Stephanie Barr

Divorced rocket scientist, Chloe Kendall, thought she was nothing out of the ordinary. That was until a terrorist attack caused her to lose her temper. Violent offenders around the world went up in smoke. Literally.A stranger named Raven told her she was a Catalyst, born to bring the magical and mundane realms back into alignment. Obviously, he was crazy, so why did her heart open up to him at a touch?The last thing Raven wanted was romance. What he'd like was obedience but that wasn't Chloe's forte. They would have to find some way to work together because the necromancer, Kerew, had kept himself alive all this time and he had a plan for world domination. All he needed was the Catalyst, living or dead.

Cats.Fluffy, soft, and cuddly, Keepers of the amazing purr.Vicious, deadly killing machines.That choose to share their lives with us.Science fiction kitties saving lives. Cat shifters. Vampire kitties. Ghost kitties. Zombie kittes. Even angel kitties. Every shape and size of cats, but each with their incredible catness and dual personalities intact. There's a kitty for everyone here.Twenty stories celebrating the mystery, magic and mayhem of cats by someone who loves them like you do.

Facing new enemies, old prejudices, surprising friends, tricky alliances, and a litter of shipkittens, Rem and the Bete will have to survive without the powers that make them Bete. Cil will have to open his heart and mind if he's to help save his own people, while Darma will have to call on their former foes if they want to survive...And all before nightfall...

Abandoned as a child for his inborn gifts, raised by a dragon, Mage Dracul Morsus came to be the most powerful mortal man in the world. He has also renounced the world of men that reviled him for his power and his unwillingness to use it at their bidding. In his inaccessible mountain fortress, he has always had everything he needs.Or so he thought.When a god gone rogue and his divinely-empowered legion of zealots threaten not only the world of men, but the realm of the gods, Dracul Morsus has no intention of getting involved. When Xana shows up on his doorstep, she has every intention of changing his mind. And being the last and best thing Dracul Morsus needs. Xana is a woman who will drive him to hell and back again.Literally.More than once.Because the most powerful thing in every realm is Xana's force of will.

Two top analyst escape their intellectual enslavement to the Empire, now intent on taking the Empire down using any and every method at their disposal, not the least of which were their great analytical minds.Bryder was well-suited for this task, a chaos agent with laser-sharp instincts, a grudge against the Empire, and contacts with rebels throughout the Empire.But Nayna's the one you'll really have to watch out for.

Life brings setbacks and tragedies to us all, but the suffering does not define us. Our choices do. We are who we choose to become in the aftermath. Traumatized and orphaned by the Nagasaki blast, Omoto Diaki was left only with his childhood friend, Ryuuji, the boy he loved. When Ryuuji brought him to a new world filled with fresh challenges, Ryuuji met them all with love even when Omoto struggled. But violence shattered this bond as well, leaving Omoto truly alone. Who will Omoto choose to be? What path will he take?His story, Legacy, is one of several tales in this volume that introduce new and unforgettable characters, while others offer new glimpses into the personal histories of characters familiar to readers of Stephanie Barr's novels. All focus on those who refused to bow their heads to fate and instead forged their own futures.Includes some cursing and violence.

Dante is a selfish bastard, but who knew he'd cause this much trouble? I mean, he's good and he's super sharp. No one's better with strategy or inventions, but his heart was never in it. Hell, it was never in anything except maybe his hideous mangy cat.So, why now? Why couldn't he just leave without suddenly falling for someone? And, if he was going to care, why did it have to be the Tarot Queen, that invaluable resource our kings have considered their exclusive property? So, we're not just losing Dante but also the Tarot Queen? I don't need a handful of cards to tell me that's going to cause nothing but trouble, and for Dante probably most of all. Well, and me, of course, since I'll be dragged in to try to get them back. Because there are people who will move heaven and earth to keep Dante. And they sure aren't letting the Tarot Queen loose. The Gods only know what will happen. Contains some sexual situations (not erotica) and a modicum of violence.

