"RAISING THE DEAD IS EASY. LOVE IS HARD. . . " There are lots of reasons to raise the dead-some private, some public. In this case, the feds have a witness who died before he could speak on the record. They want him raised so his testimony can be taken. So here I am, on a plane to Philadelphia, flying off to do my job. But I'm not alone. Micah is with me. Micah, head of the St. Louis wereleopard pard. King to my Queen. The only one of my lovers who can stir my blood with just a glance from his chartreuse cat's eyes. I was happy to have him at my side. Until he mentioned that this will be our first time alone together. No Master Vampire. No Alpha Werewolf. Just me and Micah. And all my fears and doubts. . .

When Anita Blake meets with prospective client Tony Bennington, who is desperate to have her reanimate his recently deceased wife, she is full of sympathy for his loss. Anita knows something about love, and she knows everything there is to know about loss. But what she also knows, though Tony Bennington seems unwilling to be convinced, is that the thing she can do as a necromancer isn't the miracle he thinks he needs. The creature that Anita could coerce to step out of the late Mrs. Bennington's grave would not be the lovely Mrs. Bennington. Not really. And not for long.

Keleios the Half-Elf was but five years old when she saw her mother murdered by the evil witch Harque. For years she has asked the gods for the strength she'll need to avenge this foul death, and it seems the gods have answered her. She's been granted an array of powers never before seen in one person, but she has also acquired a most terrifying burden, a demonmark. This mark can open the door to undreamed abilities, but it can also open her soul to the forbidden dark side of magic. Keleios must choose between the demonmark's tainted power and the lives of those she holds most dear. In an epic battle of good versus evil, of enchanted swords and shapeshifting dragons, of unquenchable hatred and unlikely love, Keleios must face her own demons—before she can acquire the most important power of all: the power to forgive.

Dating both a vampire and a werewolf isn't easy. But just to complicate Anita's already messy life, someone has put a price on her head. Love cannot save her this time, so she turns to Edward, hitman extraordinaire, for help. But finding the person behind the threat won't be easy, because as both a vampire hunter and zombie reanimator, Anita has made a lot of enemies-both human and otherwise.

Sometimes, an animator just can't catch a break. As things come to a head at the Circus of the Damned, Anita learns some unfortunate news from Jeane-Claude about the new, ultra-powerful vamp in town, Alejandro. But these days, there are so many balls in the air, that it's hard to keep all the different players straight. But when Anita is summoned to see Master Vampire, Mister Oliver, even she can't predict the surprise that awaits her. COLLECTING: ANITA BLAKE: CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED--THE SCOUNDREL 1-5

The tension in this saga continues to mount as Merry, pregnant with twins, rejects the throne and instead chooses exile in the human world with her beloved Frost and Darkness. But though she has left faerie for Los Angeles, Merry knows she can never abandon her people and when someone begins killing the fey, Merry will do whatever is takes to uncover the truth behind the deaths. And yet, even stranger things are happening. The mortals that have been healed by Merry's touch are suddenly performing miracles and Merry finds herself amidst dark suspicions of banned magical activities. Filled with riveting twists, Divine Misdemeanors adds yet another unforgettable chapter to a story that is both epic and breathtaking.

**Be proud of Life’s battle scars, it means you were stronger than whatever hurt you, and you didn’t die—and Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter and U.S. Marshal will be the first to show you hers in this sweet and sexy story of celebration and connection from #1 New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton.** Anita attends the wedding of her close friend but finds that even on the happiest of days there are wounds that need healing. She and the wereleopards Micah and Nathaniel are asked to talk to the bride’s thirteen-year-old brother, Tomas, who is struggling to recover from a recent gunshot wound. Depressed and demoralized, Tomas isn’t doing his physical therapy and could spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair… How can Anita, Micah, and Nathaniel convince Tomas that he can heal when he’s given up? They tell him about their own scars and how they took back their own lives after they were wounded. And Anita will realize how lucky they are to have not only survived their pasts, but to now be able to make their own formal commitment to each other— and the vampire in her life…

*I am Princess Meredith NicEssus. Legal name Meredith Gentry, because Princess looks so pretentious on a driver's license. I was the first faerie princess born on American soil, but I wouldn't be the only one for much longer...* Merry Gentry, ex-private detective, now full-time princess, knew she was descended from fertility goddesses, but when she learned she was about to have triplets, she began to understand what that might mean. Infertility has plagued the high ranks of faerie for centuries. Now nobles of the both courts of faerie are coming to woo Merry and her men at their home in exile in the Western Lands of Los Angeles, because they will do anything to have babies of their own. Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, is a more dangerous problem. He tried to seduce Merry, and failing that, raped her. He's using the human courts to sue for visitation rights, claiming that one of the children is his. And though Merry knows she was already pregnant when he took her, she can't prove it. To save herself and her babies from Taranis Merry will use the most dangerous powers in all of faerie: a god of death, a warrior known as the Darkness, The Killing Frost, and a king of nightmares. They are her lovers, and her dearest loves, and they will face down the might of the high courts of faerie - while trying to contain the war, to keep it from spreading to those innocent humans who are in very real danger of becoming collateral damage...

I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch?and kill me. My royal guards surround me, and my best loved - my Darkness and my Killing Frost - are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn't enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs. Now King Taranis, powerful and vain-glorious ruler of faerie's Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime - and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis's charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.

