Kirjahaku

Benjamin Carpenter is a practicing witch from an ancient clan. Thomas Nighthawk is his lover, a 300-year-old vampire who longs to be human. The two of them have been together for eight years and love each other deeply. Unfortunately, their physical love is hampered by the instinctive bloodlust in Thomas' psyche, where the approach of orgasm unleashes the demon within. When Benjamin hears about someone who has developed a cure that carves out the demon while preserving the man, he knows he needs to do whatever it takes to get the magic potion to bring his beloved new life. However, the cure-keeper does not want to be found, and other forces of darkness want to keep the cure from spreading. Will Benjamin's quest to bring Thomas back to life actually get them both killed?

Change can be good, except if you're a powerful witch like Benjamin Carpenter. The code of the Itzhak clan, intertwined with the Moonbeam caste of magicians, dictates witches will inherit one, and only one, power from each parent. However, a harrowing night in the woods near Sedona causes Benjamin to manifest another power his mother had, the power of teleportation, creating concern that his destiny might be taking a turn for the worse. However, Benjamin's new power is the least of everyone's problems after one of his closest friends, Ivan Salazar, starts developing a carnivorous, insatiable hunger and turns into a rare creature-the wendigo. As the monster starts to consume his body and attempts to destroy his soul, it will take the unrequited love for another man to keep the wendigo at bay. The second book in the A Cure for Hunger trilogy welcomes back 300-year-old vampire Thomas Nighthawk, the beautiful gypsy shopkeeper Kenda Ravenwood, and werewolf Todd Kesseldorf. With Benjamin, these denizens of the supernatural will have to figure out who is causing Ivan's frightening transformation while trying to avoid the vicious attacks of an extremist bounty hunter.

Shilo David and Jeffrey Layton return in this sequel to The Colors of Love and Autumn. The two of them beat the odds to find true love, with the falling leaves in the Wisconsin woods to guide them. However, the colorful leaves have long since vanished, and Shilo and Jeffrey must face a new stage in their relationship. The lovebirds return to Eagle River after a vacation to find Jeffrey's home burned to the ground. The news is particularly chilling when it's discovered the fire might be deliberate. With little alternative, they decide to live together in Shilo's house, but they quickly discover that loving each other under one roof is more challenging than they expect. Despite this uncertainty and the veiled threat that stalks them in the dead of winter, one question must still be answered. Is their love strong enough to survive the ultimate step-marriage?

Benjamin Carpenter would do anything for the people he cares about. He risked his life to find a cure for vampirism to make his lover mortal. He penetrated the veil of darkness to rescue his best friend when he transformed into a wendigo. Now Benjamin's the one who needs help. An ancient prophecy claims that he has been ordained to bring about the end times, an act he couldn't begin to imagine himself capable of. However, he is developing new powers at an alarming rate, and the forces of both good and evil are rising up to lay claim to him, not caring about the path of destruction they create in the process. With time literally ticking away until the apocalypse arrives, Benjamin's friends-vampire lover Thomas Nighthawk, gypsy practitioner Kenda Ravenwood and comic book store owner Ivan Salazar-are ready to do whatever it takes to keep the end times at bay, but are they prepared to kill him to prevent him from fulfilling his destiny as the Bringer of Darkness?

Rory Woodward thought he would never set foot in Eagle River again. He left years ago to get away from his family, the Redstones. Now, with word that his grandmother is dying, he must leave his peaceful life as an author in San Francisco to come home and pay his respects. To do so, though, he must confront an overbearing mother, a viciously greedy sister, and the rest of his kin, who are all eager to take the Redstone reputation for benevolence and shove it in the coffin with matriarch Winifred Redstone. Staber Montana never enjoyed the life of leisure the Redstones have. He has spent most of his life fending for himself while dealing with his drug-abusing, overpossessive mother and alcoholic brother. He has never kept a healthy relationship because his mother would scare away potential mates. More than anything, he wishes he could escape his life. Rory and Staber may come from two different lives and backgrounds while growing up in the same town, but their paths are about to cross at the most wonderful time of the year. They find themselves drawing closer, but they need to find a way to keep their overwhelming pasts at bay long enough to see if they can create their own Merry Christmas, perhaps the first of many.

