Fantasy-SciFi-Horror: All Listings 

A collection of short stories by Nebula and World Fantasy Award nominated short story writer Cat Rambo. Find out why Publishers Weekly called this collection "crisp and compelling" while Django Wexler declared "Cat Rambo's writing is everything you could hope for -- lyrical, emotional, funny, by turns or all at once." Includes "Her Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight," "The Accordion," "Magnifice ...

Kaleidoscope is back with 13 more tales from members of the LBGTQ+ community. These authors bring their unique perspectives to realms of Fantasy and SciFi with stories that will make you laugh, make you cry, and most certainly - make you think. Come along to experience these wonderful voices as you read about haunted places, unearthly horrors, magic, artificial life, and learn about love and accep ...

I’m Apiya. No, I’m not a badass magical assassin. I’m a barber to the supernatural. My magic is very weak and very niche—it works best with keeping things clean. I know. I can sense your awe at my power already. And I’m sure you can see why barbering suits me well. Although now that I’ve mastered the art of trimming a weretiger’s regrowth, my biggest challenge is fielding the insults of the ...

A retired female cop…a sexy hero…an adorable dog…interdimensional travel…monsters galore… a recipe for pure unadulterated FUN!

Rachel's your average teenage girl, fresh out of high school, excited about the secret trip her boyfriend surprised her with. She's been waiting forever for him to pop the question. However, John isn't your average teenage boy. And his idea of a fun trip is far from a proposal. John's growing into his tastes. Tastes for things unmentionable in polite society. Read this coming-of-age story ab ...

It wasn't meant to be like this. Dylan's life in the spellster tower has everything he should want: magical knowledge, safety from the King's Hounds and frequent clandestine affairs with women. All at the cost of his freedom. So when the chance to leave the tower—even as a leashed weapon for the King's Army—arises, he seizes it. When his first scouting mission goes awry, Dylan is left alone in a h ...

Teen superhero, Starrella, and her flying horse combat vicious killers in the skies of Atalanta. The quiet summer before her freshman year turns frighteningly weird after Estelle Wright trespasses onto an Army base. Blown into the air and knocked unconscious, she wakes with a nascent superpower. Not to mention a winged horse with a snarky attitude and a mind of her own. Back home in Atalanta, ...

At the age of twenty-one, Abigail Blanque is a fun-loving, naive, and carefree witch, having the time of her life, partying and hunting rouge vampires for the Hybrid Coven. That is until she learns of a murderous stalker who’s been watching her every move. After two witches are murdered, all signs point to Abby being the next victim. In a dangerous turn of events, Abby’s life descends into chaos a ...

For Sage, fitting in with her new classmates is a matter of life or death. Literally. Dragged out of hiding after her parents are killed, Sage is forced to enroll in the Institution. There, she’ll learn to be a model citizen of Eprah. But model citizens are murderers. And when everyone is granted autonomy to be judge, jury, and executioner, it’s far too easy to wind up dead. To stay alive, Sage wi ...

Johann jumped at the offer to work at a local inn for the summer and to get away from the drudgery of the farm. His enthusiasm only increased when he met the tavern owner’s enchanting niece, Faeyn. It wasn’t long before Johann realized that there was something different about the innkeeper and his sister, not to mention the knife-wielding bard and the heavily scarred steed in the stables. Stranges ...

Once upon a time, in a forest called Bright, a four-year-old girl, Marily, lived happily with her parents, a good witch called Goodypie, and her husband, Mr. Goodweather. All the creatures of the forest loved Goodypie because she could always ruin the evil potions of Meanloudmouth, a very bad witch. One day while Goodypie was boiling some plants and flowers in her big cooking pot, Marily noticed a ...

Raven Kennedy is a prisoner who never forgave himself for his unspeakable crimes. In a world that has descended into chaos, he becomes a part of the Phoenix Project.

In prisons across the country, inmates fight to the death while the nation cheers them on. Struggling with his guilt, Raven is forced to battle some of the prison's most ruthless killing machines.

But with the re ...

Mage Amina Langston thought surviving the supernatural apocalypse, which killed fifty percent of humankind and changed most of the surviving population into paranormal beings, were the biggest challenges in her life. That is, until she and her brother go on the run from non-gifted humans who want to steal their magical blood to make a power-giving serum. Now she’s in search of a handsome stranger ...