I am Meredith, princess of faerie, wielder of the hands of Flesh and Blood, and at long last, I am with child–twins, fathered by my royal guard. Though my uncle, Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, claims that he is the true father since he abducted me from my home, betrayed, and defiled me. And now he has branded my guards as a threat to my unborn children. Bearing an heir has placed me halfway to my aunt’s throne, that much closer to my reign over the Unseelie Court–and well ahead of her son, my cousin Cel, in this race. Now I must stay alive to see my children born and claim my place as queen. But not all in faerie are pleased with the news, and conspirators from every court in the realm plot against me and mine. They seek to strip my guards, my lovers, from me by poisoned word or cold steel. But I still have supporters, and even friends, among the goblins and the sluagh, who will stand by me. I am Meredith Nic Essus, and those who would defy and destroy me are destined to pay a terrible price–for I am truly my father’s daughter. To protect what is mine, I will sacrifice anything–even if it means waging a great battle against my darkest enemies and making the most momentous decision ever made as princess of faerie.

These days, Anita Blake is less interested in vampire politics than in an ancient, ordinary dread she shares with women down the ages: she may be pregnant. And, if she is, whether the father is a vampire, a werewolf, or someone else entirely, he knows perfectly well that being a Federal Marshal known for raising the dead and being a vampire executioner, is no way to bring up a baby.

**The steamy outtake that takes readers even further into Laurell K. Hamilton’s bestselling novel, *Kiss the Dead*.** *You’d think I’d get used to seeing such a beautiful man and knowing he was mine, but it never grew old, as if his beauty and the fact that he was mine, and I was his, would forever surprise me.* With a vampire like Jean Claude around, it’s far too easy for Anita Blake to doubt her own appearance—and the hold it has on those who love her. But one hot tub and two incredibly sexy men—Jean Claude and Asher—will make her feel like the most lusted-after woman alive…or undead. Not bad for a mere human… “Hamilton remains one of the most inventive and exciting writers in the paranormal field.”—Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Includes an excerpt of *Kiss the Dead*, the new Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel

After two hundred years of civil war the planet Oriana is dying. Most of the surface vegetation is gone, the air is nearlyy unbreathable, and the people themselves are dying. Now, the two warring factions have finally sat down to talk peace, and Captian Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise™ are sent ot help them negotiate a settlement.Picard, Lt. Worf, and Counsellor Troi beam down to Oriana, just as the Starship Enterprise is called away on another urgent mission. Alone on the planet, the U.S.S. Enterprise team learns that htere are people that would rather finish the devastating conflict than talk peace. Suddenly, Picard is accused of murder nad the delicate negotiations have fallen into the hands of Lt. Worf.Now, Worf and Troi must unravel the truth and prevent planet-wide disaster, before time runs out for the people of Oriana and the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

Feel the Touch of Darkness. . . Follow a vampire who can be as deadly as her prey. Meet a down home southern girl who's found out, much to her chagrin, that vampires are her type. Feel the euphoria of fear in the shadow of a reluctant Queen of the Undead. Step closer to the hot-blooded edge of passion as a strange new mythology of the night is unveiled. The bite is back in vampire fiction as today's most provocative authors of vampire fiction cast their irresistible spells on you . . . The brightest and hottest authors—including New York Times best-selling authors Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlaine Harris—tell all-new tales featuring their best known and loved characters. * From Laurell K. Hamilton, a never-before-published Anita Blake story in which Anita, temporarily separated from her vampire lover Jean-Claude, must go to him for help on a case. Where she finds herself once more falling under his erotic spell... * A brand-new, Southern Vampire story by Charlaine Harris features Sookie Stackhouse and the vampires who have come to define her romantic life, and have ended her hope of a normal one... * Newly crowned Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor reluctantly assumes her royal duties in MaryJanice Davidson's brand-new novella. * Introduced in the anthology * [Hot Blooded](https://www./book/show/313268.Hot_Blooded "Hot Blooded") * and the romance * [Master of the Night](https://www./book/show/19909.Master_of_the_Night "Master of the Night") *, Angela Knight has created a fascinating universe melding Arthurian lore with erotic vampirism... * Finally, in the romantic novella "Blood Lust", popular romance author Vickie Taylor brings her own unique spin on vampires...

Four favorite authors present their favorite characters in all-new tales of bloodlust, appetites that must be sated again and again, and the passion that feeds them. **"Beyond the Ardeur" (An Anita Blake tale) By Laurell K. Hamilton** Anita is attending a friend's wedding when Nathaniel, her pomme de sang, makes known in no uncertain terms that he wants to take the relationship to the next level. Anita's subsequent actions take her to a place she has hitherto carefully avoided. ****This short story is a condensed version of Incubus Dreams, book 12 in the Anita Blake series!* **"Dead Girls Don't Dance," by MaryJanice Davidson** Vampire Andrea Mercer is literally dug up by an old crush, Daniel Harris, and during a trip to Minnesota to see the vampire queen, her desire for him reignites. **"Originally Human" by Eileen Wilks** Succubus Molly Brown discovers a gorgeous, naked man in the woods and decides to help him recover his memory. **"Burning Moon" by Rebecca York** All werewolf Grant Marshall wants to do is rip out the throat of the man who killed his wife–then swim out into the Atlantic Ocean and never come back. He tracks his wife’s killer to a small New Jersey seaside town, where he meets Antonia, a blind tarot card reader--the woman with the power to change his fate.