Showing results by author "S.J. Sanders" in All Categories

In the future: A united Earth, to deal with the problem of population control, divides its population into classes of citizen and non-gratis. To be born a non-gratis means a life of little freedoms and the constant possibility of being assigned to work on a colony. Lacking citizenship, every aspect of their life is controlled from where they live down to marriage and childbearing regulations. The only possible escape from life as a non-gratis is to qualify for one of the limited slots available for entrance into the military.

Veral’monushava’skahalur is an oddity among his species, a lone Argurma cyborg divorced from his own kind by choice and to escape termination as a malfunctioning unit. Wandering the fringes of space as a salvager, he comes across a planet beyond the boundaries of the federation, rich in metals remnant of a dead civilization. Or so he thought. Confronted by cannibalistic mutations of the indigenous species, his salvage has suddenly become a lot more complicated. Even more so when he encounters a female surviving on her own....

For Lori Straford, born into the lowest caste of citizens—the pleasure arts strata of their society—it is an inescapable fate that she can only hope to better by enlisting as a spa attendant and masseuse on one of the luxury world colonies under the purview of Darvel Exploration Corporation. When she is talked into working on one of their mining planets for a year with the promise of a hefty bonus and to be transferred to her choice planet after more non-gratas can be sent over, it is too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Three stories of human women finding love among their alien Ragoru triads, set in a dystopian version of Earth. This box set includes: Red, White, and Huntress.

Ruined and shipped off to live with her mother's relations in London, Maggie Phillips faces the immediate prospect of living in shame as the poor relation in her uncle's house. Her mother wants to make a lady of her by setting her up with a proper marriage but Maggie desires nothing of the sort, nor is she willing to trust another man again. The only solution is to ruin herself thoroughly abroad, and what better place to do it than the Monster's Ball! But that means searching for the proper scoundrel to carry out the deed.

All Vanessa Williams wanted for the holidays was to escape the demands of her parents’ social schedules and find a comfortable place to work on her book. Having the opportunity to do so while enjoying the comforts of a cabin on an alien world seemed like the perfect way to pass the season. Plans change, however, when her shuttle crashes in the inhospitable mountains and she finds herself waiting out the storm in an alien castle with a male whose burning gold eyes promise forbidden pleasures.

There were certain truths everyone knew. Never wear red or any other bright color. Make as little sound as possible if one had to be outside the protection of the sanctuary settlements. And never, ever, go out in the wild places alone. The Ragoru, an alien species set down to live among them, dwell within the forests and everyone knows that they crave all things red. Arie’s life has always been one of playing by the rules. She doesn’t draw attention to herself. She doesn’t leave her home without her hood that conceals her bright red hair.

Reggie was a society girl, a castoff wife, soon-to-be divorcee, stolen away from Earth, a victim of her own bad choices. Little did she know that one mistake would lead her onto a journey of finding her own happy ever after with a serpentine species of aliens on a strange matriarchal jungle planet. Giant spiders, gargantuan lizards, scrambled green eggs for breakfast. Life had suddenly got a lot more interesting.

Raised in a gilded cage, Emala was given everything she wanted from the very day that the Master rescued her mother from execution. Born of a maternal lineage in which human brides were mated to the clannish northern Ragoru triads, Emala grew up listening to her mother’s stories of the Ragoru, though she never expected to follow in her mother’s footsteps. She didn’t fantasize about a triad of mates to shower adoration on her, but a simple life in a village far away from the Master’s watchful eye.

The world went silent when the mist came. Following a sonic blast heard around the world as the gates of Aites were thrown open, the mist clung to the mortal world, but it was not empty. Creatures dwelled within the mist, and when the mist left, they remained. Yet, with the ravagers another came forth. The gatekeeper, Charu strode across the land in hunt of his quarry, those spirits which had broken through the barrier. With his lamp of souls, he moves over the world capturing the spirits and bringing death to those driven to madness, infected by exposure to their miasmatic taint.

Following the Ravening, the world changed for everyone. For Agatha Ward, once a successful interior designer, those changes have been a succession of one miserable year after another wherein she has only barely managed to survive through simple labor. Selling match sticks outside in the snow on solstice night is not her idea of a good way to spend the holiday. This is a happy-ever-after, reimagined retelling of the fairytale The Matchstick Girl in the Dark Spirits Universe.

Slengral is summoned back to the Aglatha shinara by none other than queen matriarch, Zathexa—who happens to be his mother? With his sister and heir to the shinara dead, Slengrala is commanded to return home not only to fulfill his duty to mate and breed a new queen but to answer to the charges made against him.

Sammi is having the worst weekend. When what was supposed to be a secluded romantic getaway turns into a near-death experience when she is stranded alone in the mountains during a snowstorm by her two-timing boyfriend. She doesn't think it could get worse until an accident leaves her unconscious and vulnerable. She awakens to find herself in a warm cabin, and her rescuer a creature of fantasy - an orc. And he thinks that she will be a perfectly obedient pet. Ha! He wishes.

One small incident and Veral keeps her hidden away in the safety of their ship. For months they have been traveling to their salvage operation; it's been a very long, boring trip. But things get a lot more interesting when they find themselves at the mercy of space pirates who are also in search of the ship. Life is suddenly a lot more adventurous than she expected! Veral doesn't trust any male anywhere near his mate. As a species unheard of in space, she is exotic, which makes her desirable to many males, and he will not take the risk of losing her to anyone.

With the expectation of a three-year pregnancy, Terri assumed that she had all the time in the world before she had to face the realities of upcoming motherhood. Time for adventures, travel, and working side by side with her mate. She had been particularly looking forward to the latter now that Veral had relaxed from overbearing to merely aggressively protective - and she could work with that - but when her baby starts to grow abnormally fast, she suddenly faces the grim reality of going to the one place she never wanted to visit: Argurumal.

Mother's Night had passed unmarked for many years for Betani and her children. After all, there was little to celebrate when living on the streets. This year was different. For the first time, they are going to celebrate Mother's Night and holiday cheer fills their small apartment despite the tight control of the warders who have risen to power in the poor districts. Despite her limited means, when a triad shows up on her doorstep during a snowstorm with their poisoned lead male, she can't turn them out.

There is evil in the woods and it wants you dead. They warned us not to enter, but we didn't listen. The call too strong to ignore. And now there is no one left to save us. Beware, these things within the forest will rip out your heart and devour your soul. You will tremble as they revel in your madness, taking everything from you and leaving you with nothing. Delve inside this anthology of what truly lurks within the shadows of the trees.

First contact changed things on Earth. It opened possibilities that were never before possible. In what started as a trip to participate in an cooperative study, Sara found herself a test subject for breeding compatibility by a species known as the Agraak. Determined that she would not submit to be bred and relocated to serve as a breeder for the rest of her life, she escaped into the wilds of a hostile subarctic planet. Not knowing who to trust, and almost dying on the ice flows, she is rescued by a male larger than life whom her body craves.

Civilization is failing in a steady decline. In a last-ditch effort to save themselves, humanity has turned to trying to understand their world even as they seek to protect themselves from the monsters within it. This is how Evelyn Willock found herself stationed in the farthest northern reaches of the habitable zone and answering the call to investigate a strange sighting in the mines much farther to the north where all other human settlements had failed.

Destiny Delaine has had enough. As daughter of a former high-ranking general who now served as the ambassador of Earth and a socialite mother, she has been reared to be the proper young woman and helpmate. Her parents had her life all planned out, right down to her arranged marriage with one of the planetary representatives under her father. No one asked her what she wanted. Determined as too fat and too old for the mate index, she decided to take her own destiny into her hands.