Crafting Fantasy

Lily would like nothing better than to relax, enjoy her friends, and take care of business at her store, which is booming thanks to San Francisco's upcoming Summer of Love Festival. But as the unofficial witchy consultant to the SFPD, she is pulled into yet another case.

Taking a night off from running her successful San Francisco clothing store, Lily attends a local art deco ball where vintage fashions steal the show. But when a young woman at the event falls under a mysterious sleeping sickness, Lily senses that a curse was placed on the woman's corsage. Before Lily can solve the woman's magical ailment, she's asked to assist in investigating a string of poisonings in the Bay Area witchcraft community.

Back in San Francisco, Mika is working on bringing the Marshall greenhouse back to its full glory, despite her sister constantly breathing down her neck about the Matriarch ritual. Claire tries to force Mika's hand, but she refuses to give her sister the power to control her, or Audrey's life. To her sister's fury, Mika challenges Claire to the title of Matriarch. There hasn't been a witch challenge in centuries, and Mika isn't sure she is stronger - but it has to be worth the risk. But if one does not yield, both will die. Can Mika survive the challenge without exposing what she is?

That night, visions mocked Vol’jin. He found himself in the midst of fighters, each of whom he recognized. He’d gathered them for that final assault on Zalazane, to end his madness and free the Echo Isles for the Darkspears. Each of the combatants took on aspects of a jihui cube, faced to be at their maximum power. Not a fireship among them, but this did not surprise Vol’jin.

After a lifetime of fighting creatures of black magic, twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng has just learned a devastating secret: she herself is half vampire! Now not only is she dealing with vampire puberty, she's on the run from the organization of Slayers she trained her whole life to join. Serwa's only ally is her aunt Boahinmaa, an obayifo who urges Serwa to embrace her vampire side. Boahinmaa and her underlings are on the hunt for the Midnight Drum, from which they hope to free Serwa's grandmother.

A proud and reserved alien society finds its homeland destroyed in an unprovoked act of aggression, and the survivors have no choice but to reach out to the indigenous humanoids of their adopted world, to whom they are distantly related. They wish to preserve their cherished way of life, but doing so may mean changing their culture forever. Working together to save this vanishing race, a man and a woman from two clashing societies will uncover ancient mysteries with far-reaching ramifications.

A Practical Guide to Making Your Settings Work for Your Story Some writers treat setting as an afterthought—a simple backdrop for the plot to unfold. But the best stories don’t just happen somewhere; they emerge from places that feel alive, rich with history, symbolism, and emotion. The Anatomy of Settings is a step-by-step guide for writers looking to craft immersive worlds that shape character arcs, deepen conflict, and reinforce theme. Whether you’re writing fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, or contemporary stories, this book will help you transform your settings from ...

Jake's monster girls just want to have fun, but success always brings new challenges. After his embarrassment in the Trials, an evil god wants vengeance, and he'll stop at nothing to get it. Despite his sound defeat, Apophis's plot is going to make it difficult for Jake's party to enjoy their hard-won freedom. Meanwhile, the true perils of the war with Tartarus loom on the horizon. Join Jake and his growing family as they face fresh challenges and summon a new ally that's a lot more than they can handle. The giant dark elf lamia proves to be as difficult to deal with as she is powerful.

Since her village chased her out with pitchforks, Tara Abernathy has resurrected gods, pulled down monsters, averted wars, and saved a city, twice. She thought she'd left her dusty little hometown forever. But that was before her father died.

On the island of Kavekana, Priestess Kai builds gods to order - sort of. Kai's creations are perfect vehicles for Craftsmen and Craftswomen operating in the Old World. For beyond the ocean, true deities still thrive, untouched by the God Wars that transformed the city-states of Alt Coulumb and Dresediel Lex. When Kai tries to save a friend's dying idol, she's gravely injured - then sidelined from the business, her near-suicidal rescue attempt offered up as proof of her instability.

