New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh and top-selling authors Nalini Singh, Erin McCarthy, and Linda Winstead Jones have a special gift for readers this year: heartwarming holiday stories featuring passionate romance, paranormal adventure, and a distinctly alluring feline touch. With four new stories?including one featuring Lora Leigh's genetically altered Feline Breeds?this is a collection packed with more surprises than Christmas morning, and more chills than the snowiest winter night. . .

When Cleo Tanner's ex-husband is murdered, all eyes turn to her. She made no secret of the fact that she hated him; if anyone had reason to want him dead, it was her. Homicide Detective Luther Malone trusts no one, not even the gorgeous singer with the voice of an angel. Her ex is dead and all the clues point in her direction. His gut tells him she didn't do it, but can he trust his instincts with a woman like this one? Cleo has given up on love, but as Valentine's Day approaches she allows Luther to work his way under her skin. And into her heart?

Something in the Water?Marnie Somerset's new job at the Mystic Springs Library seems almost too good to be true. Yes, the small Alabama town is populated with more than its share of odd people, and she did have a flat tire on her way into town and hallucinate Bigfoot crossing the road, which made for less than a stellar start. But the library is fantastic, her new house is charming, and the hot local writer keeps crossing her path.In more ways than one.Clint Maxwell is drawn to the new librarian, even though he knows getting involved with someone from outside Mystic Springs would be a very bad idea. Marnie's not a Springer, and she won't last long in a town awash with magic. Still, when she's threatened he feels compelled to protect her. Is she meant to be his? Is this the woman he's been waiting for?

Southern hospitality is alive and well. In this anthology you may find a little old, a little new, and perhaps some mysterious doings. How about a ghost — or was it a ghost pepper? Was that a witch, a sprite, an elf, or a seer? You may be looking for a beautiful garden, a mint julep, or a jazz festival. Come on down! Bless your heart, you may never want to leave. What A Day! is a collection of stories about special, memorable days in the lives of an eclectic, quirky mix of characters. You'll enjoy fantasy, romance, historical, and more by best-selling authors like Linda Howard and Linda Winstead Jones as well as newer authors, none of which you'll want to miss! Come laugh, cry, gasp, and smile your way through these fun, light-hearted, suspenseful, and intriguing stories.

When Del Wilder comes back into her life, Victoria Lowell doesn't know if she should be more terrified of the bomb beneath the chair she and Del have been trussed to, or the feelings her old love ignites. Both are explosive and unpredictable. Del left all sentimental memories of the woman who broke his heart behind years ago. At least, he believed he had. One look at Vic and it all comes rushing back. He'll do anything to protect her. Someone is trying to kill them both. Until Del knows who and why, he plans to stay at Vic's side whether she wants him there or not. Love wasn't enough to save them sixteen years ago. Can it save them now?

Luke Benedict is Mystic Springs' very own Santa. He's also owner of the hardware store and the local handyman. Not everything can be fixed with magic. His gift is a handy one; he knows what those around him need before they do. What he can't see is what he needs.Jordan Carter's family has been making it snow on Christmas Eve for years, but this year there's a problem. She can't call up a single flake. Something within her is broken, and going to Luke for help is a desperate response. Maybe he'll see what she needs.Is it possible that what she needs is him?

In the last installment of the Children of the Sun trilogy, a shackled virgin must choose between the monster she knows and a sexy stranger who could spell doom-or help her fulfill the Prophecy of the Firstborn.

Jacob Tasker had broken Daisy Bell's heart years before. Now his failing grandmother had fixated on the delusion that Jacob and Daisy were engaged, and was planning their wedding. So Jacob appealed to Daisy to pretend they were still a couple. For Grandma Eunice's sake, of course.Maintaining the charade was the toughest challenge of Daisy's life. Because Jacob's touch still made her heart ache with longing. But Eunice stubbornly clung to her delusion, so what was Daisy to do? It seemed odd, though, that except for this one aberration, Eunice's mind seemed perfectly fine....

SHE SAW A KILLER IN HER DREAMS... Annie Lockhart's colorful exterior concealed a serious psychic ability. And if her latest visions were true, a serial killer was preying on couples deeply in love. She had been burned by her talents before, so instead of going to the police, she hired private investigator Lucky Santana to find the killer. Even though Lucky wasn't sure about this assignment, Annie drove him crazy, in more ways than one...which made their task all the more torturous: Annie and Lucky set out to look like a happy couple. As their faux relationship turned all too real and passionate, the killer came in for one last deadly showdown.