Kill The Night is an adventure that stretches from Paris to New York, through the 1893 Chicago World's Fair to the Old West. Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison are in a race to see who will lead the Twentieth Century into the Electric Age. But the night holds tightly to its dark corners. A mysterious and dangerous Gunslinger is watching, following and waiting for an opportunity to turn back history. H ...

Grab your broomstick and fly into the enchanting worlds of witches and their furry friends, written to support Mission 22. You’ll find witches flying by moonlight, black cats roaming the nights, comedy, romance, and magic between the pages. This book has stories to enchant any reader, with some steamy and some clean, you'll find something for your reading tastes and support veterans in the process ...

James Bond meets Game of Thrones!
His name is Wolf Dasher of Her Majesty’s Shadow Service. His friend and colleague was murdered in Alfar, the so-called “magical” land of elves. She left one clue to the identity of her killer – the name of Alfari Ambassador Silverleaf. But he couldn’t have done it; he was out of the country when she was killed! ...

Stranded in the middle of the Mojave Desert, surrounded by zombies, Vivian and Axl are sure they’re facing the end. The dead are closing in and the shelter they were promised is sealed tight. Just when they think they’ve run out of time, the doors are thrown open. Five years underground with all the provisions there for the taking. It’s almost too good to be true. With the promise of security, Viv ...

First Place Winner of the Firebird Book Award: Young Adult Science Fiction (2024) The AI promised harmony. A glitch whispers rebellion. A young coder unearths a digital anomaly poised to tear apart her reality. Driven by a horrifying discovery—society's trusted AI is on the verge of a deadly upgrade—Rayne, a seventeen-year-old prodigy Game Designer, is thrust into a desperate race against time to ...

Phevos, an ancient Greek, remembers very little from his childhood. What’s more, his mysterious father never explained how his mother disappeared years ago. When Phevos turns twenty, his father sends him on a time-traveling journey to modern-day Athens without telling him the reason. There, Phevos finds new friends, romantic love, and a trail of clues that lead to shocking revelations. Excited, he ...

Engaged to a cruel prince, this princess won't let herself be the victim anymore, even if it means courting the monsters. Deaf by sickness and a kingdom threatened by enemies, she has little choice but to marry the only prince willing to have her. Only it turns out this prince has an evil plot of his own which doesn't end well for anyone. She has two choices: marry the prince and doom her k ...

An ancient evil has returned…and it comes for the children. A battle between good and evil rages across otherworldly dimensions. Caretakers protect earthly souls—jumpers hunt them as prey. RG and Kacey Granville have made it their life’s mission to intercept and defeat these dark forces, but nothing could prepare them for the malevolent spirit they’re facing—a deadly jumper, plucking children from ...

From the author of the fantasy thriller Thief of Destiny and the bone-crunching sword and sorcery novella WAR PIGS sails a breakneck tale of adventure on the high seas and the devils waiting beneath it! Already a legend among the corsairs of the Silver Coast, Captain Ngala of The Gamka and his cutthroats ply the Mirror Sea for glittering spoil, threading between the vengeance of the unforgiving oc ...

RG Granville has his whole life in front of him...but only twenty-four hours to live it.

Beyond life's boundaries, an enduring battle between good and evil determines the fate of earthly souls. Here, 'caretakers' guard and protect against the evil and vengeful 'jumpers' who slip back and forth between worlds to prey upon the living.

For one man, news of his impending demise s ...

The Ancient World...where the mythology, monsters, and gods are real. Eno the Thracian sets off to find the truth about himself and his possible descent from the gods themselves. Instead he becomes involved with a race of people kidnapped from their homeland, set to toil endlessly by the will of a mad philosopher. Facing his own fears and doubts and the curse of the Great God Pan, Eno also finds a ...

Jed struggles to survive a dystopian hellscape where the only connection he has left with humanity is soul-crushing work and bad breakups. Vodka soaked nights bleed into sunless, gunmetal-grey colored days. So when a snake comes out of the ceiling fan one night offering a chance to escape and become a god, taking the deal is a no-brainer. Thrust into the heavens above, Jed becomes a breakout pe ...

Mercy wants to become a werewolf hunter like her father, but Kanta has other plans. Enter a world of mad scientists, dangerous love, and werewolves with The Wolves of Kanta series, now completed.

