fantasy – urban and magical beings

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Summary: Feeling trapped? Cupid ignoring you? Have no fear! P.O.O.F. is here! Nozzag here with another tantalizing adventure for you. Navigating the edicts of The Creator isn’t a simple task. Even the Creator of Important Nexuses sometimes struggles to match individuals flawlessly. This next tale was a rough one all around, but don’t fret, it still has a happy ending. Meet Ryker: a Dark Elf, Technomage, a self-proclaimed geek, and a glorified field tech who’s stuck in a rut and yearns to find the love of his life. Then there's Kaba: a Pygmy Hippo Therianthrope, Omega, nearly the last of his species, imprisoned since birth, but he still clings to the hope of escape… for now. During a routine service call to repair a shield, Ryker stumbles upon a dreadful crime, yet he finds himself unsure of whom to alert. Those with significant wealth often evade justice, but Ryker refuses to stand idly by and let such atrocities occur. P.O.O.F. You! is set in the world of Bloodlines of Fate which is a type of omegaverse. Twilight Temptations are instalove, high heat, low angst stories that feature various creatures and a guaranteed HEA. Twilight Temptations is a continuous series and while each story can be read alone it is best to read them in order.

Word Count: Click here to reveal90,840 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Kell Shaw returns with a harrowing tale of strained friendship and murder in the Vestiges of Magic universe. Lukie and Tamlyn are searching for their client’s lost relatives, but their efforts only turn up a single name: a proprietor of the remote Brindlebranch Hotel. Lukie hopes their fragile partnership can survive the journey, as she suspects Tamlyn is hiding elements of his past while she still grapples with the events of her own murder. Neither of them expected the hotel to be home to a vengeful spirit, bound up with the dark magic of a fallen occult cabal. When Tamlyn is hurled into the past, forced to confront the horrifying origins of the curse, Lukie is propelled into a race against time to save the hotel’s innocent guests. With a malevolent spirit on a deadly rampage, Lukie and Tamlyn must confront their painful history and bridge the chasm that has grown between them. Their survival, and the lives of countless others, hinge on their ability to mend their broken bond and overcome the weight of two decades of anger and secrets. Can they conquer their demons and unite against a relentless evil? Discover the answer in this gripping new chapter of the Kell Shaw’s Revenant Records saga.

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Summary: Love is magical. Let it POOF into your life. Hey there, it’s your favorite lovable P.O.O.F agent, Nozzag! Buckle up because I’ve got a wild tale for you. Their meeting? Total “oops, my bad” moment, if you catch my drift. Let’s just say, I may have given fate a little nudge! But don’t fret, Tiki and Amalesh are in for a fabulously happy ending. *winks* Thikoz aka Tiki – a Dragonkin, Sassy Dragon Esthetician, who is dominant and longs to find his mate. Tiki has countless fantasies about what his ideal partner would be like. He can only hope that when he finally encounters his mate, they’ll be eager to delve into the numerous interests on his Must Try Before I Die list. Amalesh – a Vampire, Rare Blood Procurer, reclusive introvert, who simply wishes to be left alone with his collection. When Amalesh is thrown into Tiki’s path, almost literally, he realizes that the world he has observed from a distance is far more enjoyable as an active participant. It only takes a few hundred years and an energetic, dominant dragonkin to uncover that little truth. P.O.O.F. Please! is set in the world of Bloodlines of Fate. Twilight Temptations are instalove, high heat, low angst stories that feature various creatures and a guaranteed HEA. Twilight Temptations is a continuous series and while each story can be read alone it is best to read them in order.

Word Count: Click here to reveal74,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: In the town of Rancho Robles, can one werewolf protect the Children of the Wolf and the Bat? Chaos Wolf Jordan Abbey has made friends among the Black Oak Pack even though she refuses to join it. The same can’t be said of the vampires, but her life has taken a turn for the better. That is until Enya Blevins, sister to the werewolf who turned Jordan, arrives in Rancho Robles.  She wants to know who killed her baby brother and is less than impressed by the Chaos Wolf. Enya wants revenge, starting with Jordan and ending with the vampires infesting the area. Jordan is prepared to flee, but a technicality makes her an Alpha Werewolf.  Now she must stand her ground to protect her nascent Pack and those she loves. The past has come back to bite her.  Does she have the fangs to bite back?

