N R Walker

L'inspecteur de la police de New York, Alec MacAidan a toujours t familier avec l' trange. Apr s tout, sa vie n'est qu'une suite de ph nom nes inexplicables. Mais quand un homme bless lui laisse des indices cryptiques, puis est r duit en poussi re devant lui, l'avis d'Alec sur le bizarre change pour toujours. Cronin est un vampire ancestral, qui a pass ces derniers mille ans attendre Alec. On lui a dit que son destin serait un homme arm d'un bouclier, mais il ne s'attendait pas ce qu'il soit humain, et encore moins que ce bouclier soit un insigne de police. Les deux hommes, tenaces avec de fortes volont s, en sont encore apprendre comment faire face l'attirance li e au fait d' tre destin s l'un l'autre, quand le Destin les jette en plein myst re. La rumeur se propage rapidement, provoquant des troubles en gypte. Des clans de vampires fuient apr s la nouvelle qu'un vampire aurait des dons pas comme les autres, s'acharnant d clencher la col re de la Mort. Alec et Cronin sont plong s dans un monde trange qu'Alec n'aurait jamais pu imaginer. Ce qu'il a appris l' cole sur les anciens pharaons et sur les dieux gyptiens tait tr s loin de la v rit . Au lieu de a, il d couvre de premi re main que l'Histoire n'est pas toujours ce qu'elle semble tre.

L'Histoire n'est pas toujours ce qu'elle semble tre. Douze mois apr s sa transformation, Alec MacAidan s'habitue toujours ses nombreuses capacit s de vampire. Alors que la plupart des vampires donneraient n'importe quoi pour avoir plus d'un don surnaturel, Alec ne recherche que la paix et un peu de temps seul avec Cronin. Mais lorsqu'il rencontre des entit s ext rieures cette terre, il reste impuissant en leur pr sence. Les Zoans sont des cr atures moiti lycan et dragon qui glissent travers le temps et la r alit , passant apparemment inaper ues des hommes et des vampires. Ou bien est-ce le contraire ? Ils ont une trange ressemblance avec les gargouilles, laissant Alec et sa perception d form e de la r alit , agir plus bizarrement encore. Cette nouvelle qu te m ne Alec, Cronin et leur bande d'amis Paris, Rome et Moscou, o ils apprennent que les gargouilles ne sont pas de simples statues accroch es aux murs. Dans des fosses souterraines, sous les glises du monde entier, Alec d couvre le v ritable destin de la Clef. Faire face aux Zoans pourrait n cessiter le recours tous les dons qu'il poss de. Et il pourrait bien avoir besoin de l'aide des morts pour qu'ils s'en sortent tous vivants.

L'Histoire n'est pas toujours ce qu'elle semble tre. Avec la bataille d' gypte derri re eux, Alec et Cronin appr cient le frisson de leur nouvel amour. Cependant, le destin n'attend pas longtemps avant de les jeter dans un monde trange. Ils savent que le sang d'Alec est sp cial, bien que son v ritable r le leur chappe encore. tant donn qu'Alec ne peut pas tre transform en vampire, Cronin est libre de boire sur lui volont . Mais le fait de boire un sang aussi puissant entra ne des ramifications inconnues. Avec l'aide de Jorge, un inqui tant vampire-enfant avec un don de divination, Alec et Cronin font face un nouveau genre de guerre. Cette fois, leurs investigations les conduisent aux fronti res de la Chine et de la Mongolie - cependant, ce n'est pas ce qui se trouve dans les fosses souterraines qui inqui te Alec. C'est le cr ateur derri re tout cela. Dans les profondeurs t n breuses de la Chine, au milieu d'une guerre contre l'Arm e de Terre Cuite, ils d couvriront exactement ce qu'est la Clef et ce qu'Alec repr sente pour le monde des vampires.

Life for Charlie Sutton has never been better, or busier. With Travis now a permanent fixture of Sutton Station, a permanent fixture at Charlie's side, Charlie's convinced he couldn't do anything on his ever-growing to-do list without him. He can run a multimillion dollar cattle business, finish his degree, try and further the local beef industry, deal with staff issues, Ma's failing health, and an attention-demanding wombat. He can even deal with an unexpected visitor and some shattering news. He can deal with it all, as long as he has Travis. But what happens when he doesn't? Red Dirt Heart 3 is the story of Charlie Sutton finally realising he can be the man Travis Craig deserves, even if he doesn't have Travis. It's a story of love, family, holding on, letting go and coming home.

Travis had been here at Sutton Station for just over a year. We were technically engaged, not that we'd told anyone. He was happy just knowin' I'd said yes, and I had some head-clearin' stuff to work through. Knowing I was good enough for Trav was one thing, but knowing if I was good enough to be a husband and father was somethin' else entirely. Life at Sutton Station had never been better. Business was strong, Trudy and Bacon's little baby, Gracie, was a few weeks old now and as cute as a button, Ma's health was good, and my relationship with Laura and Sam was in a pretty good place. And Travis? Well, life with him was still all kinds of perfect. But, to Travis's dismay, Christmas at the Station was just another day. Another day of getting up before the sun, feeding animals, fixin' what needed fixin', and checking water troughs all while tryin' to keep out of the blistering heat. And this year weren't much different. Only that it was Travis's first Sutton Station Christmas. The fact we didn't go all out with decorations and celebrations baffled him, and if I was bein' truthful, it disappointed him too. Which was why I had to make it a special kind of Christmas...

