Ann Gimpel

Long before Germany rounded up Romani and sent them to prison camps, the Netherlands declared them undesirables. Yara's caravan disbanded when she was fifteen to avoid being driven out of the country. Ten years have passed, and she's been alone for most of that time hiding in caves and abandoned buildings. It's been a lonely life, but at least she still has one.Stewart conceals his true identity for the best of reasons. He's not actually Romani, even though he's been a caravan leader for many years. In a bold and desperate move, he joins a small band of shifters and Rom to fight the Reich's chokehold on Europe. When they're crossing the border into the Netherlands, vampires attack.Yara senses Romani near her cave. The stench of vampire comes through loud and clear too, along with shifters. While not nearly as bad as vampires, her people have always steered clear of them. Another type of magic plucks at her. She can't identify it, but it draws her from her hiding place. That decision tilts her world on its axis when she comes face to face with Stewart's raw masculinity and savage presence. She could still turn tail and run. If she stays, it doesn't require magical ability to recognize her life will change forever.

A handful of Shifters. A hardy ship. An upside-down world where evil runs rampant and none of the old rules apply. Taking a stand against the Cataclysm solved a few problems. Others rushed in to fill in the void.Recco misses his cozy lab and well-organized veterinary clinic, but ten years as a Vampire stripped him of any illusions. Life is done handing him everything he wants. He could rail against fate--which never bought him much--or suck it up and keep going. Defeating the Cataclysm broke Vampirism's hold on him, though. Even better, it threw Zoe square in his path.When Zoe left Ireland for a visiting professorship in Wyoming, she assumed she'd be home in a year. That assumption swung around and bit her in the ass. The Cataclysm, a spell trapping her in Ushuaia for a decade may be gone, but it left a hell of a legacy. One that's far from done pursuing her.Darkness stalks the ship. Evil that will stop at nothing to protect itself.

If this were a normal nightmare, I'd wake up, dust myself off, and forge a path. Nightmare, yes. Normal, not so much. After the world imploded, none of the usual rules applied.They say finding your roots is freeing. In my case, it was like nailing a coffin shut. Everyone has a few rotten relatives. Mine created me to serve their purposes millennia ago. Except nobody bothered to tell me, not until my world shattered. When I rebelled, they labeled me extraneous, so now I'm on the lookout for them along with every other evil thing that's risen to populate Earth.All the mortals seem to be dead. In theory, those like me, mages, survived, but outside our small group, we haven't stumbled on any of them beyond a lone skinwalker. Rhys is a bright spot. Who'd have thought I'd find love amidst the ashes of civilization. Sometimes, I want to cling to him and run away, but Earth needs us.And there it is. Along with love, I'm coming into the full extent of my power. The more I push it, the brighter it burns.We tried to alter the cataclysm that ended everything. It didn't work, but we haven't given up. Between Rhys and an eldritch griffon tasked with protecting me long before my birth, we'll tackle my masters. Everything points to them blowing up the world.If we could figure out why, we might turn the tides in our favor.

Gone. Everything. In one fell swoop. Maybe it didn't happen quite that fast, but it sure seemed like it.I remember everything like it was yesterday. Or, more accurately, I couldn't forget even if I tried. And I have, tried that is. With every fiber of my being. But the damned tape reel has an automatic replay button, and it blasts through my brain over and over again.I was just nineteen then. One very long year ago. I'd finished my first year at university and was on vacation between semesters. We were in Mexico at a sorcery retreat when our phones beeped and screamed warning of impending doom. Details didn't emerge for a long while, but our relative isolation in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains saved us from immediate annihilation.We should have remained there, but hindsight is always twenty-twenty.In an ill-conceived attempt to escape, we finally gave up navigating clogged roads, left our bus, and teleported back to the States. I'm not sure if that was the beginning because it felt like the end of everything I've ever known.Survival has reduced me to someone I barely recognize. Some days, I wonder why I bother, but then I pick up the banner and face another day. Better not to think too hard or pick reality apart. If I did, I'd loose my power and burn down the world.