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Summary: Accompanied by his sister, an adult Robbie Chambers returns to Georgia to claim the inheritance left him by Drexl von Dorff. Rob has no idea of his heritage, nor why a stranger left him a fortune, an island, and a deserted mansion. A meeting with Joshua Edenfield brings both clarity and more confusion as he learns Joshua is not only his half-brother but of the supernatural heritage both young men possess. As Rob learns more about the von Dorffs, he’s bombarded by eerie dreams and frightening waking nightmares that interfere with his growing attraction to Josh’s sister, Anna. Soon he realizes he’ll be unable to stop the Other Gods from returning unless someone takes drastic and terminal steps. Rob has no choice but to enlist his half-brother’s aid in preventing transdimentional beings from returning to Land’s End Island.

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Summary: Two-year-old Robbie Chambers has a problem. Since he was born, creatures no one else can see have appeared to him. They speak in a secret language, and lately what they say is disturbing, especially the entity calling itself Robbie's father. Robbie isn't aware of how he was conceived to bring imprisoned beings from another dimension into this world. He doesn't understand of the love triangle existing between his mother, Dr. Daniel Walker's, and Drexl von Dorff, nor of how his mother has left their Georgia home in an attempt to save him from his heritage. Lisa Chambers believes she's at last found happiness with Daniel Walker, and protection for her son. Robbie loves his mom and his new stepdad but "Daddy" says Dr. Daniel Walker is dangerous. He has to die. Is Mommy going to become a widow for the second time?

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Summary: Arkham and surrounds aren’t the only places the Other Gods have visited. In the waters off the coast of Georgia, a sleeping behemoth is chained to the ocean floor. On an island off that same coast, a believer struggles to open the doorway bringing the unknown gods back to this dimension. When an automobile accident kills Robin Chambers and brings his widow to Dr. Daniel Walker’s care, the stage is set. Lifelong enemies, the doctor and the master of Land’s End Island are rivals for Lisa Chambers’ body as well as her love, for she and her unborn child are the key to opening the doorway to the Dark World.

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Summary: Can’t find love? Love will find you and poof into your life. Greetings, Nozzag here, an Agent of P.O.O.F. and one of the dedicated caretakers for the Creator of Important Nexuses. It has been over a century since we last shared some of the success stories we helped initiate. For the first time since the Uprising, we are thrilled to present a new collection of Twilight Temptations tales. Launching this series is a story I hold dear and one that almost didn't come to fruition. Without further delay, I present to you Pako and David. Pako – Orc, Fashion Model, Boy, and tired of being walked on—literally. David – Elf, Human Social Worker, Daddy, and too overworked to be looking for love. Pako represents what David needs to remember about slowing down, while David embodies what Pako must remember about self-love. However, without a gentle push from fate via the Creator of Important Nexuses, their paths may never cross. P.O.O.F. Happens is the first in a new series set in the world of Bloodlines of Fate. These are instalove, high heat, low angst stories that will feature different kinds of creatures and a guaranteed HEA.

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Summary: The South is being invaded…by vampires. That’s nothing new, but Vlad Chemare isn’t some angst-filled paranormal hero longing for his soulmate, nor does he sparkle like stardust in the night. He’s up-to-date, travels by jet, and is seeking revenge. Armed with an unlimited credit card and a Kevlar vest, Vlad’s out for blood—specifically, Baslo Rigla’s—for burying him alive as punishment for leading a revolt back in the 15th century. With the vampires of Georgia and their American defiance of tyranny rallied around him, he not only has his army but the local werewolf population volunteers as his K-9 Corps. As the fight begins, with the city of Savannah the battleground and the entire world the prize, Vlad is faced with something he didn’t expect…his feelings for mortal Meredith Swanson. Will his love for Meredith get in the way? After all, a woman’s just a woman, but revenge is a dish best served cold, and six hundred years can make for some pretty chilly morsels.