It all started with an audition. Whit Harrison was nervous enough, but to have some guy barge into the room when he was trying to try out for a solo in the community choir did not make things any better. Instead of being annoyed with the intruder, however, Whit is quite fascinated with him.He doesn't have to wait to meet Brock Evans, a fellow music lover who is quite adept with the guitar. Soon, the two men find themselves facing intense feelings for one another, but Brock hasn't told Whit everything about his past. As he finds himself falling deeper and deeper in love, the level of fear increases as he tries to find a way to come clean without losing Whit forever.

Gresham's annual Applefest is its biggest event of the year, and it brings out the best-and worst-in the residents of this tiny Wisconsin village. This year's festival is expected to be the biggest yet, and that means the apple pie contest will determine the reputations of numerous bakers, housewives and others. Before the contest is over, however, one of the judges will be dead and cold. When one of Gresham's most prominent-and reviled-citizens suddenly dies while judging the apple pies, all signs indicate someone tried to poison her. That theory is quickly thrown into doubt when the medical examiner can find no trace of poison. When it seems like the investigators have given up on finding the truth, local bookstore operator Zachary Gagewood must find out who the killer is before someone else falls prey to an apple pie

The Lonesome Pine Ballroom was once a grand fixture in the village of Gresham, but the jewel of the community has since decayed, prompting its resurrection and renovation. To accomplish that, one hundred thousand dollars needs to be raised. Although a controversial notion, local bookstore owner Zachary Gagewood thought of bringing into the normally strait-laced community a pack of drag queens to entertain, amuse and pick up a few coins for the renovations. It seemed like a good idea in the beginning-until one of the most outspoken critics in the community is found dead, the heel of a stiletto embedded in his forehead. With the future of the Lonesome Pine in jeopardy, Zachary knows he must find out who the killer is, knowing full well that anyone capable of killing once could strike again, and in the process, assassinate any hope of restoring Gresham's pride and joy. The question is, to which dress-wearing man does the shoe fit?

"If you go into the woods Saturday, all of Shawano County will hear your cries, because that will be the day the great Patches Sinclair dies." The annual Teddy Bears Picnic is the highlight of the year for the children of Shawano County, more so than Easter egg hunts or visits from Santa Claus. Besides being a celebration for the end of summer and an opportunity to break the record of the number of teddy bears at one gathering, the children get to party with Patches Sinclair, a beloved seven-foot teddy bear. However, bear hunting season seems to have arrived early in northeast Wisconsin as Thad Sheppard, the man inside the bear, is found dead in the woods with a knife in his back, no head on his shoulders and a love note composed in hell. Zachary Gagewood must determine who hated Thad enough to want him dead-two vengeful ex-wives, clown and magician competitors jealous of the bear's acclaim, loan sharks, even a young man who claims Thad is his father. However, when Zachary's beloved, Newell Krueger, decides to play the role of Patches so the picnic can continue, he fears his boyfriend could end up being the next bear to be hunted down in the woods.

Kaden had little time to live his own life as a high school English teacher in Wausau. His obsession with giving his students a better opportunity to succeed in life had brought him to the brink of a physical and emotional breakdown. So when an old college friend invited him to spend the summer in the countryside near Wittenberg, Kaden couldn't say yes fast enough. Not long after arriving, he meets a mysterious stranger in a bar. The chiseled and masculine Avery exudes country. He gushes beauty. It's an attraction Kaden cannot deny, but he quickly trades one obsession for another when he can't find Avery the next day. What's worse, everyone acts like they don't know who he is. Kaden knows the village harbors a terrible secret, and his quiet summer turns into a blazing adventure as he tries to find the man who only appears under the cover of darkness. The world he knew to be true will be turned upside down as his search takes him to places both fantastic and cursed. The endgame will be beyond Kaden's imagining, but are he and his mystery man in the cowboy hat are meant to live happily ever after?