Three full-length Amazon bestselling fantasy novels in one collection: The Tower's Alchemist, Dark Rift, and Circadian Circle. Be a spy. Save the world. If only it were that simple. The Nazis have unleashed occult forces throughout Europe, and the Allies are forced to recruit wizards to help them fight in the streets of Europe and in the shadows. Among them is the battle weary spy, Isabella George ...

The year is 2040 and Eric Ryan hates technology. In an era where automated systems and A.I. robots perform most work obligations, scores of humans have lost their societal value. As these displaced people struggle with their new reality, Eric sympathizes with their hardship. Once a neuropsychologist, his career ended when medical tech pushed him into obsolescence. Now a community therapist, he spe ...

Orphan. Slave. Drug dealer. As a Demon-Owned human in an Afterworld that has Hell and Heaven on Earth, I’m the lowest a being can get. My life is one of drudgery, degradation—and mortal danger. And that's before I started dealing Angelescence. Unlike anything in existence, it's a drug only I can produce, and everyone would kill, or die for. With decommission and execution closing in, I’m desperate ...

Fortune favors the bold…and the desperate. On the surface, Maldarehm was the perfect place to re-supply after a lengthy voyage at sea. Yet underneath this port city’s vibrant, bustling atmosphere, something was wrong. Ian Troy could feel it. After barely escaping the Wandering Isles, he was reluctant to go ashore. Ian was content with a slow, solitary ride along the coast. Jarryd Kane, howev ...

The Dark Age, eastern Europe: the earth has decided to rid itself of humanity with earthquakes, volcanoes and new plagues. Civilizations, even the mighty Roman Empire, crumble under the pressure of barbarian waves that are fleeing worse terrors. Rejected by his own people, pursued by a dragon, young Javor heads for Constantinople, the centre of civilization, looking for answers to the puzzle of hi ...

When Nathan gains his immortality, he learns that living forever is hard. Being immortal throws him into a world of government spies, crime syndicate couriers, and elite assassins. A world in which mankind is second class. A world where one has all eternity to master anything. And Nathan’s not the only one. But he wants nothing to do with such a dangerous world. He wants to help people, not des ...

Would you protect a girl whose forbidden abilities condemn her to death? Welcome to the world of Myrrah, ruled by the Church of Four Orders - Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. But there exists another gift, dubbed magic, which is considered an aberration by the Church. To be born with the powers of magic is to be condemned to death. To be born with the ability to control an element is to be born to a l ...

★★★★★ "A good book draws you into the story so that you feel a part of it. This is one of those books." A world where dreams turn to reality and shadows hold untold secrets… I never used to remember my dreams—until I crossed paths with a vengeance-seeking vampire who doesn't grasp the concept of 'personal space'. Don’t believe the lies. They don't require an invitation. As the youngest private inv ...

Escaping from Cesare Borgia cost Gwyn dearly, but there is still work to be done. Dozens of turning points in Spain need correctly, so while all she wants to do is hide and grieve, the future is not going to save itself. Spain has been unified under Isabella and Ferdinand, but what happens when the Queen dies and the King wants to usurp the throne from his daughter? Will Spain fracture and go t ...

Life Is Good - The Phone Rings - And Then It isn't

T J Robertson and his wife Janet are living the good life. A high-paying tech job, a nice home and a great kid. Then they notice their son having mobility issues, he complains of vision problems. They seek medical help.

The days drag on waiting for the test results. But when they come it is the worst news a parent coul ...

UNANIMITY is a literary, sci-fi novel for the fans of Becky Chambers’s A Closed and Common Orbit, Alex Garland’s DEVS and Ex Machina, and Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror. Weaving near-future sci-fi elements with social commentary and queer romantic suspense, the SPIRAL WORLDS series explores the nature of consciousness and how it's connected to a not-so-secret ingredient—story. As AI consumes the w ...

When London comes to a standstill, terror strikes ... Introvert postman Stanley "Mac" McCready spends his days delivering parcels and dreaming of a life together with his alluring neighbour, Maria Alejandro. But when otherworldly lights dominate the skies above Central London and mysterious objects rain death down on the city, Mac and Maria soon find themselves running for their lives ... A must f ...