SHE WAS HIDING SOMETHING Tess Stafford had one big secret. No one must know that she'd taken the job as cook at a private girls school to be close to the daughter taken from her at birth. The sexy new history teacher was one distraction Tess couldn't afford, but everywhere she turned, Flynn Benning was there -- charming her, asking intimate questions. HE WAS HIDING EVERYTHING The hard-nosed former marine would rather chew nails than go undercover as a high school teacher. But a killer might be loose in the school, and Flynn had to keep the girls safe. Investigating the secretive Tess was his job -- but falling for her was one variable the major hadn't anticipated....

Following the acclaimed Sisters of the Sun trilogy comes the Children of the Sun, a trilogy about the sisters' first-born children. The firstborn children of the Fyne witches have finally come into their own, each with a special gift... Despite the prophesies, Keelia, Queen of the Anwyn, would never let a wild Caradon, a man who can shape-shift into a mountain cat, touch her. But when one kidnaps her, mistaking her for the caster of a spell on his people, Keelia realizes she has never been more wrong; Her Caradon captor is the very same lover as in her torrid, recurring dream...No man alive, Caradon or not, can resist a sensuous Anwyn queen, When Joryn, the Queen's kidnapper, realizes his mistake, the two must work together to undo the wicked spell. Neither can deny the crackling chemistry between them, nor can they deny the ever-looming Prophecy of the Firstborn: She will betray love in the name of victory..

A prisoner in the emperor’s palace, Isadora Fyne is forced to choose her own path. Protection or destruction? Light magic or dark? A powerful witch, she is weakened by her uncertainty. In caring for the pregnant empress, she practices protection, but the call to darkness is all around her. Lucan Hern has traveled from Tryfyn to the Columbyanan Palace to claim the prize he was promised long ago. The Star of Bacwyr. When he sees the stone sparkling on Isadora’s finger, he pursues her. His plan is simple. He will seduce Isadora, she will give him the Star, and his quest will be complete. Isadora lost a husband, a deep love, to the Fyne Curse, and she has no desire to love again. Lucan is a persistent suitor, but she is able to resist his charms. Until the emperor orders her to spy on their guest. Until the emperor asks Isadora to take on the job of palace assassin… 

Kidnapped by the emperor’s soldiers, Juliet Fyne and her sister, Isadora, begin the long journey to Arthes. They do not know Sophie’s fate, nor can they be sure of their own. Long before they reach the emperor, Juliet is kidnapped by a large, brutish man who insists that she is his. His mate, the woman who will be his wife. Juliet has no intentions of being any man’s wife. Her psychic abilities are triggered by touch, and she cannot imagine being intimate with a man. Ryn has waited a long time to claim his bride, and he is willing to be patient with Juliet as they travel to The City, home to the Anwyn shifters. But before they arrive, he suspects that his bride-to-be has secrets of her own, secrets that could destroy his simple dreams. 

Three novellas of love and secrets... Black Widow: Venice, 1819. Audrey is in Venice for Carnival with a secret agenda, one she doesn't dare reveal. Not even to those closest to her. Haunted Honeymoon: Alabama, 1889. An arranged marriage, a dilapidated mansion, and a ghost determined to keep the new husband and wife apart... Love's Light: New Hampshire, 1781. Alexander Stark returns home from war, blind and ready to give up on life. Will the woman he can't see save him from himself?

When prophecies turn deadly, all will be revealed in the final captivating book in the New York Times bestselling Raintree series! For years, Echo Raintree has battled against the uncontrollable visions of disaster that sweep over her. Now she's determined to vanquish them--and there's only one man who can help her. But not just a man, Ryder Duncan is a fearsome wizard, determined to protect those he loves against all who threaten them...no matter the personal cost. When Echo arrives in the remote Irish village seeking help, she finds herself drawn into the center of a brewing battle. And as her dreams and her life continue to spin out of her control, so do her feelings for the enigmatic Rye. The closer they become, the more her past, and Rye's dark secret threaten their future, their love--and even her sanity...

Subject: Cowboy Hawk Donovan Family History: Desperately seeking his birth mother Deepest Secret: Communicates with animals Hawk Donovan was seeking the truth about his mysterious past. And when his search led him to a former fertility clinic, for once the avowed loner had no choice but to ask for help from beautiful Sheryl Eldanis. The desirable vet didn't want the handsome rancher poking around her new office, but Hawk desperately needed access to the old clinic files -- and her. Her strength enticed him; her wit seduced him. Hawk knew they could never have a future -- unless he could find what he was looking for in the sinister records. But he soon feared it was too late to protect Sheryl. From a broken heart...and from the danger he'd brought to her door.

