Seventeen-year-old Nora isn’t one for celebrations, but her family is. It's Fourth of July and they have been invited to an old friend’s fancy picnic party. Even if she doesn’t want to, Nora agrees to go, hoping to hide behind a tree with a book all night. Just when she realizes her plan is failing, a frantic and handsome boy asks for her help. He needs apple pies and she wants to leave the party. Together, they embark on a journey through the city on a mission that seems just as impossible as trying to buy turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Get ready for a hot summer night filled with tons of BBQ, historic figures, watermelon eating contests, headaches, fireworks, romance and apple pies.

Sam is the most promising swordsman among this year’s crop of Paladin trainees...and knows it. Brash, cocky, and unbeatable with a sword (well, almost), Sam is the kingdom of Thule’s best hope against the violence wrought by demons. The only problem is that Sam is really Lady Samantha, daughter of the seventeenth Duke of Haywood, and if her father has his way, she’ll be marrying a Paladin, not becoming one. But Sam has never held much interest in playing damsel-in-distress, and so she rescues herself from a lifetime of boredom and matrimonial drudgery. Pity that Tristan Lyons, the Paladin assigned to train her, is none other than the hero of her childhood. He hasn’t recognized her as Lady Samantha--yet-- but if he does, he’ll take away her sword and send her packing. Sam is not the only trainee hiding secrets: Braeden is a half-demon with a dark past that might be unforgivable. Sam, Braeden and Tristan set out for the western coast, charged with rooting out an infestation of demons that has made the West unlivable. As they travel, they uncover a deep-seated corruption of power that threatens to derail everything they stand for. Rebellion stirs, led by a rival faction of warriors who tempt Sam to join them with an irresistible offer. A war between men is coming, and Sam must pick a side. Will saving the kingdom cost her life -- or just her heart? Reminiscent of Mulan, but with a medieval fantasy twist, Paladin is a tale of adventure, action, and romance.

Abigail Archer lived a non-existent life. That is until Death arrived at her door with an interesting proposition... He asks her to live. But what will Abigail do when she realizes her only reason to live is Death itself? And what will Death do when he realizes that in Abigail, he has found life?

The city of Harborne is one with a troubled past. Its influence once wiped out an entire nation and, in return, it brought the wrath of the Dragon-Kin, of Bron and the Viper, down upon its walls. For over a year it survived, protected by the subtleties of its location, by the ocean and the rain, until its fate was eventually sealed by one of its own. In this world where everyone is born with magic, Edward Montgomery, who somehow had not a scrap of power within him, turned his heart to darkness and let the serpents through Harborne’s battered gates. And though this happened seven generations ago, there is still a saying in the city that survived Bron: “No magic leads to dark magic”. Which wasn’t a problem when Kiara was a child and could disappear from sight with nothing more than a simple thought. Only now she’s inexplicably crippled, with no magic to speak of, and the horizons beckon. She’s headed East, to the Mirror City, because they say a man can buy anything there, anything at all. And anything is exactly what she’d give to get her magic back. She’s willing to face dragons for it. Lucky, really, since Ben is tired of this power he cannot control, and he’s headed East too, to see if he can’t just sell his. **** Watty Award Shortlisted (Most Imaginative Setting) 2012 *****

Lewis Champion is in love--total, hopeless, unrequited love--with Jubilee Marshfield. Which is complicated, because she's his best friend. And even though his other best friend Shoe, and his awesome grandfather, Paps, are both rooting for him, Lewis can't get up the courage to tell her how he feels. He's always been a wallflower, watching people and making theories rather than acting on his feelings. In a last-ditch effort for her affection, Lewis acts in a play alongside his two friends, and he discovers a talent hidden within himself. But when Paps suddenly dies and leaves in his will a most mysterious task for Lewis, he must find a way to follow through. And along the way, he discovers the secrets of stories, the courage to say what he feels, and a whole new meaning to the word "acting." The only question is, will his best friend feel the same way, or will he lose her when he tells her? Baker Lawley, the award-winning author of THE BATTLE HYMN BLUES, spins a tale of love, drama, and friendship and a good old-fashioned road trip along the way. STEALING THE SHOW is a fun ride on the meaning of acting and the way stories and plays help us make sense of the things we act on.

15 year old Anastasia Adams has spent her entire life on run. She and her mother have never spent more than 18 months in any one location, often times leaving with just the clothes on their backs. Despite the havoc that this is wreaking on Ana's social and academic life, her mother offers no explanation as to why it is they're constantly moving, or even what it is they're running from. But that all changes one night in the woods of Pelion, SC--the night the terror catches up with them. Fearing her mother dead, and having barely escaped with her own life, Ana is whisked away to world of privilege and tradition. It's a fairytale come to life. The poor girl used to living out of a suitcase is now a resident of one of the most exclusive addresses in the world. The people there adore her and she catches the eye of a young guardian who sees her as a refreshing change to the girls he's grown up with. If only they could find her mother. If only she knew the consequences of being born a "conjurer." If only she knew who that green eyed stranger was, the stranger who'll tell her about a past too romantic, and too tragic to be real. In the end, she'll have to choose between the boy who has captured her heart and the stranger she can feel down in her soul, assuring at least one of them an almost certain death.

"What is a heart if not the ultimate clockwork?" Abigail's young life was saved by the kindness of strangers: Schuyler Algernon, the man who found her collapsed on cold city streets, and Quinn Godspeed, the doctor who risked everything by breaking the law to keep her fragile heart beating. As the truth about what she's become and her feelings for her savior overtake her, Abigail is forced to ask what constitutes life, living, and what dark secrets are contained within Godspeed's past and the walls of Schuyler's house.

Born with a damaged heart, Leanna Weston has lived a sheltered life with little chance at adventure. When she hears that Finvarra's Circus is coming to her small town, she sneaks off to witness the magic first hand, sure that this is her only chance at experiencing true magic-even if the frightening rumors about the heartless Ringmaster, Finvarra, are true. Caught by Finvarra, Leanna is given one chance at survival: she must join the circus. As slowly she becomes part of the strange family, Leanna learns that there is more than magic to this circus, but an ancient curse that has tied Finvarra's life to its rings. If the circus fails, he dies. Leanna vows to save the circus, but when a ruthless enemy emerges, set on destroying it and Finvarra, will Leanna be able to save them both, or will her broken heart fail her just when she needs it most? Cover Artist: Lisa Rhodes

When Corinna Evans' mother is sent to prison, Corinna has nowhere else to go so she moves back in with her father and his family. Determined to make it through these last few months of school, she only wants to keep a low profile and get by but someone keeps getting in her way. Tyler Flynn has been best friends with Corinna's brother forever and she's never liked him. What happens when her feelings start to change? And will her family ever forgive her for her past?

Shawna Roberts is the girl that every guy turns to when they need a fake date, a fake girlfriend, a fake fling to make some other girl jealous, a fake couple photo to send to their parents... Shawna's pretty much seen it all. But no matter what they pay her for, everything she does has one common factor: it's all fake. That doesn't make being their paid girl much easier, though. Adam Ferrell is the campus heartthrob with the appearance of a god, an ego the size of Canada, and worshiped by everyone to monumentally ridiculous proportions. In Shawna's mind, it's a miracle his head fits through his shirt every morning. Yet despite their instant dislike for one another, Adam and Shawna each need what the other can offer. When Adam unexpectedly pushes into Shawna's life with a business deal, she's torn between her feelings and her sense of duty, which protects a secret she has kept for years, from even those closest to her. And as the two begrudgingly get to know each other, masks start slipping and secrets come spilling out, forcing each of them to confront some of their darkest moments and deepest fears.