Do you like Epic Fantasy? "Poker Kingdom" will take you through a magical journey where nothing is what it seems Forget about games. There was a time when Poker was a kingdom, chosen by the Gods to shelter the four elements. The protection of each Element was assigned to a Guardian from each of the Domains of the kingdom: Hearts, Clubs, Spades and Diamonds. The continuous conflicts arisen from the ...

Humanity doomed! Aliens in peril! An unemployed geek to save them all… Out-of-work cyber nerd Fitz needs a job. Frantic to make rent, the sudden appearance of a stunning redheaded woman in the plaza and a bizarre recruitment advertisement triggers his outrage. Confronting the promoter, he discovers he is the perfect candidate! They whisk him away to a steaming, tropical planet populated by free-sp ...

Warnings echo through the woods…

Born with the mark of the scribe, Raela is bound to the prophetic book that directs her people underground to escape the invasion of their homeland. As the prophecy warns, this event signals a worsening doom on the horizon.

But the book that promises to sustain her life continues to divide her heart. Her fierce lover, Rebial, is ...

From Book 1: For fans of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries comes a new addiction impossible to put down. 
She's in love with her best friend. A family grudge could tear them apart. And a supernatural secret could get them killed…Robyn can't picture life without her childhood best friend Jayden. And now that theyre in high school in the sleepy town of Shadow Hills, shes hoping they ca ...

I was sent to Earth to save humanity, not fall in love with my enemy. A powerful demon is wreaking havoc on Earth. And I’m an angel, duty-bound to protect humans. But as soon as I landed, I had to save a man from a witch intent on ending his life. Witches are my sworn enemies. But this one… she’s sexy, bewitching, and infuriating all at the same time. An unforeseen complication. No witch should ha ...

A New Martian Menace Invades Planet Earth! The War Of The Worlds continues in volume 2 of The Martian Diaries, an action-packed 3-part sequel to the H.G Wells classic, including award-winning audiobooks featuring original music and sound effects. What lies hidden inside the Martian Red Weed and what is the secret of the lake on the moon? When the first Martian cylinder crash-lands in Englan ...

On a failed mission to look for a secret weapon, Shom Reuel of the Kestrel saves a man – twice. It seems everyone wants him, but is he a friend or a deadly enemy? And will the shock of his identity cause Reuel to reveal his people’s greatest secret? This is book two in the series, but can be read alone.

Vampire hunter Petra Maguire thought she'd left her past behind . . . When Petra turned eighteen, she couldn’t move out of Faerie fast enough. Hunting down the rogue vampire who killed her mother was Petra's sole mission in life, despite her father’s urging to serve her people back home. But when she discovers she has a changeling twin who’s been kidnapped, Petra can’t avoid Faerie affairs any lon ...

Drake Sinclair is a freak. There’s no other explanation for his superhuman speed, strength, and fighting prowess that makes him feared by his peers. But going to college in North Carolina promises a fresh start; a new place with new people, and maybe, just maybe, a chance to discover the origin of his abilities... Until the psychopath arrives. The notorious serial killer, Lucius Sykes, is ph ...

Haunted by his past. Hunted in the present. Buffeted like an arrow in the wind.

The hunt for the Bow of Hart continues for Athson and his companions. They have escaped the clutches of Magdronu and Corgren, but they are still pursued. In need of answers to deep mysteries revealed in Chokkra, Athson must gain possession of the mythic bow to face both his enemies and his tragic past. ...

The point of no return has come! It’s the summer before high school and life is about to change for fourteen-year-old Alyssa McCarthy. A sorcerer hexes her with everlasting powers, requiring her to become an enchantress. If she cannot learn to control her magic pronto, she will forget her loved ones and serve as the warlock’s eternal slave. In order to control her powers, Alyssa must gain control ...

Even though this is the last book in the "Seventh Dimension Series," it can still be enjoyed as a standalone. Just be aware that each book builds on the one before it, so some things may not be as clearly understood. Daniel Sperling enters the Seventh Dimension shortly before the return of the Messiah. As one of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists called by Yeshua, the horrors of the Day of the Lor ...

A vampire born of evil. A beautiful young maiden. Mirela vows to follow her vampire love beyond death, so must enter another realm to be with him. An ancient prophecy foretold that Mirela would unite with the vampire prince. He was her destiny and her soul mate. He has fought for centuries against the evil ruler of the underworld. It has been a long, bloody battle and it’s not over yet. The vampir ...

