Enchanting stories from a master storyteller who owes a great deal to Oscar Wilde, whose dark and twisted fairy tales she had devoured as a young reader, and to the dramatic stories of Hans Christian Andersen. In my stories there is seldom a Happily Ever After, the author says. I like my stories as I like my chocolate – dark, and a little bittersweet.

The child Anghara Kir Hama was forced to flee the kingdom she rightfully ruled, escaping the murderous wrath of her brother, the usurper, who would see her dead to secure the throne. But her years spent in a strange desert land -- honing the miraculous power called Sight -- have forever changed the young queen. And now it is time to claim what is hers. But treachery greets Anghara upon her return to a realm suffering under the cruelty of the bloodthirsty tyrant Sif. In the dungeons of her enemy, she awaits an inevitable death, robbed of the gift that set her apart from all others. Yet those who have sworn to defend her will not rest until their cherished queen is safe, including one whose noble heart belongs to her alone. For young Anghara's remarkable destiny is greater than crowns and countries -- greater even than the fearsome Old Gods who must stand down to make way for the Changer of Days.

In The Secrets of Jin-Shei, eight women pledge themselves as sisters in the name of jin-shei, the unbreakable bond, the promise that lasts a lifetime. This sisterhood shapes their lives, their country and their world. The Embers of Heaven begins four hundred years later. In eighteenth-century Syai, and its capital city of Linh-an, things have changed beyond recognition.On the face of it, women are more equal than they have ever been. But the men run the machines, the factories, and the technology. Women have lost the ability to weave their fates and influence the course of events. The foundation of an empire once rested on jin-shei and its customs. It connected women from every walk of life and formed a bond that empowered every woman who swore the oath. The advancement of printing, the developments of technology and the changes in society seem to have improved the daily lives of the underclass, but women have been stripped of this sacred pact.Amais is heir to her poet-ancestress's manuscripts and journals. The journals are all in jin-ashu, the women's tongue, taught sketchily to Amais by her mother. Amais has the clear vision of an outsider looking in. Combined with her deep and instinctive bond to her ancestors and her culture, she determines to reinvent the Women's Country and bring the jin-shei back. But just as her crusade begins, she and her family are caught up in the whirlwind of the Golden Rising – a people's revolution that is fated to destroy much that was once valuable, gracious and beautiful.Source: LoveReading.co.uk

Ghost have always been with us, loving ghosts who cling to us because neither the living nor the dead can bear to let go, vengeful ghost. Ghosts can protect, and warn, and hurt. But mostly ghosts remember. They are the very essence of memory, carrying moments of frozen time with them. And with this they both move and frighten us. Here are the stories of three of them.

It's the Friday before a science fiction convention weekend. Hundreds of fans are lined up at the registration desk. The posters for the Media Guests of Honor aren't done, there's a problem with the Program Booklet, the Author Guest of Honor has gone AWOL, and the coffee in the Green Room is DREADFUL The convention chair's boyfriend has just smashed up his car. And now the entire hotel has been kidnapped by time traveling androids. At least something is going right. Welcome to AbductiCon.

We think we domesticated cats, but we didn't. They chose us. They came to live by our side in exchange for being fed and adored, and we've been at their regal beck and call ever since. What they bring to us are magic, mystery, and secrets. In this collection of short stories you get a glimpse at what lies behind the curtain. These are the Cat Tales.