Shilo David, still stinging from the lengthy and bitter breakup with a previous lover, flees to the quiet woods in Eagle River, Wisconsin. There, he hopes to find solace amongst the color of the trees and foliage, and possibly rediscover his inspiration and creative spark. He winds up finding much more. Jeffrey Layton, who has lived in Eagle River for many years, is also on the rebound after losing a boyfriend. However, his mate was taken from him by cancer. Jeffrey's apprehensive about leaping into another relationship for fear that his next true love will also be snatched from his grasp. Then he meets Shilo. Together, the two learn love is an emotion to be embraced, not spurned, and it's possible to find the person you're meant to be with, even when the cards are stacked against you. Shilo learnsit's sometimes necessary to kiss a few toads in order to find your prince, while Jeffrey discovers he has it in him to love another while still caring for those who have left. In this tale, love has no boundaries, and not even the changing hues of the leaves in the forest can compete with the beauty of true happiness.

Love endures, and when it's the subject of an art exhibit, it can be a truly beautiful thing. When Anne Marie White Eagle achieves her dream of opening an art gallery in Gresham, she knows she needs a knockout exhibit to bring people out in droves. She crafts a show featuring Osgood and Muriel Reimer, known for their familial backgrounds in the beef jerky and cherry industries but even better known for a beautiful marriage lasting more than 56 years. Anne Marie's sweet dream dissolves into a nightmare when the elderly lovebirds are found dead after opening night, with indications their love might not have been so eternal. Zachary Gagewood, eager to help his dear friend salvage what's left of her ambitious gambit into the arts, looks into the deaths and discovers that there are others with plenty of reasons to off Shawano County's most enduring couple-a granddaughter who feels oppressed and her nonconformist boyfriend, a store owner harboring a lifelong secret, or even an absent member of the Reimer family. Can Zachary figure out who would want to end the most beautiful love affair ever?

It's the most wonderful time of the year in Gresham, where the newly restored Lonesome Pine Ballroom is finally ready to host its first event, the Gingerbread Ball. The event, put on by the Gresham Ladies Society, is a chance for adults to leave the children with babysitters and spend the evening in formal wear and celebrating the reason for the season-the Christmas Campaign for Coats, which makes sure all the children in Shawano County are warm for the winter. Things turn icy when Lena Andrews, the village's Christmas princess, is found dead following the ball in her bed. Sleeping next to her is Joshua Callahan, a detective with the sheriff's department and nemesis to Zachary Gagewood, the local bookstore owner and resident sleuth. Zachary decides to put past slights aside in order to find the real killer. The prospects of Joshua's innocence grow dim when a second woman he'd been intimate with, a former beauty queen, also turns up dead. With the help of an old friend, can Zachary be Joshua's personal Santa Claus and give him the greatest gift of all-his freedom?

It's fair time for Shawano County, and that means the Fairest of the Fair, Victoria Pennington, is hitting the streets to hype up the longest-running county event. It also means the mild-mannered Fletcher Burgess is preparing the fair's tastiest treat-creampuffs. Tensions are high at this year's fair because Fletcher's daughter, Janet, believes she was robbed of the Fairest honor due to the Pennington family's enormous donation to restore aging fair buildings. The friction hits fever pitch when the Fairest eats a creampuff for a television commercial promoting the fair and dies immediately after taking a bite of the beloved confection. Fletcher, who personally served the puff, is believed to have killed Victoria to avenge the injustice his daughter suffered. While officials are trying to quell local fears about safety at the county fair, Zachary Gagewood tries to clear Fletcher's name and find out who really wanted to send the Fairest of the Fair to her maker. The question is whether Zachary can sort through the fluff and identify the murderer before someone else falls prey to a killer confection.

The village of Gresham is hosting a frybread contest where area tribes compete for bragging rights by showing who can make the tastiest piece of golden bread. The Menominee, Stockbridge-Munsee and Ho-Chunk tribes take part in the contest each year to commemorate Native American Heritage Month and honor the women in the three tribes. However, turmoil boils over when the committee organizing all the festivities opens up the contest to other tribes, non-natives and even men.The tenuous situation gets worse when the gentle Timothy Lockhart is found dead, leading tribal leaders to point fingers at each other and at certain residents of Gresham. To add insult to injury, most of the contestants also received threatening messages prior to the first murder, creating the fear that someone else could be next.Is it one of the contestants? One of the protesters who believe making frybread is a tradition forced on natives by white men? Zachary Gagewood knows he has no time to lose, especially when the killer sends him a note, vowing that Timothy is only the first to die...