Urban Short Stories

Jenna thought becoming a Blood Vice agent would solve all her problems, but now she’s sworn to solve House Lilith’s problems, too. And there’s no shortage of trouble when dealing with the most regal vampire family in the United States. The duke’s first assignment for Jenna and company is to locate Ursula, the estranged Duchess of House Lilith suspected of murdering her sire. It’s a tall order - a wild bat chase, some might say - and the long hours with half-sired agent Roman Knight soon drive Jenna to distraction, and possible destruction.

When I pitched a missing persons story set in a South London suburb, I expected my editor to beg me to bag us a front page exclusive. Instead, she banned me from investigating and threw in a thinly veiled threat on my career. But here’s the thing about being a damn good investigative journalist… sometimes you have to ignore your editor. Armed with my new canine partner, I headed into the woods unsure of what I’d find. What I definitely didn’t expect was a mysterious supernatural woman in stilettos, three overly eager tributes, and the kind of bite that doesn’t come from a mosquito.

It’s a day like any other for Eloise Montgomery - until tragedy strikes. While she is recovering from a horrible accident that takes the lives of her husband and oldest daughter, and as she works to help her younger daughter move forward, Eloise experiences her first psychic vision. Though she struggles to understand her newfound gifts, Eloise finds a way use them to save lost women and girls - for whom her help may be the only way out...

The three awarded short stories for 2016: a short story full of suspense and thrilling events showing how to murder someone, pinning the kill on someone else; a quasi-biographical short story revealing embarrassing moments in a woman's life and her decision to take her life back (better later than never); the revelation of a quirks in the life of the inhabitants of a building that is about to be sold, the owner not knowing what he'd bring upon himself, had he sold the building.

Here we find Max settling in with the realities of the world around him, becoming more relaxed with the Magical and Ethereal communities. The Balance has occurred, and the regular world is now aware that everything that goes bump in the night, for the most part, is real. In this short story, Max, well...Max is about to learn a valuable lesson about making bets at the bar with a stranger.

As war rumbled through the heavens, the seas also boiled with battle. Poseidon was one of the first to succumb. Now, the alliance of evil gods turn their sights on the Inuit pantheon. Barely surviving the initial strike, the goddess Sedna seeks the sanctuary of the oceans and her old friend Jormungandr. She knows the Norse world serpent isn’t the evil people believe him to be.

A fugitive from the Sprytes, one of the most dangerous supernatural cults on Earth, Betty has refashioned herself as a revealer of dark conspiracies and a killer of misogynous conspirators. On her crusade, she has successfully stayed off the radar for months. When the Sprytes close in, however, Betty may find herself entangled in a conspiracy too dark to escape.

Even though he’s one of the Heartland Security Agency’s Peacemaker agents, a man sworn to help protect and preserve the morality of the United States, Neal can’t give up his habit of patronizing prostitutes. When one of them steals the prototype of a top secret device, however, he has no choice but to come clean in order to rally fellow agents for a recovery mission. His situation goes from bad to worse when he is tricked into a plot to take down one of the Agency’s most powerful secret allies.

Akira's plans are simple: write wedding invitations, bake Christmas cookies, and eat red meat. (The last surprises her, too.) But when Rose, the ghost who haunts her house, asks for a favor, Akira can't say no. Although she's faced danger before, even death, a toddler who doesn't like peanut-butter-and-jelly might be her worst nightmare.

A young girl is haunted by a Death God. Her only hope is a rum-drinking, bar-fighting paranormal investigator with a bad attitude...After dropping out of Harvard, Kana Cold started a business as a paranormal investigator. Most of her cases were hoaxes, much to Kana’s disappointment, until one case involving a little girl and her powerful demon - a Death God - opened the door to the real Paranormal Underground...changing Kana’s life forever.

Valda Hemmingway, the top-notch agent for The Hunters who save the world from monstrum, is prepared for anything...except for being forced to work a New Year Eve party. Worst yet, The Bringers, the rivals in protecting the world from monsters department, are there as well, including the most annoying thorn in her side: Jeremey Darington.

Alec Bailey knows a thing or two about the supernatural world and its dangers. When the local news crew shows up to do a piece on his hotel, he knows he should send them away…especially with that unchecked demon lurking on the property perimeter. Supernatural protocol dictates he call in Jacquelyn, McCall’s own demon hunter, but he isn’t ready to say goodbye to the beautiful crew member who reminds of a time in his life long past.

Iraq - The Americans are fighting a drawn out war against ISIS. With public support for the war draining, they find themselves under pressure to discover new ways of waging war against the enemy. At an isolated American air base, one scientist has come up with an ingenious idea - use zombies to defeat the Islamic State. The only problem is, the virus isn't ready and top brass are running out of patience. How can they deliver "the package" to where it's needed - straight to ISIS leadership? And meanwhile, at the air base, who is the mysterious man under the hood?

Satori in the Slipstream is a collection of dark flash fiction and short stories. Many of the stories are set in Japan and deal with challenges young adults face. There are also several stories about soldiers dealing with the aftermath of war. Homeless and the brutality of living on the streets is also a major theme in this collection.

A chilling short story featuring DS Sean Corrigan from Luke Delaney, ex-Met detective and author of Cold Killing. Perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Peter James and Stuart MacBride. Five women have been murdered.... All prostitutes. All with dark, straight hair. Snatched from the shadows of London's red-light districts, their mutilated bodies left out in the pouring rain. Enter DS Sean Corrigan. He's been drafted in to assist the Streatham Police Department - much to the displeasure of the existing DI.

Four bestselling Vampire for Hire short stories, including "Teeth" - Fang's very bloody and tragic backstory; "Vampire Nights" - Samantha Moon meets someone unexpected on a late night trip to Denny's, someone who seems to know all her secrets and has all the answers.; "Vampire Blues" - Samantha Moon is about to discover that not all men are created equal....; "Vampire Dreams" - Samantha Moon sets out to find the answer to a mysterious, haunting dream... a dream in which sees a young woman die, over and over again.

Farmer Eben Smith heads off to the big city to trade his wagonload of produce. But he barters a lot more than goods after he stumbles across a strange crossroads in time, bargains with different cultures in alternate realities, and accidentally wreaks havoc and chaos in each.

Genie and Serena are just a normal couple of girls...just kidding. As a dormant mermaid (she hasn't activated her genetic abilities yet), Genie is actually kind of normal - except for being kind of sheltered. At least, she is compared to her cousin, the millennia-old siren Serena. But, as different as they are, the cousins are bound together by their mutual affection for each other - and their love of solving mysteries. Together, Genie and Serena form a paranormal investigation business to celebrate Genie's first time in the real world.

Black clouds of xenophobia gather over Radvadur, the western province of the Empire. The political climate is strained and fragile. A surge of Nymph refugees has stirred widespread hostility towards non-humans. When the investigation of a gruesome triple murder linked to the refugee camp ensues, it takes Inspector Käyru Skaer and his lover, Count Ellydhar Finn-Jánn, along an unusual path, at the end of which a precious gift awaits. Käyru and Elly are worlds apart in social standing, but they have found common ground in the bedroom - up against the wall and the stable doors, too.

At puberty, they’d called it. I, Naz Beauchene, was the first, official family dud. Born into a long line of illustrious shifters of the feline variety, my family fully expected me to blossom into a panther or maybe even a cherished lioness. They got neither. Not even one spark of magic stirred my blood. But then one day, a handsome Nether Reach Keeper crashed through the door where I worked as an imp trainer...and everything changed.