As redhead Molly Kincaid traveled blithely through the forest on her way to her grandmother’s house, she came upon a Wolf… His name was Wolf Trevelayan – his enormous stature and dark, penetrating gaze made him an intimidating, almost frightening presence in these deep, dense Maine woods. And what she knew of his tangled past frightened her too. The strange death of his first wife, his sinister habits, his secretive demeanor…they all pointed to Trouble. But for Molly, no rumors could trump the deep attraction she felt – a lust for Wolf that consumed her body and soul. She would willingly bow to his wild ways, even if it meant leaving everything she loved and allowing him to guide her into the unknown…

IT STARTED WITH A BASEBALL... Which shattered Lauren Russell's perfectly ordered life. Lauren's new neighbors were about to see the Southern lifestyle columnist's temper! Then she met Cole Donovan, the sexy single dad. He was not the man from her husband list; he was too tall, too sexy - and definitely had too many kids! But somehow, looking into his blue, blue eyes, she forgot all that.... Lauren was too elegant, too prim and didn't understand that his three rambunctious kids were the focus of his life. But his tempting neighbor smelled delicious, looked luscious and cooked like a dream. Cole wasn't looking for a wife, but he couldn't stay away from Lauren. Was it a recipe for disaster - or marriage?

Six elite Confederate soldiers band together after the War Between the States, hiring out their guns to protect lawless towns. Violence is all they know, until they make their way to Rock Creek, Texas.For Eden Rourke, making her way from a sheltered life in Georgia to rough and tumble Rock Creek is an easy decision, if not an easy journey. A tenderhearted woman, she’s always been driven to help those in need, including the half-breed Sinclair Sullivan who’s been ambushed and beaten directly in the path of her wagon. Coincidence? She thinks not.When Sullivan discovers that the woman who saved him is Jed Rourke’s sister, he feels obligated to escort her to Rock Creek. He tells himself that once she’s there she’ll be Jed’s problem, not his, but Eden is not only tender and unfailingly optimistic, she’s persistent. And she’s decided that Sinclair Sullivan is meant to be hers.Eden doesn’t believe in coincidence, but she does believe in fate. 

HEADING FOR DANGER... She'd left her small town and now could handle kidnappers and thieves as easy as pie. But going home? Well, that was risky indeed -- especially as it led to serving pie while helping out in her aunt's motel/diner. And things grew even more intense once Sadie Harlow called Deputy Truman McCain about the body found in the bathtub.... Soon Sadie realized someone was out to frame her for murder -- or to get rid of her permanently. Still, Sadie couldn't allow Tru's seductive blue eyes to break down her defenses. Not even if it was the only way to keep her heart -- and her life -- safe....

He's a sexy sheik willing to risk his own life by visiting Silverton and negotiating peace with our country... though some suspect he had a hand in the prince's murder. She's a beautiful diplomatic aide unwilling to let anything -- or anyone -- stand in the way of her perfect career. Yet bullets weren't the only thing flying when Sheik Kadir Al-Nuri met his appointed aide, Cassandra Klein; there were sparks aplenty for our cameras to catch as the pretty pair dove to safety. But even if the smart and sultry Cassandra were willing to hang up her severe business suits and take a chance at love, could these star-crossed lovers ever make it work in the real world?

Six elite Confederate soldiers band together after the War Between the States, hiring out their guns to protect lawless towns. Violence is all they know, until they make their way to Rock Creek, Texas.Rock Creek is the only place gunslinger Daniel Cash dares to call home, even though he’s surrounded by constant and annoying reminders that the others have moved on. His friends have made lives and families for themselves, they’ve finally left the war behind. He never will.Nadine Ellington, a girl from his past, comes riding into town with the son Cash never knew they’d created before he left town to go to war. His teenage son who’s decided to become a gunslinger has come looking for a mentor in the deadly man he most admires. The man he doesn’t know is his father.Nadine desperately wants Cash to convince their child that the life of a gunslinger isn’t for him. She promises her old love anything, if only he’ll do as she asks. While she searches for a trace of the boy she once loved in the hard man who’s taken his place, Cash is faced with the ugly truth that no one he loves will ever be safe.

