Sea Gifts, a mini-collection of short stories by Barry Sikes, Karalynn Lee, and JJ Beazley

Join three talented authors as they tell stories of love found at sea. These stories run the gamut from happily ever after to tragic, but they all feature mysterious sea creatures. Barry Sikes story, “The Mimic Ship” tells the story of a young man who goes to sea with his father for the first time. Set in the ancient classical world, this is a story of a young boy’s first, impossible love. Karalynn Lee’s story, “Sea Gifts”, is based on a Korean legend, and tells the story of a young witch, her greedy father, and their encounters with the King of the Sea. JJ Beazley’s story, “When the Waves Call” joins an English tourist on the shores of Ireland during a harvest moon. The sea washes up a treasure, but this is a time of storms and a greedy sea. It won’t easily lose what it considers its own.

Curse by E. Grace Diehl

This full-length novel continues the adventures of Kinlea Keeper, first introduced in the book by the same name. The original, well-loved characters are all grown up, new characters are introduced, and the stakes are much, much higher. Young Curtis “Curse” is the new keeper of Barren Hollow, but he’s also captive of the Witch of Barren Hollow, and all his guardians, magical humans given the duty of protecting a Keeper, are missing, scattered and broken by the Witch. Curtis is only 7, and a bit of a magical prodigy. He’s also lonely, afraid, and far from home. Kinlea agrees to help him find his missing guardians, and in doing so, save Curtis’s baby sister from a curse. They travel from England all the way to the Swiss alps, meeting a dizzying array of magical creatures and discovering how magic works in different places. This series is a treat for Diehl’s handling of magic and magical creatures from different cultures, as well as her deft weaving of old ballads, poetic prose, traditional magical creatures, and great characters with a compelling plot.

Springs, an erotic horror novella by Angela Caperton

Cherie composes music and sound effects for cutting edge video horror games. Pretty, sexy and driven, she chafes against being a girl in the man’s world of game design. When an accident opens up an opportunity to compose the music for the next hit video game, Cherie grabs the brass ring with both hands. The game is over budget and out of time. Up against a hard deadline, she finds inspiration in an antique music box, but the box sings her into a world of erotic nightmares that transcend time and flesh…. (This title contains graphic sex and violence.)