Cancer is a bitch of a disease. Every single person who's lived through being diagnosed and treated is a hero. There are a lot of cancer books out there. What's different about this one?Maybe nothing. Maybe a lot. I'm a psychologist by trade. About fifteen years back, I started writing novels. Unfortunately, there's not a scrap of fiction in Alive. There are also no dragons, unicorns, or magical worlds. This book was tough to write. In places, it will be equally tough to read. In addition to my personal saga, it includes stories from other brave souls who volunteered to be part of this project. There are also chapters about the etiology of cancer, cancer as big business in America (and elsewhere), avoiding scams, and integrative oncology.Like most, I started my cancer journey believing the MDs had my best interests at heart. A few did, but to so many others I was nothing but a number, a statistic, many steps removed from a human being.My hope for Alive is it will empower others to stand up for themselves, to ask questions, to do their own research. Ultimately, everyone's life is precious and worth the effort of self-advocacy.

Magic runs strong in me, but power isn't enough.Actually, these days nothing is enough. I've done a fine job alienating everyone who ever cared about me, from the witches in my Coven to the man I love to my wolfie familiar. Mother's familiar left, winging a path to Faery. My wolf made it abundantly clear he'd have gone with her except the familiar bond doesn't allow that level of latitude.He howled up a storm about being stuck with me, and then quit talking.Meanwhile, the babe growing within me is equally silent. He misses Damien's soothing voice, mandolin, and Fae love. I'm under a geas to return my son to Faery the second he's born. Ha They'll have to find me first. No power words in the universe will make me relinquish my boy.Hecate still rattles around in my mind. I'm done with her. If I hadn't allowed her in, I'd still be in Faery with Damien's arms around me.Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda. Talk is cheap.Pregnant. Nowhere to call home. No money. Nothing but my magic. Somehow, it will have to carry us through.

Magic runs strong in me, but power isn't enough.I've traveled a long road since the Coven kicked me out. It's only been a matter of weeks, but it may as well be years. I've learned a lot, and nothing at all. One thing's for certain: my life up until now has been a sham.My wolf, beloved familiar, knew far more than he disclosed. Hard to fault him since he was trying to keep me safe. Mother, the one witch who could have shed light on my origins, is dead.Try as I might, I couldn't save her.Along the way, a Fae took me under his wing, but it's confusing. Damien says he loves me. I have no idea what I feel beyond sorrow and anger. All I want is to torch the Coven guild house, avenge Mother's death, and locate Hecate, goddess of witches.Secrets of my origins lie within her. Secrets forged centuries ago. At one time, I was important to her, critical enough to bend rules. She's abandoned me too, except she doesn't get to walk away.I will find her and demand answers.Answers to shape the rest of my existence.

Magic runs strong in me, but power isn't enough.Magic confers an unnatural beauty on everyone with talent. Everyone except me, that is. I'm a witch, to be sure. No doubt about my birthright. When I was young, Mother hid me away until I was old enough to hold a glamour to conceal my flaws.And hold it I did for many a long year until I grew sick of siphoning off that amount of magic on something stupid. I was a valued Coven member. Surely, they'd accept me. And my wolfie familiar. All witches have them, except most are cats or birds. Something small, manageable.Eh. Getting off track here. The unpleasant truth was the moment I sloughed my glamour, the council held an emergency meeting. The next day, I was out on the streets. They booted wolfie along with me.No more home. No more sisterhood. Hah. What a joke all those of years of bonhomie turned out to be. If I sound bitter, darned right I am. Bitter and moving forward.I'll show them if it's the last thing I do.

Long before Germany rounded up Romani and sent them to prison camps, the Netherlands declared them undesirables. Yara's caravan disbanded to avoid being driven out of the country, and she's been alone ever since hiding in caves and abandoned buildings.Stewart conceals his identity for the best of reasons. He's not actually Romani, even though he's been a caravan leader for many years. In a bold and desperate move, he joins a small band of shifters to fight the Reich's chokehold on Europe.Yara senses Romani near her cave. The stench of vampire comes through loud and clear too, along with shifters. Another type of magic plucks at her, and curiosity draws her from her hiding place. Stewart's raw masculinity and savage presence steal her breath, but she could still turn tail and run. If she reveals herself, it doesn't require magic to recognize her life will change forever.