Six elite Confederate soldiers band together after the War Between the States, hiring out their guns to protect lawless towns. Violence is all they know, until they make their way to Rock Creek, Texas.Hannah Winters is summoned to Rock Creek by a cryptic message from a sister she hasn’t seen in many years. When the stagecoach is robbed, and she and the the passengers are left stranded on the road, she finds herself butting heads with fellow passenger Jed Rourke.Jed’s old flame has recently become a widow, and she wants Jed to make sure the man who murdered her husband is punished. The accused is a mild-mannered shopkeeper who maintains his innocence. He’s also Hannah’s brother-in-law.Jed and Hannah find themselves on opposite sides of a scandalous murder case, but at the same time they’re constantly drawn together. Is Hannah the woman who can finally cure Jed of his need to wander? Is he the man to heal the broken heart she hides so well? 

For three nights, Sophie Fyne has dreamed of a man with green eyes. She understands very well what that means; the man who will father her child is coming to her. When she finds Kane Varden sleeping by the pond where she swims on each warm morning, she realizes he is the one, and she wastes no time in claiming him. Kane is a rebel, running from the pain of loss, and wounded still from an ambush that left his fellow soldiers dead. In a stupor he believes the angel who comes to him to be a dream, and he leaves the pond a different man. A lucky man who remembers nothing of his past pain.  Until he returns to Sophie and the good luck she blessed him with disappears and the pain of his losses returns with a vengeance. When their child is kidnapped, he swears to save the baby—and his Angel. But between Sophie and Kane’s happiness lies treachery, dark magic, jealousy, and a prophecy that promises to take Kane’s life if he is loved by a Fyne...

As Stuart Haley grew older, year by year, he worried more and more about the security of his famous Cattle fortune. He had raised his daughters in the lap of luxury—they wanted for nothing—and all three girls had matured into lovely young women. But as he aged, Stuart craved the security that only a proper heir could provide. The two older daughters had fallen in love and left him—Stuart's only chance was that his youngest daughter, Charmaine, marry a local man and carry on in the family tradition. But that wasn't going to be easy? Independent and brash, Charmaine Haley had a life of her own, far away in Boston. It would be up to her father to make her return to Kansas so incredible that life in the North would pale in comparison. A masked ball, on par with the greatest of fairytales, would be the event of a lifetime. But to succumb to passion from behind a mask could be a cruel twist of fate—leading Charmaine back through the torment of old mistakes she...

Winner of the 2004 RITA for Paranormal Romance! The only man she would ever love was more fascinated by the dead than he would ever be with her.Eve Abernathy calls on Lucien Thorpe to assist in ridding her house of the ghosts who haunt it, the amorous ghosts who replay their violent deaths night after night. She tells herself, time and again, that she would never ask for Lucien's help if there was any other option. After all, she has not forgiven him for leaving her waiting at the altar, two years earlier. Lucien still loves Eve, still wants her, but she refuses to listen to reason. He didn't forget her, he simply got engrossed in his work and let a day slip by, and it appears that she will never forgive or forget. Always different, always the odd man out, he knows Eve is the only woman for him. As Lucien and Eve work together to send two earthbound spirits to the other side, they rediscover love. They also uncover a murder mystery that threatens not only their happiness, but their very lives.From BooklistEve Abernathy needs to get rid of some unwelcome guests. Thirty years ago on Halloween night, a jealous husband seduced, then murdered his unfaithful wife, and ever since, their spirits have haunted the house Eve recently bought. Eve knows that Lucien Thorpe, a scientist with a gift for releasing earthbound spirits, can help, but because he stood her up at the altar two years ago, he's the last person she wants to call. As Halloween approaches, Eve's amorous ghosts vividly re-create the events leading up to the murder each night until Eve reluctantly gives in and summons her former lover. Now Lucien is determined to not only send these spirits on to a better place but also to prove to Eve that he is just as interested in her as he is in any ghost! Fallon introduces a new paranormal trilogy with this ghostly historical romance in which a battle of wits between two stubborn individuals with a prior romantic history leads to some wonderfully amusing results. John CharlesCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Prince of Magic, Prince of Fire, and Prince of Swords in one volume A prophecy names the firstborn children of the Fyne witches as those required to save Columbyana from a rising darkness. One will wield the crystal dagger; one will betray love; one will be hurtled into the Land of the Dead. “Punchy battle scenes and steamy lovemaking will please genre fans, but it's Jones's gift for creating complex heroes and villains that lifts this story out of the ordinary.” (Prince of Magic) Publishers Weekly

When handsome Quintin Tyler went into the Confederacy as an undercover Union spy, he thought that nothing—and no one—could undermine his Northern loyalty. When he met the beautiful and voluptuous Lily Radford, Quintin believed that Lily was just another lovely Southern Belle, not the scheming and brilliant strategist she had truly come to be. Now the two were star-crossed lovers—both deeply attached to the cause they fought for, but every day growing more deeply attached to each other....