There should never have been a space battle, certainly not one that sent my ship full of fleeing children across the whole damn universe. Nor was I prepared to land on a planet I knew nothing about and would never be able to escape. But of all the things I wasn't prepared for, it was to find myself dependent on a tiny group of shapeshifting magic users among the refugees, shapeshifters hated by my own fellow humans and yet the only chance any of us had to survive. I have now seen the shapeshifters, called the Bete, organize and build when we were still chaos inside my ship, even though we had adults and they didn't. I have seen them repulse the horrific foes that wander this new world. change into fantastic beasts for our protection, and even heal our wounds. I'm told they are demons and monsters that cannot be trusted, and yet, I have found that our fate relies not only on this group but the leadership and judgment of a boy half my age and many times my power. How am I to hate him? Who is really the beast in this? The "demon" that saves us or the hatred that divides us?Some language and violence.

Of all the ridiculous turn of events, that hot-headed interloper, Laren, took charge when a flurry of crises descended. Our leader was downed by some unknown disease, our healer mauled in our leader's delirium, and the humans, as I always suspected, were gearing for war to take us out. But Laren has discarded his only redeeming quality, his overwhelming distrust and hatred for humanity. That engineer human, is undoubtedly the cause, seducing that cat with her reason. Who would have expected that Laren, known for his short temper, would react with logic and caution as we tried to prevent the disease from taking out our most powerful Bete, save our leader and the healer, both in critical condition, and deal with the human camp, now under the power of those who consider us demons?I'm not saying Laren wanted to be leader, but he stood firm when older and wiser heads, like mine, argued to leave the humans to their own self-destruction. And Bete and humans alike backed him, including his girlfriend who is now a Bete like us. What will happen now that he plans to attack the humans head-on, rescuing those that are friendly and putting a stop to the faction that wants to take us down? What is with all these new powers the Bete and even some humans are developing? What does this mean for our future?Surely that stupid cat is not fit to lead us. So, why is he doing so damn well?Some language and violence.

In the year 2045, smart tech is everywhere, much of it devised by the teenage prodigy Dylan Chroz. But being at the top of the technical world means being in demand. Sometimes, by people who should be looking out for you. Sometimes, by people who won't take no for an answer. It's easy to get lost in the designs and code with absolutely no one to point you to a real life. And so it was until Tessa Miller came into his life.Tessa alone makes Dylan's life more than schematics and computers. Her indomitable will, her impish challenges, irrepressible humor, and even her untidiness became an oasis of magic in a drab world of order and automation, adding color and breathing life into something that had been less than a life. So what do you do when someone steals your girl to make you perform your technical wizardry on their sketchy hardware? Do you curl up and cry? Do what they want? Defy them? Or do you outsmart them and do your damnedest to smoke out every one of them so they never can do this again?It was a mistake, of course, to make an enemy of Dylan. After all, people who threaten Tessa were definitely not going to come out unscathed. And Maxcom didn't appreciate what those around Dylan will do to help him save Tessa. But the real mistake they made was thinking Tessa was going to sit quietly by and get used. As if If you think Dylan's the wrong one to cross, well, you don't know Tessa.That last mistake was really going to cost themContains some language and violence.

The world of the Jenri is a dangerous, primitive world, where women are prized as chattel, but the Jenri women, every one from the eldest archivist to the smallest babe, strike fear into battle-hardened mercenary hearts. It is a world where battle steeds are mythical beasts and magic is as deadly a weapon as a sword. Those who wield both are doubly dangerous and those who cross them are thrice damned. The Jenri are mistresses of all these things. If you love one of these marvelous women, you must best her in a contest of her choosing to win her love in return.These were women who needed no one to take care of them. Until now.It wasn't enough that Jenri women had been stolen, including his wife, Layla It wasn't enough that those who had stolen them had nefarious plans. And phenomenal magic powers. And could escape in seconds. And an underground fortress in the midst of frozen mountains so cold Tander was afraid he'd shatter if he stumbled one more time. It wasn't enough that he was surrounded by angry husbands worried about their wives and willing to take their tempers out on him if he was leading them in the wrong direction. It wasn't enough that he was also surrounded by the remaining women from his tribe who were equally angry and more than capable of kicking his butt.No, on top of all those little issues, he discovered he's no longer "just" an extraordinary swordsman, but also a great and powerful sorcerer with absolutely no idea how to use his powers. He was not just any sorcerer, either, but one chosen by six tiny kitten familiars who did know how to use his powers and who had no problem telling him. All the time. While they demanded to be carried all over his person, purring and taking inopportune naps. He didn't want these powers or a flock of noisy but helpful kittens, but he was going to need them. He'd need all the skills and talents he and his companions possess in order to save their women-and Layla.But we love you, Tander Solace insisted, purring and licking his neck.Things have got to get better soon.