aysha is wary of the stranger she discovers in her barn. Their first meeting only confirms her distrust, but she's drawn to the mysterious fugitive and fears give way to passion.
When Aysha is threatened by Darin's pursuers, the two must escape to a new land. Hoping for a peaceful life, neither can out run secrets of their past. Views: 48
Ainsley “Lee” Dencourt was born with her future drawn out as heir of the Dencourt Gallery in Washington, DC. She has mastered both fine art and the art of brushing off the responsibilities of her life. When the death of her father shatters her carefree world, Lee is caught between her decisions and her desires as she struggles to preserve his life’s legacy. For Morgan, the only thing more important than her family is art. Morgan has put her heart and soul into her education and her future—it’s what got her to Yale and to Paris. She can’t allow anything or anyone to come between her and her dreams of success. So why is it that every time Morgan gets a handle on life a dangerously sexy and hopelessly frustrating woman from her past appears and turns her world upside down? From the City of Lights to the Nation’s Capital, Lee and Morgan search for their place in the world of art. Is that place together—or will fear, pride, and deceit destroy what they’ve found with each other?** Views: 48
Following an attempt to kill her, librarian Cassie Lewis leaves the only life she’s ever known and flees west into the mist-shrouded borderlands that lie between England and Wales. There, the sleepy, hillside village of Bourn’s Edge provides a safe haven for her to regroup and decide what to do next, and reclusive local artist Tarian Brangwen provides an intriguing and welcome distraction. But Cassie soon makes a startling discovery that turns her world upside down. For deep in the heart of the adjacent Bourn Forest lies an entrance to Faerie, and the enigmatic Tarian is much more than she appears . . . Views: 46
City professional Olivia Lewis is coming to terms with her latest romantic failure by attempting to throw herself into her work. But with clients suddenly leaving Applewood Financial in their droves it becomes clear that old enemies have decided to strike and Olivia realises that she is losing everything.Meanwhile the world of first-class flight attendant Emily White comes crashing down around her when she loses her job with Crown Airlines. With no income, enormous debts and a broken-hearted five-year-old son she thinks that things can't get any worse. That is until a blast from the past threatens it all. When a twist of fate brings them together will they finally be able to understand each other? Views: 45
No one has her life more mapped out than Kai Merlin. She'll succeed her mother Galen and carry out every duty expected of her—the most important of which is to keep hidden the secrets her people have kept for eons. Vivien Palmer's life has been just as planned out by her parents, and their dream is for her and her brother Franklin to eventually run the family business. But Vivien's dreams lie in the depths of the oceans searching for clues to the shells she and Franklin wear around their necks. A chance encounter as children forever linked Kai and Vivien for life, but can they find a way to be together despite what's expected of them? The answers lie Beneath the Waves. Views: 45
Animal rescue worker Iris Mallery thinks she has created a stable and secure home for herself, but when her small town is battered by an earthquake, Iris needs to rebuild not only her own life, but the lives of the displaced dogs and cats now filling her shelter.The quake's effects are personal for Iris, but not for seismologist Casey Radnor. Casey is a scientist above all else, logical and disconnected from the natural disasters she studies. When she rescues a stray dog from some rubble, she finds herself caught up in the lives of Iris and the others affected by the quake, despite her best efforts to remain professional.The beautiful San Juan Islands in Washington State become the epicenter of both the earthquake and the collision of Iris's and Casey's hearts. Can love bind the shattered fragments together again? Views: 45
After a life of wrong turns and lost hope, can true love be more than a bittersweet fantasy?Melinda Andrews arrives on the Oregon coast with a dream of running the Sea Glass Inn. Still reeling after an unexpected divorce, Mel believes she has missed her chance to find love. All she wants is to make her business a success and regain her independence. She locates the artist who inspired her move so she can commission more paintings for her new inn.Pamela Whitford runs a gallery in a small seaside town, planning events and supporting other artists while neglecting her own talent. Since being deserted by the love she thought was forever, she refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her again. But Pam can’t resist the struggling new innkeeper, and she agrees to paint for her even though it means opening herself up to creativity and the vulnerability that goes with it.Can they learn to trust again and discover a second chance at love?About the AuthorKaris is a Pacific Northwest native with a BA in English from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and a few years of postgraduate work in Classics at UW in Seattle. Naturally, this education led to a career as a horseback riding instructor. She has been teaching for over twenty years and has been published in a national equestrian magazine. She lives on a small farm in Washington with a black cat, goats, and a foster horse from a local equine rescue group. She spends most of her free time reading, playing the violin and viola, and riding with friends. Views: 44
Three stories by three talented crime writers—Carsen Taite, Ali Vali, and Michelle Grubb—each packing her own special brand of heat. In Hammersmith by Michelle Grubb: Officer Belinda Riley knew the signs of a suicide bomber, but this time she was blind to the obvious. This time she didn't want to believe what was right in front of her eyes. In Bow and Arrow by Carsen Taite: Bounty hunter Luca Bennett has always lived on the edge of the law, but now she's living with a cop and doing her darnedest to stay out of trouble. When an old enemy resurfaces, will the shady ways of Luca's past come back to haunt her? In Hell Fire by Ali Vali: Dr. Abigail Eaton stumbles into a massacre, but once someone tries to kill her it seems like no accident. While hunting for the perpetrators of a sex trafficking empire, Agent Riley Abbott saves Abigail from a professional hit and discovers the young mother might be the key to more than just... Views: 43