Be sure to read the first two books of this series. They're bundled into the Tarnished Legacy paperback. Germany, 1940Magic runs strong in Ilona, a gypsy seer. Powerful ability isn't valued in Romani women, so she focuses her fortunetelling on inconsequential details. Nothing that could come back to haunt her if a prediction went bad. Rounded up and dumped into Dachau prison camp, she has plenty of time to rue her decision to downplay her ability. If she'd scried her own future, she'd still be free.A wolf shifter, Jamal defied convention and wed a gypsy centuries ago. His arrogance caused both death and heartache, and he's been alone ever since. When vampires joined forced with the Third Reich, it forced shifters and Romani to lay their ancient enmity aside, but their d tente is fragile.Jamal stumbles across Ilona's hiding place after her escape from Dachau. Her courage and mettle touch places in him he'd thought were dead, but she's Romani. The last thing he needs is to fall for another gypsy woman. He wrestles his tumbling emotions into submission, but his resolve to remain aloof doesn't last long.

Tarnished Beginnings, Prequel to the Soul Dance series: 1700s Egypt is a haven for magic-wielders, especially gypsies who roam the Nile plying their wares. Born in a caravan, Tairin Jabari always believed she was Romani--until her wolf shows up, and the elders move with deadly speed to punish her mother for mating outside the blood. Fearing for her own life, Tairin runs away. With her survival on the line every single day, she and her wolf face hard choices.Tarnished Legacy: Roll the clock forward two hundred years.Tairin's no stranger to hiding her mixed blood from gypsy caravans. What she can't hide is her perpetual youth, courtesy of her shifter side. She's overstayed her welcome where she is, but Germany is at war, and travel has become impossible for everyone targeted by the Reich.Seer for all the caravans in Germany, Elliot catches Tairin eavesdropping outside their leader's wagon. She's always fascinated him, so instead of turning her in, he interrogates her. Her magic is different, but he can't figure out what she is.Any association between Romani and shifters is forbidden. If Tairin can wend her way through the minefield of Elliot's questions, she'll have to leave--before he discovers what she is and destroys her.

This is the large print edition.In all my years as a Vampire, hundreds of them, I never imagined humans would be anything other than food.Rich, pure, delectable blood. Prey that fought back never posed a problem. Mortals couldn't stand against those of us with supernatural ability. That world still exists, but it's taken a backseat to humans who've joined forces with turncoat mages. Mortals were never meant to wield power. Over the long haul, they're sure to be very sorry for the choices they've made.Meanwhile, they're a huge pain in the rear and a threat to every type of mage, not only Vampires. Some days, I just want to go back to running my nightclub. Ascent is a "don't ask, don't tell" establishment. I never cared who frequented my bar, so long as they brought plenty of money and a powerful thirst for booze.Maybe someday I'll be a humble innkeeper again, but it's so far in the future I can't even think about it. Nope. For now, all I see is blood. Rivers of it, and not running down my gullet, either. On the plus side, I have good friends, powerful allies, and a Vampire who loves me.We have to come through this unscathed. Have to. I'm Ariana Hawke, and I take care of what's mine.

This is the large print edition.I chose stasis-a long sleep-for me and two of mine. Hard to time these things, but we woke in the eye of a cyclone.When I went to sleep-to avoid being drained of magic and blood by dark Sorcerers-Vampires weren't exactly on the endangered species list, but not many of us are left. No one ever accepted us. Not mortals and not others with power, either. At least one of those dams has developed a few cracks. Supernaturals aren't quite welcoming, but they'll take help from any quarter.Mortals have declared war on magic, and they won't rest until we're all sitting in iron-clad prisons. What a bunch of cowards. If they weren't hiding behind false humanitarian walls, they'd be honest about their intentions and do their damnedest to kill us outright.The world turned into an alien place while I slept. Not much point returning to my clan house in Italy. It's probably long since disbanded. Besides, fate tossed me squarely in Ariana's path. She's like me, a Vampire, but I hunger for her in a very un-Vampirelike way.She's tried hard to chase me away, but I'm tough to dissuade. She doesn't know it, but I won't back off until she's mine.No matter what it takes.