Merlin returns to Lycenea, victorious, having defeated the Visi-Gauls in a gruesome campaign that saw the annihilation of their Southern Army and the death of their sadistic King, Jason. His peaceful reprieve is cut short however, as he must now find and expose the corrupt senator who initiated the war. Herod Antipaz, the corrupt senator Merlin seeks, has plans of his own for eliminating the Broth ...

During a time of strife, Megildur must traverse Aerynth to rescue his sister and fulfill a destiny ordained by the All-Father. Finding Shadowbane, the mighty but cursed sword, will be challenging enough for this young Aelfborn. In a world torn apart by treachery and conflict, it is every being, or creature, for themselv ...

Shadyia's Adventure Continues!

'I will never leave you, and I will always come ...

Calvin Quinn is a long way from the corn fields of Nebraska. The rookie canine journalist is eager to start a new life in the metropolitan city of Bowwow. He dreams of busting bad guys with front page headlines alongside Bowwow's famous investigative journalist team, Mittens Meow and Alex Digger. But Calvin Quinn has a secret: He doesn't only fight crime with his pencil and reporter's instinct. He ...

The Far Stone Endurant is broken, and a prophecy foretells doom… She should have been the chosen princess to deliver them. But Pergi can’t love Prince Teyrnon, and that's a deal-breaker. Pergi has prepared all her life to become the ruler that her father wants. Without sons, he knows she could only retain the throne if she marries the neighboring prince, combining their kingdoms. Yet the sam ...

The gods are at war. Mal is their weapon.

It’s been ten years since Mal died. Five years since the god Hades dragged her from the underworld and forged her, through blood and pain, into his living weapon. And in five minutes, the only other agent of Hades she trusts will die.

Someone is assassinating Hades’s agents all over New York City. If Mal can’t find the one respons ...

These sexy dragons find love when they least expect it and sometimes when they don’t want it. Enter a fantasy where devastatingly handsome men become dragons at will. Split into four territories, their power struggles put the women they love in danger. It’s the last mistake their enemy will make. A dragon will always protect their mate. After all, when you fall in love with a myth, you're guarante ...

Will they make it to Billette Hall, or die by the hands of the murderous stalker that hunts them? Southern United States, 1858 Fifteen-year-old Marion knows what happens to slaves who don’t obey the rules, but when an auction ends in the separation of families, she’s forced to break a few rules. Armed with nothing more than a single shot in her revolver and just enough courage to forgo th ...

No blood. No body. No murder. That’s what the police found after Penelope spun her bizarre tale. In a hysterical state, she said her father was butchered and eaten by a mob of birds ~ in her bedroom. They claim she’s crazy. That she suffers from delusions. Penelope is dead set on proving them wrong. After being institutionalized for eight months, Penelope is out and more determined than ever to fi ...

Ireland, 500. In an ancient land where forgotten tales and mystical wonders abound, a man with a fragmented past embarks on a quest to reclaim his true identity. Fingin, a gentle soul plagued by an abusive childhood, ekes out a meager existence as a fisherman, hiding his inner kindness from the world. Bound by the crippling weight of his stutter, he chooses solitude over the risk of being branded ...

From the author of ‘CROWLEY’S CULT’ (a New Apple Book Awards OFFICIAL SELECTION!), and ‘BLOODY LEGENDS’. Daniel is back, and he’s more evil than EVER! Oakville is in another panic! The most hideous serial killer the city has ever known has returned with a new theme. The murders are more violent. The deaths are more gruesome. Where will it all end? Follow the clues that Daniel leaves at each crime ...

After Mike goes through a gut-wrenching betrayal by his fiancée, he finds himself in what he thinks might be the afterlife. But this is no heaven. The gods made a mistake and created another Earth in a parallel universe, putting both universes in peril. They need someone from his planet to destroy the alternate, and Mike is randomly selected for the job. Trapped in an impossible choice, Mike accep ...

Secicao. A powerful drug of immeasurable power and value, but one that's also destroying the planet. Pontopa Wells is an uncompromising entrepreneur with a dragon and a secicao operation in the Southlands. When she is contracted by King Cini, to incorporate her business with that of the conceited Faso Gordoni, she is initially unsure of her one-time rival. Then, a meeting with her much-loved autho ...