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Summary: The King is dead…Long live the King! Vlad Chemare is learning the hard way what it means to be king of the vampires, as well as the responsibilities required of a man about to be married. His current ordeal? Meeting his future in-laws. In the midst of betrothed Meredith’s wedding plans, an assassination attempt puts a crimp in the proceedings, sending Vlad, vampiric Southern aristocrat Sebastian Blackthorne, and Dusty the werewolf tracking down the mysterious killer before he succeeds in his mission. To further complicate matters, Roman Florescu once again appears in Meredith’s life with some startling news for Vlad. Vlad manages to take it all in stride, but learning that Baslo Rigla may still be alive, after seeing his enemy’s ashes swept out to sea, may be a little more than he can handle. If a destroyed vampire is able to return from oblivion, there may be only one thing the new king can do…and that will require a sacrifice he doesn’t really want to make.

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Summary: Megan O’Connell’s marriage to Irishman David McMuir followed a whirlwind courtship. Now they’re about to become parents and David makes a startling confession: He’s a faery, one of the Little People. Not only that, he’s the Wizard of White Fire, sent to protect the Earth from an invasion by Exeter Dubhtina, his deadly rival. Exeter has timed his attack to the Harmonic Convergence, a rare aligning of planets when White Fire magic is at its weakest. As the Convergence begins, David returns to the dimension of Ais Linn to prepare for battle but Megan follows. The only mortal in a magical realm, she finds herself a pawn in the Dark Fire Lord’s fight against her husband. Exeter’s threat is plain: Surrender to me or your wife and unborn child will die!

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Summary: What would you do if you only had nine days to live? In nine days, Kavan's life will be over. An asteroid wasn't plummeting to Earth that would wipe out humanity. Alien ships aren't on the horizon, poised to attack us. There wasn't a huge natural disaster imminent either. No, nothing so dramatic as that. The world will go on as usual. Only Kavan M. Garcia wasn't. Follow Kavan on his journey of acceptance in the face of death as he road trips across the country to visit his friends and family. Kavan hadn't put much thought into the end of his own life but now that it was upon him, there were a few things he had to resolve and say, even if no one else could know that his time was limited. “Nine Days” is a speculative fiction story with a supernatural twist set in the Bloodlines of Fate world. This prequel is set several decades before Talos when supes were still hidden. This can be read as a standalone.

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Summary: Offend the Frost King? Get kicked from the Court. Land in the jaws of a living dinosaur?   Ink, the black ice fairy, isn't shocked that his frostiness banished her, but she's shocked to find herself sent to a swamp. It's hot, sticky and mucky—an ice fae's worst nightmare. Banishment means she's stuck with the heat and the stupid, hungry alligators. She's gone from knowing all the rules of her world to knowing absolutely nothing about existing in her soggy new home. At least the draiad guardian's kinda nice, though what the hell is a draiad? A thunderous boom and an ice fae being dropped into her swamp interrupted Pickerel's quiet, contemplative day of preserving flowers. The fae is abrasive, just shy of rude, and apparently unable to leave. The last thing Pickerel needs this close to the winter solstice celebration is another responsibility. But she can't ignore her host obligations, nor can she deny the fae is rather attractive. When dangerously reckless human poachers invade the swamp, all other concerns evaporate. Ink and Pickerel must learn to work together, combining their knowledge and their wildly different talents to combat the threat to the wildlife and the peace of the swamp. And—oh no—they might even have to admit they like each other.   Ice + Alligators is a novella that contains talkative squirrels, a mischievous and overly opinionated alligator, and a shy but grumpy fae who might've found a caring nature spirit who is everything she needed.

Word Count: Click here to reveal120,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: When Denny isn’t working as a photographer, they spend their time at the local coffee shop mooning over one of the regulars, the mysterious and beautiful Peri. No one’s more surprised than Denny when she asks them out on a date. What happens that night throws the couple into a world where nothing is as it appears and everyone wants to get their hands on Peri and her powers to inspire artists – especially Joolie, the controlling and egotistical leader of Denny’s art collective. If that wasn’t enough, the powerful, capricious water elementals known as Nyxen have inexplicably taken an interest in Denny. They warn that Peri’s gifts bring nothing but trouble to those around her. It’s hard to argue with them when the magic starts to go wrong; paintings greedily come alive with grasping tentacles, an obsessed ex-lover returns to threaten the couple, and Denny begins to wonder if their grip on reality is beginning to slip…  