This is the large print edition.Vampires don't fall in love. Except I did.Not the best decision of my long life. I definitely cracked an unspoken line, but Ariana trounced me as far as line-crossing went. Very few acts constitute crimes in Vampire circles. Hers was the worst. I fled to the Old Country to buy myself thinking time.I still loved her, but what she'd done was so vile I couldn't set it aside.The world is a very different place from when I went into stasis. I woke to wars on every side. Vampires are scarcely strangers to battle. No one's ever accepted us, but they've mostly let us be. It's different this time. Very different. Mortals won't rest until they've wiped out magic.Normally, their efforts would be laughable, but they've coopted help from mages. Ones they've imprisoned and systematically stripped of power until the poor sods would agree to anything in exchange for their freedom-and their magic.We face huge problems, but I'm tackling them one by one. I'll return to Ariana's side, but perhaps only as her comrade-in-arms. Time will tell if we can be more to each other.Time and circumstances. In a world without magic, Vampires will wither along with every other magic-wielder. I cannot let that happen.

This is the Large Print Edition.My very existence is under attack. I've kept a low profile, told myself the craziness sweeping the world would pass me by. Yeah, it was wishful thinking, actually an outright lie, but it's kept me sane.I've been hiding out forever in one guise or another. Currently, I run a nightclub. Ascent is an "ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies" haven. For everybody. I'm a Vampire. Far be it from me to judge.My closest ally is a shapeshifting dire wolf. I adopted him when he was a scrawny puppy, but I'm getting ahead of my tale.The fragile d tente between supernaturals and humans has crashed and burned. I can't avoid the truth any longer. Lucky for me, mortals don't know exactly what I am. When I moved to Seattle, some vampiric sixth sense urged me to play my cards close to my vest, but I'm done burying my secrets.And my power.It's past time for supernaturals to get over their stupid infighting. Meh. So what if Witches hate Druids? Or Fae never deal with Sorcerers? We have to pull together, or we'll have no chance at all.Not that it's likely, but if any mortals see the light and sign up for our side, we'd damn well better welcome them.I'm Ariana Hawke. No more skulking in the shadows for me.

Life used to be simple. I solved cases for mortals, earning myself a solid reputation as a crack detective. And I basked in the adoration of every animal, bird, and sea creature known to man-or sorcerer. My animal mage part is the same, but everything else has changed.The last time I remember being happy was the day I married Blake. Since then, nothing has gone right. When he met me, I traveled beneath crossed stars. Jinxed is a kind term for the trouble that followed me.He says we're stronger together, but I'm starting to doubt that. Some challenges are meant to be faced alone. Maybe I can fix the problems plaguing us. Maybe I can't, but I have to try.And I must do it with my animal allies. Blake won't like any of this, which means I'll have to slip away when he's not paying attention. And I'll need to cover my tracks well to make sure he doesn't follow me.He's my heart, my life, but if I don't leave him, he'll be doomed right along with me, and I refuse to let that happen.

Learn magic they said. Or at least shore up your paltry skills. Talk is cheap, and that edict has cost me dearly.I had a comfortable life, once upon a time. A quiet life. One where I'd carved a realistic niche for myself. No more. Power is seductive, and a bitch of a mistress. Once I pulled the cork out of that bottle, a million genies sallied forth.None of them were nice. No one offered me three wishes, or any wishes at all. I've been working my fanny off for the last two years. Most days, I slog along from dawn to dusk and beyond. Sleep has turned into a distant memory. When I do lie down-or fall on my face, which is what really happens-my mind whirls in circles as I relive the failures du jour.And the very occasional success.I am stronger. So much stronger it scares me. My talent sparkles, flowing bright and clean. Soon, I'll leave the well-hidden spot that's allowed me time to claim what's mine.Whether my crash course in sorcery was wise remains to be seen.