Lily Ivory and her friends are planning a 1950s-themed brunch to benefit the local women's shelter. When a figure from her past shows up unannounced, threatening her unless she returns something that belonged to him, Lily's fiance, Sailor, steps in to defend her. After the same man is found dead later that day, Sailor is the primary suspect. He swears he's innocent, but multiple witnesses ID him as the perpetrator of the assault. Lily vows to clear his name...only she's not sure where to start with the mounting evidence against him.

Grave witch Alex Craft is no stranger to the dead talking. She raises shades, works with ghosts, and is dating Death himself. But the dead walking? That's not supposed to happen. And yet reanimated corpses are committing crimes across Nekros City. Alex's investigation leads her deep into a web of sinister magic. When Briar Darque of the Magical Crimes Investigation Bureau gets involved, Alex finds herself with an unexpected ally of sorts. But as the dead continue to rise and wreak havoc on the living, can she get to the soul of the matter in time?

Shadow demons plague the city reservoir, and Red King Consolidated has sent in Caleb Altemoc - casual gambler and professional risk manager - to cleanse the water for the sixteen million people of Dresediel Lex. At the scene of the crime, Caleb finds an alluring and clever cliff runner, crazy Mal, who easily outpaces him.

It's been years since 12-year-old Aramar Thorne, a clever boy who is never without his precious sketchbook, has seen his father. So when Captain Greydon Thorne comes ashore and asks his son to join him at sea, it feels as if someone has redrawn Aram's entire world. At sea Aram struggles to get along with the Wavestrider's crew - especially second mate Makasa, a tough teenage girl who has been reluctantly placed in charge of him.

As soon as Lily opens her recently purchased trunk of old clothes, she feels strange vibrations emanating from a mysterious velvet cloak. When she tries it on, Lily sees awful visions from the past. And when the antiques dealer who sold her the cape is killed, Lily suspects a supernatural force might be behind his death. Then Lily's familiar, Oscar the potbellied pig, disappears. Lily will do anything to get him back - including battling the spirit of a powerful witch reaching out from the past.

Who ya gonna call? Wicked! FREE on Kindle Unlimited! Baby, it’s cold outside, and no one needs an escape more than Mandy, whose well-meaning family members simply must know when the newlyweds will be starting a family. Midnight feedings and teething rings will have to wait, though, while the Rowlings solve their latest case. A chance rescue of a kidnapped child and the mutterings of a hypnotized game show contestant draw the stars of USCAB into the 5-year-old mystery of three missing girls. All they need is a hot lead in this cold case, but as the suspects pile up, so do Mandy’s ...

Mika took the title of Head Witch with blood and told the world about a sub-class of witches they thought were long gone. Now she has to deal with the Angel of Death, the Council, and somehow keep everyone she loves safe while they prepare for a potential war. Where it will come from though, that's the real question. Can Mika use her new powers to keep everyone safe, or will Death finally find her?

Here comes a new witch... She’s mean, evil, and she's too familiar with Jack. What’s Fio to do with her? FREE on Kindle Unlimited! Haunted and Hexed takes on a new meaning for Fio Valentine when she finds herself competing with a witchy newcomer to solve a case. When FBI psychic Abby Scott breezes into the office claiming to be Jack’s former lover, Fio is understandably vexed, but there’s no time to play mind games with the arrogant agent. A ghostly girl appearing in a team photo has become a harbinger of disaster for members of the women’s basketball team at Jack and Abby’s ...

The second installment of the Traveler saga, based on Blizzard's World of Warcraft®. An epic action-adventure series set in Blizzard's popular World of Warcraft® game franchise. Features a young cast of characters discovering the mysteries and majesty of the world around them.

He mastered the game. Now, he must save the reality. Alex "Apex" Chen is a three-time RealmForge global champion, a master of digital siegecraft and resource management. But when a glitchy trophy ceremony catapults him into Khazad’um, a real-life dwarven kingdom teetering on the brink of annihilation, his gaming skills become their last hope. Dubbed the "Architect" by desperate dwarves, Alex faces goblins, trolls, and far more sinister threats lurking in the deep. Armed with a [System Interface], [Blueprint Design], and a [Tactical Overlay] only he can see, Alex must overcome dwarven ...