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Summary: As far as Ruby Killingsworth is concerned, life couldn't possibly get any better, She is the wealthiest and most influential she's ever been. her entertainment empire continues to grow and thrive, her personal life is uncomplicated and fulfilling, and she continues to explore the unequaled magic she's been granted access to. In Ruby's world, magic and money can solve just about any problem. But when an email from the future arrives in her inbox-- one that threatens her entire business and especially the career of one up-and-coming rock star-- she finds neither of her usual solutions adequate to the task. She'll need help getting to the bottom of this, and there's only one person she knows who's qualified to take on an adversary as esoteric as a possible time traveler. The problem? That person is Jaccob "Stardust" Stevens, Cobalt City's pre-eminent superhero, world-leading tech genius, and professional Good Guy, who also happens to be Ruby's next-door neighbor and former flame. With the help of a team of young heroes led by the legendary Kara Sparx, Jaccob and Ruby must find a way to work together to find the time travelers and stop them before they destroy everything Ruy has worked so hard to build. And maybe, in time, they might just find each other again.

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Summary: "Once upon a time, there was a girl who spoke with birds" She’d used her mage powers to build a successful detective agency, but Dhana’s impressive skills might not be enough to save her family. MIDNIGHT CROW is a standalone sequel to the WOODSPELL SERIES and one of the TALES OF ARDONNA. Content Advisory: Contains adult themes and situations, including violence and assault, plus spoilers for previous Modern Era books  

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Summary: They say the enemy of the enemy is your friend. But sometimes it's hard to know the true enemy--and harder still to know who your true friends are.   As a hunter, Constance Jaeger grew up believing that all vampires were evil. But now the Accords say they are citizens with rights. Constance is dubious. And her doubt grows when a vampire who scoffed at the Accords has murdered a neighborhood cop who looked out for the homeless, the sort of cop even the street kids trusted. She wants revenge.   Her strongest ally against the rogue bloodsucker is the charming, fiddle-playing Valentine McBain. He's seeking vengeance for a beloved servant and friend killed by the same vampire. The only problem? Valentine is a vampire too.   She doesn't want to trust him, but she may not have a choice. The deeper they dig into their mutual foe's machinations, the bigger the problems they uncover. Simple revenge rapidly turns into a tangled web of corruption, trafficking, and sorcery, until Constance and Valentine are the only ones who can stop the summoning of a demon powerful enough to destroy an entire city.   Assuming they can work together long enough to do it.

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Summary: Return to Kell Shaw's Vestiges of Magic world in a knife-edge sequel. Lukie's father is trapped in the Underworld and it's all her fault. Twenty years after her murder, Lukie has returned to life and is ready to go home, but her father isn't willing to believe his beloved daughter is back from the dead. Before she can reconcile with him, a supernatural predator steals her father's soul. One that she's led straight to his door, after foolishly ignoring the signs that something was amiss. To get her father back, Lukie must uncover the true nature of the ancient horror haunting Thunderhead Ward before a spectral hunt of bestial ghosts is unleashed upon the world. And she only has until midnight on New Year's Eve, when the borders between the dead and living lands seal, or her father will be lost forever…

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Summary: My name is Ben, and I died last year. Almost. I’d hoped I would wake up from my near-death experience as a medium just in time for high school. Turns out it just wrecked my legs. No medium talent, either. I’m something else. A summoner. Join Ben as he finds his feet at the Academy and learns what it takes to be a summoner in this complete 9-book series boxed set! --- I know next to nothing about my talent besides it involves portals and pledge bonds. It’s okay, they teach it at school. Sounds perfect, right? Wrong. Mateo, the other summoner in my class, hates me. The class clairvoyant thinks destiny has got it out for me, too. Makes sense. As if I don’t already feel like a square peg, getting around on crutches, my portals break stuff and go to the wrong realm. It’s a good thing I’ve got help from my family, friends, and a celestial called Arie. It takes constant rehab just to keep my busted body working. But how do I fix my broken talent?

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Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.