Moving from a Texas ranch to an Australian Outback station was a life changing decision for Travis Craig. Though it wasn't really a decision at all. Something in his bones told him to go, though he had no clue as to why. Until he met Sutton Station's owner, Charlie. Loving Charlie shouldn't have been easy. The man was stubborn, and riddled with crippling self-doubt. No, it shouldn't have been easy at all. Yet somehow, falling in love with Charlie was the easiest thing in the world. Loving him was easy. Living with him, teaching him how to love in return and, more importantly, how to love himself, was not. But Travis knew all along it'd be worth it. He knew the man with the red dirt heart was destined to be his. Just like he knew the red dirt that surrounded him was where he was supposed to be. In the final instalment of the Red Dirt Series, we see Charlie through Travis' eyes. We see how much he's grown and how much he loves. We go back to Texas with them, and we see Charlie get everything he truly thought he never deserved. Red Dirt Heart 4 is Travis' story. And this is the story of not just one red dirt heart, but two.

After being dumped by his long-term boyfriend for being overweight, Henry Beckett decides to make some drastic changes. In a vain attempt at getting his boyfriend back, Henry does the most absurdly frightening thing he can think of. He joins a gym. Reed Henske is a personal trainer who isn't sure he'll ever be ready to date again. He's sick of guys who are only interested in the perfect body image, never seeing him for who he really is. As Reed tortures Henry with things like diet and exercise, Henry enamours Reed with recipes and laughter. As the friendship lines start to blur, Henry is convinced there's no way Thor-like Reed could ever be interested in a guy like him. Reed just has to convince Henry that life isn't about reaching your ideal bodyweight. It's about finding your perfect counterweight.

When Charlie Sutton's neighbour Greg is notified by the Queensland government that they intend to run a pipeline through his property, Charlie vows to help him fight it. Then Travis remembers seeing butterflies at the creek near their joining fence line - the same butterflies they couldn't find in any Australian butterfly book. Hopeful this might be their only chance to stop the development, they seek the help of a specialist. Lawson Brighton-Gale receives an email request to identify a butterfly in the Outback, only to discover it's not an Australian butterfly at all. But that's not all he discovers. The name on the request is familiar to Jack. An old friend from his university days, who also happened to be his old friend with benefits, Charlie Sutton. Years ago, two out-of-towners met at the University of Sydney. Both studying environmental sciences, both hundreds of miles from home, and both finding their worlds open to new experiences, they fell into bed together. Meeting again after all this time, in front of Lawson and Travis, won't be awkward at all, right? Lawson and Jack's trip to Sutton Station certainly doesn't go to plan, and what they take back to Tasmania isn't just butterflies, but a cocoon of possibilities. A Red Dirt Heart and Imago crossover The story of when red dirt and butterflies collide.

Eighteen-year-old Harrison Haddon has grown up alone. Surrounded by wealth, nannies, and material things, all he craves is the approval of his father. Sent away to the boarding school his father and grandfather attended, it's assumed he will follow in their footsteps from Sydney's prestigious Ivy League school straight into medical school. But Harrison doesn't want to be a doctor. He dreams of music and classical piano. His only true happiness, his escape from the world expected of him, is dismissed by his intolerant and emotionally detached parents. Levi Aston arrives from London for a three-month student exchange program. Free-spirited and confident in who he is and what he wants to do with his life, Levi convinces Harrison not give up on his dreams. But convincing Harrison not to give up on his family might not be so easy.

In 2068, androids are an integrated part of human life. Big Brother no longer just watches from the shadows. It's in every household. Lloyd Salter has OCD issues with noise and mess, and he's uncomfortable with human interaction. When his ex claimed the only thing perfect enough to live up to his standards was an android, Lloyd dismissed it. But two years later, after much self-assessment, he thinks he may have been right. SATinc is the largest manufacturer of androids in Australia, including the Fully Compatible Units known as an A-Class 10. Their latest design is the Synthetic Human Android UNit, otherwise known as SHAUN. Shaun is compatible to Lloyd's every need; the perfect fit on an intellectual and physical basis. But Lloyd soon realises Shaun's not like other A-Class androids. He learns. He adapts. Sure that SATinc is aware Shaun functions outside of his programmed parameters, Lloyd must find a way to keep Shaun safe. No one can know how special Shaun is. No one can know he's evolved.

Stuart Jenner's job is high stress, high stakes, and everything he's strived for. So why, when the apex of his career is within reach, does he stumble? At his doctor's insistence, he books a privately chartered yacht to sail around the tropics for two weeks of sun, surf, and sex. When his friend-with-benefits bails on him at the last minute, Stuart decides to go alone. Foster Knight left the rat race behind six years ago, bought a yacht, and now calls the Great Barrier Reef his home. Sailing tourists around tropical waters is all in a day's work, and he's never been happier. When his next client arrives alone, the two-week charter will be the most private job he's ever had. Foster can see how stressed and exhausted Stuart is, and he promises him extensive rest and relaxation. Stuart slowly realises his original plan for two weeks of sun, surf, and sex might not be lost yet. Confined to a yacht, isolated by aqua-coloured oceans and the sweltering sun, Stuart and Foster are about to find out just how hot the tropics can get.