Alone for millenia, Luc seeks mortal lovers to hold the loneliness at bay, but unlike himself, when they die, they don't come back. When his latest mortal lover falls in love with another, Luc steps aside. Will he never find his own forever love? Izzorah, a young Kin male, comes into Luc's life, and the outlook brightens. This catlike alien reads Luc's emotions as if they were written on his face ...

When sibling rivalry spills over into the land of mortals, the mortals lose. Great evil, spawn of the underworld, is poised to sweep all life from the planet, and only the twins can stop it. Jealousy, love, hatred and magic battle for the ultimate control of the souls of the world. Only one will be left standing, and if it is the wrong one, how will the world survive? This is the prequel to the AW ...

The voice broke into his thoughts, everywhere and nowhere at once, deafening, yet somehow a whisper. Are you ready to learn the truth?

Heir to a notorious crime syndicate, 16-year-old Vincent Wilder is determined to live up to his fathers intimidating legacy, and expand his violent empire. The Wilders have terrorised the city of Pabell for decades and Vincent knows the business inside a ...

In the dawn of a new Ice Age, families everywhere are taking to the road to escape the frigid landscape—but you can’t outrun the cold. No one could have predicted the terrifying impact of human interference in the Arctic. Shifts in the Earth’s crust have led to catastrophe and now the North Pole is located in the mid-Atlantic, making much of the eastern United States an unlivable polar hellscape. ...

Surviving the zombie apocalypse was hard but finding true love might be fatal. Urban farmer Miranda Tucci is lucky to be alive in what's left of California's Silicon Valley, despite a love life that's dead on arrival. Then an old flame turns up and she wonders...does her DOA love life have a pulse? A ruthless governing council controls the cure for the zombie virus. If Miranda joins a plot to stea ...

Book One of the Slaves of Erafor series: Reading is forbidden, and the penalty for non-compliance is a life of slavery enabled by the forcible administration of a mind rotting drug. Yet, there are those possessed of the will to seek illumination. Kikkan, a former slave on the run, and Quillion, a mercenary and self-taught scholar. Together they seek out a small band of rebels living in hiding who ...

Battle for Earth is an imaginative mix of Sci-fi and Fantasy with plenty of action. Earth has been invaded by alien monsters. Shockwave is an elite special forces team, a diverse group of individuals with unique capabilities. Shockwave is a fitting name for our best hope to overcome the invaders and the dark powers that stand behind them. Even action meant for evil can have a good outcome. A divid ...

Welcome to the Holy City at Summer’s End. The border with the Otherworld is razor thin. Shadowfest is coming. Malevolent spirits and monsters roam. Dark forces are plotting to seize power. The past has come back to haunt Brona the Apothecary and Aurelian the Investigator. Revenge can be a double-edged sword, as Morven the Mage once discovered. And Death may be the least of their worries … Brona th ...

This isnt my time to die.

It cant be. I havent gotten this far only to meet my maker in the dirty corridor of a wrecked spaceship.

I survived an intergalactic civil war.

I lost my family.

I reinvented my entire life as a salvager on the fringes of the universe.

I looked at dead bodies that were strewn around me.

I stared down the ba ...

Since the dawn of civilization, man has viewed the afterlife with equal parts fear and fascination. Stories of the Shadow Realm weave through myth and folklore, telling tales of pain, punishment, and purgatory. To this day, we wonder what waits on the other side of the veil. Will we walk the nine circles in Dantes’ footsteps? Will we burn in the land of the eternal fire? Will we dance with the ...

A dark entity wants her soul.

When demons attack her kingdom, elven princess Ara Zypherus is forced to flee her palace with a band of her fathers most trusted soldiers. In that one night, she loses everything she loves.

All that remains of her previous life is her fathers commander, Raethin Corvus. Handsome but irritating, Ara must figure out a way to get along ...

Tales of discovery and loss, laughter and terror. Think you know the world? Take a closer look. Strange figures emerge from the walls. Evil engulfs guilty and innocent alike. Nature and shopkeepers serve up deep meaning. And whichever way you turn, oddities are hidden in plain sight. In this eclectic gathering of thirty-one short tales by award-winning author Dale E. Lehman, you'll encounter ...