Local Fiction

Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.

October "Toby" Daye is a changeling, the daughter of Amandine of the fae and a mortal man. Like her mother, she is gifted in blood magic, able to read what has happened to a person through a mere taste of blood. Toby is the only changeling who has earned knighthood, and she re-earns that position every day, undertaking assignments for her liege, Sylvester, the Duke of the Shadowed Hills.

Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house with a picket fence, a fancy group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn't exist. The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she's given a name and location by her mysterious boss Mr Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job. Evie isn't privy to Mr Smith's real identity, but she knows this job will be different.

A heartwarming coastal novella about connection, belonging, and the unseen threads that tie generations together. Jovi arrives at the beach hoping for a simple escape, but nothing about this summer turns out as expected. With two young kids in tow and a heart weighed down by guilt, questions, and the ache of imperfection, she finds herself drawn into unexpected friendships and unspoken stories. As the days unfold, Jovi discovers that sometimes the people who leave the biggest mark are the ones who arrive quietly, and the ones who feel like outsiders may be the ones most meant to be there.

Elise King is a successful and ambitious detective—or she was, before medical leave left her unsure if she'd ever return to work. She now spends most days watching the growing tensions in her small seaside town of Ebbing: the weekenders in their fancy clothes, renovating old bungalows into luxury homes, and the locals resentful of the changes. Elise can only guess what really happens behind closed doors. But Dee Eastwood, her cleaner, often knows. She's an invisible presence in many of the houses in town, but she sees and hears everything.

The first of the seven books set in the Liaden Universe tells a rich and sweeping story of warring families and star-crossed lovers in a fantastic, other-world galaxy.

Times are tough in the economic downturn of the late 2040s. Angel, an ex-prostitute-turned-assassin, has just killed her ex-boyfriend without making a dime on it. Camaro, a courier, is wanted by the Feds for smuggling coffee and evading pursuit. And Haiwee, once the greatest hacker on the planet, has ruined her body with the drugs used to enhance her reflexes and is destitute with no reputation left to cash in upon. So when a billionaire offers them a big paycheck to retrieve one of three collectible bottles and destroy the other two, the three young mercenaries don't ask questions.

This collection includes both previously-published and all-new stories.

In a quiet country farmhouse, Britain’s vampires gather. The Coven meet once every 50 years to discuss territories, disputes, threats, and food stocks - and to approve new members. For one is coming tonight who could be joining their ranks if they all agree. Unwitting Essex boy Sebastian Crockett thinks he’s on a promise with sexy Vanessa.

When local woman Deborah goes missing, her colleagues Adrian, Yvonne and Merriel are all left in shock. Gossip around the office begins to swirl – what could have happened to Deborah? Is she dead or alive? And who could be responsible for her disappearance? Everyone is terrified that they could be next...except the one person who has all the answers. The last person people expect. Because Deborah is being held captive by a monster, a psychopath. But not a stranger...it’s someone she knows all too well.

Once, John Irish was a legend in the porn industry, partying with the likes of John Holmes, Peter North, Nina Hartley, and Seka, but now he's on the far side of fifty, and Ron Jeremy won't even return his phone calls. Desperate for any kind of paying work, he's sunk to the level of bit roles in grade-Z porn and is even considering applying to work at Wal-Mart, when hot-blooded starlet Mindy Copperhead comes into his life.

Mustang Sally has some speedy shoes to fill. This young superhero has waited her whole life to join Just Cause–the premiere team of American heroes. Now she’s hoping her super-speed will earn a spot on the same team to which her parents and grandparents belonged. A chance encounter with the villain who killed her father changes everything. Even though she’s only an intern, Sally devotes herself to finding the man known as Destroyer. With the help of her eagle-winged best friend Sondra and her super-strong love interest Jason, her investigations uncover a sinister plot.

It’s easy to fall in love but hard to find someone that will catch you. Can Madison find a way to continue her love story with Hamilton, or will telling him about their child prove too much to bear? Madison raises Liberty on her own, beginning her new life, and contemplating going back to the small-town she so longed to leave. An unexpected visit from her best friend, reveals more than she planned to share. Madison now must find a way to keep the secret she desperately wants to hold a while longer.

Central Park is perhaps the most well-trod and familiar green space in the country. It is both a refuge from the city and Manhattan's very heart; a respite from the urban grind and a hive of activity all its own. Eight hundred forty-three carefully planned acres allow some 37 million visitors each year to come and get lost in a sense of nature. Unsurprisingly, the park also inspires a wealth of great writing, and here Andrew Blauner collects some of the finest fiction and nonfiction - 20 pieces in all.

Maddie Alden has always longed for more than her small town could offer. Now that it's being overrun by wealthy New Yorkers looking for a respite from the city, Maddie has gotten herself a lucrative new job in real estate. And her first sale brings her a charismatic new friend who is everything Maddie longs to be. Little does Maddie realize that the glamorous Anne will shake up her quiet marriage - and will force Maddie to face the truth about the past, and the terrible secret she shares with her husband and his best friend....

Lorna had been the dynamic leader of a tight-knit group of four friends - Jackie, Lucas, and Finn, and herself - and her disappearance changed the dynamics between the surviving three. Jackie is still hiding her feelings for Finn, who had been Lorna's boyfriend, and Lucas has withdrawn to the point where Jackie wonders if he is keeping a secret even larger than her own. Meanwhile the future looms, and Jackie fears leaving the only life she has known.

What’s a local girl to do when she catches her long-term boyfriend doing the nasty on their sofa with another women? Cry? Fall apart? Not Lily! Armed with a new look, her best friends, and a fresh take on life, Lily hightails it to Spain for sun, sangria, and Spanish men. But Lily quickly discovers that leaving bad mojo behind isn’t as easy as getting on a plane.

Growing up in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, Maggie Gonzalez has always been a little messy, but she’s okay with that. After all, she has a great family, a goofy group of friends, a rocky romantic history, and dreams of being a music photographer. Tasked with picking an escort for her little sister’s quinceañera, Maggie has to face the truth: that her feelings about her friends—and her —aren’t as simple as she’d once believed.

Local TV news reporter Karli Lewis has one goal: escape the Iowa cornfields and podunk local news scene and hit the bright lights of the TV networks of Chicago. From drug busts to house fires and a devastating flood, Karli's career is on the rise, thanks to her talented and dizzingly handsome yet enigmatic news photographer, Jake Gibson. Chicago may be calling Karli, but Jake is a dedicated hometown boy and is staying put.

Local Star is a polyamorous space opera with a fast-paced, action-packed adventure that's sure to punch you in the feels. It follows guttergirl Triz as she saves her hub from invaders from the Cyberbionautic Alliance, all the while negotiating her rekindled romance with Kalo, her ex who's returned from battle and won't stop hanging around the wrenchworks.